An enunciative account of admirativity in Bulgarian
In this paper, I will discuss the status of the so-called admirative in the Bulgarian grammatical system, with special focus on its relation to the perfect, evidentiality and inferentiality. I will argue that admirative constructions in Bulgarian are better analyzed within the framework of the strict theory of enunciation (Bally, Benveniste, Culioli, Desclés…). In the first part of this paper, I will focus on the morphological patterns specific to Bulgarian and discuss the semantics of the phenomenon. I will also survey other analyses of the issue. In the second part, I will demonstrate that the surprise expressed by admirative constructions, marked by exclamatory intonation and clearly identified by context, exclamatory particles and interjections, results from the discrepancy between what is expected and what is observed.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.The term admirative in the Balkans
- 3.On l-participle forms and their classification in the Bulgarian verb system
- 4.Interaction with other grammatical categories
- 5.Admirative usages
- 5.1Introduction
- 5.2Admirative meanings: An enunciative analysis
- 6.Admirative: Connections to tenses
- 7.Concluding remarks
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
-
Abbreviations used in glosses
-
References
References (92)
References
Aikhenvald, A. Y. (2004). Evidentiality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Aksu-Koç, A. & Slobin, D. (1986). A psychological account to the development and use of evidentials in Turkish. In W. Chafe & J. Nichols (Eds.), Evidentiality: The linguistic coding of epistemology. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Aleksova, K. (2003). Admirativăt v săvremennija bălgarski ezik. Sofia: SemaPS.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Alexander, R. (2001). Bridging the descriptive chasm: The Bulgarian ‘generalized past’. In V. A. Friedman & D. L. Dyer (Eds.), Of all the Slavs my favorites: In honor of Howard I, Aronson on the occasion of his 66th birthday (pp. 13–42). Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Alexander, R., & Zhobov, V. (2009). New conclusions on the conclusive. Journal of Slavic Linguistics, 17(1–2), 61–85. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Andrejčin, L. (1938/1976). Načini na izkazvane. In P. Pasov & R. Nitsolova (Eds.), Pomagalo po bălgarska morfologija. Glagol (pp. 336–358). Sofia: Nauka i Izkustvo.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Andrejčin, L. (1944). Osnovna bălgarska gramatika [Basic Bulgarian grammar]. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Anscombre, J. C. (2009). La comédie de la polyphonie et ses personnages. Langue Française, 164(4), 11–31. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Asenova, P. (2004). Preizkazvaneto na glagolnoto dejstvie v bălgarskija ezik – projava na balkanskija mantalitet? Bălgarstični studii, 34–43.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bally, C. (1932/1965). Linguistique générale et linguistique française (4th ed.). Bern: Franke.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bazin, L., & Feuillet, J. (1980). L’opposition constatation/non-constatation en turc et en bulgare. Zeitschrift für Balkanoligie, 161, 9–11.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Benveniste, E. (1966). Problèmes de linguistique générale I1. Paris: Gallimard.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Benveniste, E. (1974). Problèmes de linguistique générale II1. Paris: Gallimard.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Beševliev, V. (1928). Kăm vapprosa za t. nar. “admirativ” v bălgarskija ezik. Makedonski pregled, 11, 174–177.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Buber, M. (1966/1923). Je et tu (1923), trad. G. Bianquis.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bühler, K. (1934/2009). Théorie du langage: La fonction représentationelle. Trad. D. Samain. Marseille: Agone.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chakărova, K. (2004). On the question of narrative variation in Bulgarian prose. ([URL], 17.8.2011).
Chvany, C. V. (1977). [Чвани] Оппозиции / + дейксис / + дистанция / и /+ дискретност/ v morfologii bolgarskogo i anglijskogo glagolov. Contrastive Linguistics, 61, 295–316.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chvany, C. V. (1978). Denotative and connotative meaning of the ‘PRETERITE’ and ‘PERFECT’ in Bulgarian and in English. In Papers from the Fourteen Regional Meeting, University of California, Berkeley (pp. 30–42). Chicago: University of Chicago.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clark, T. W. (1963). Introduction to Nepali. Cambridge: W. Heffers & Sons.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Comrie, B. (1976). Aspect: An introduction to the study of verbal aspect and related problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Culioli, A. (1968). La formalisation en linguistique. Cahiers pour l’Analyse, 9(7), 106–117.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Culioli, A. (1990). Pour une linguistique de l’énonciation, Vol. 11. Paris: Ophrys.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Culioli, A. (1999). Pour une linguistique de l’énonciation, Vol. 21 and Vol. 31. Paris: Ophrys.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Darden, B. J. (1977). On the admirative in Bulgarian. Folia Slavica, 1(1), 59–63.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
DeLancey, S. (1997). Mirativity: The grammatical marking of unexpected information. Linguistic Typology, 1(1), 33–52. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
DeLancey, S. (2001). The mirative and evidentiality. Journal of Pragmatics, 33(3), 369–382. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dëmina, Е. (1959). Pereskazyvatel’nye formy v sovremennom bolgarskom literaturnom jazyke. In S. B. Bernstein (Ed.), Voprosy grammatiki bolgarskogo literaturnogo jazyka (pp. 326–343). Moscow: Izdatel’stvo Akademii nauk SSSR.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dëmina, Е. (1970). Kăm istorijata na modalnite kategorii na bălgarskija glagol. Bălgarski ezik, 20(5), 405–21.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Desclés, J. P. (1976). Description de quelques opérations énonciatives. In J. David & M. Robert (Eds.), Modèles logiques et niveaux d’analyse linguistique (pp. 213–242). Paris: Klincksieck.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Desclés, J. P. (1980). Construction formelle de la catégorie de laspect (essai). In J. David & M. Robert (Eds.), La notion d‘aspect (pp. 195–237). Paris: Klincksieck.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Desclés, J. P. (2000). Abduction and non-mbservability: Some examples from language science and cognitive science. In E. Afazzi (Ed.), The reality of the unobservable: Observability, unobservability and their impact on the issue of scienfic realism (pp. 87–112). Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Desclés, J. P. (2009). Opérations de prise en charge et d’engagement: Une carte sémantique de catégorisations opérées par les langues. Langue Française, 1621, 29–53. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Desclés, J. P., & Guentchéva, Z. (2015). Metalinguistic enunciative systems. An example: temporality in natural languages. In V. Arigne & C. Roque-Migette (Eds). Metalinguistic discourses (pp. 89–10). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Desclés, J. P., & Guentchéva, Z. (forthcoming). Inference processes expressed by languages: Deduction of a probable consequent vs. abduction. In V. Arigne & C. Roque-Migette (Eds), Theorization and representations in linguistics. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Dozon, A. (1879). Manuel de la langue chkipe ou albanaise. Paris: Leroux.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Duchet, J. L., & Përnaska, R. (1996). L’admiratif albanais: Recherche d’un invariant sémantique. In Z. Guentchéva (Ed.), L’énonciation médiatisée (pp. 31–46). Louvain/Paris: Peeters.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fielder, G. E. (1995). Narrative perspective and the Bulgarian l-participle. Slavic and East European Journal, 391, 585–600. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fielder, G. E. (2001). Questioning the dominant paradigm: An alternative view of the grammaticalization of the Bulgarian evidential. In A. Friedman & D. L. Dyer (Eds.), Of all the Slavs my favorites: In honor of Howard I, Aronson on the occasion of his 66th birthday (pp. 1–31). Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Friedman, V. A. (1978). On the semantic and morphological influence of Turkish on Balkan Slavic. In Papers from the fourteenth regional meeting (pp. 108–118). Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Friedman, V. A. (1981). Admirativity and confirmativity. Zeitschrift für Balkanoligie, 17(1), 12–28.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Friedman, V. A. (1982). Reportedness in Bulgarian: Category or stylistic variant. International Journal of Slavic Linguistics and Poetics, 25–26, 149–163.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Friedman, V. A. (1986). Evidentiality in the Balkans: Macedonian, Bulgarian, and Albanian. In W. Chafe & J. Nichols (Eds.), Evidentiality: The linguistic coding of epistemology (pp. 168–187). Norwood. NJ: Ablex.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Friedman, V. A. (1999). Evidentiality in the Balkan languages. In U. Hinrichs (Ed.), Handbuch der Siudosteuropa-Linguistik (pp. 519–544). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Friedman, V. A. (2000). Confirmative/nonconfirmative in Balkan Slavic, Balkan Romance, and Albanian with additional observations on Turkish, Romani, Georgian, and Lak. In L. Johanson & B. Utas (Eds.), Evidentials in Turkic, Iranian, and neighbouring languages (pp. 329–366). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Friedman, V. A. (2001). Hunting the elusive evidential: The third-person auxiliary as a boojum in Bulgarian. In V. A. Friedman & D. L. Dyer (Eds.), Of all the Slavs my favorites: In honor of Howard I, Aronson on the occasion of his 66th birthday (pp. 203–230). Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Friedman, V. A. (2012). Perhaps mirativity is phlogiston, but admirativity is perfect: On Balkan evidential strategies. Linguistic Typology, 161, 505–527. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gerdžikov, G. (1977). Edna spečifina glagolna kategorija v săvremennija bălgarski knižoven ezik. Godišnik na Sofijiskija Universitet, 69(2), 9–68.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gerdžikov, G. (1984). Preizkazvaneto na glagolnoto dejstvie v bălgarskija ezik. Sofija: Nauka i Izkustvo.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Guentchéva, Z. (1990a). Temps et aspects: L’exemple du bulgare contemporain. Paris: Editions du CNRS.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Guentchéva, Z. (1990b). Valeur inférentielle et valeur ‘admirative’ en bulgare. Contrastive Linguistics, 15(4–5), 47–52.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Guentchéva, Z. (2006). The Bulgarian admirative and the typology of mirativity. In H. Nølke, I. Baron, H. Korzen, I. Korzen, & H. Müller (Eds.), Grammatica: Festschrift in honour of Michael Herslund (pp. 123–136). Bern: Peter Lang.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gawne, L., & Hill, N. W. (Eds.). (2017). Evidential systems of Tibetan languages. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hauge, K. R. (2002). At the boundaries of the Balkan sprachbund: Pragmatic and paralinguistic isomorphisms in the Balkan and beyond. Mediterranean Language Review, 141, 21–40.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ivanchev, S. (1973/1976). Problemi na razvitieto i funkcioniraneto na modalnite kategorii v bălgarskija ezik. In P. Pašov & R. Nitsolova (Eds.), Pomagalo po bălgarska morfologija. Glagol (pp. 348–359). Sofia: Nauka i Izkustvo.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ivanchev, S. (1984). Minalite razkazvatelni sistemi v bălgarskija ezik. Bălgarskija ezik, 11, 27–32.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jakobson, R. (1957/1971). Shifters, verbal categories, and the Russian verb. In Selected Writings II (pp. 130–147). The Hague: Mouton.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Johanson, L. (2000). Turkic indirectives. In L. Johanson & B. Utas (Eds.), Evidentials in Turkic, Iranian, and neighbouring languages (pp. 61–87). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Journal of Pragmatics, 2001, 33(3). ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kim, S. Y., & Aleksova, K. (2003). Mirativity in Korean and Bulgarian. In Proceedings of Bulgaria, Korea, Central & East Europe – Humanities and Social Science (14th – 15th July, 2003). Sofia: Sofia University. ([URL])
Kutsarov, I. (1984). Preizkazvaneto v bălgarskija ezik. Sofia: Narodna prosveta.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kutsarov, I. (1994). Edno ekzotino naklonenie na bălgarskija glagol. Sofia: Universitetsko izdatelstvo “Sv. Kliment Ohridski”.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kutsarov, I. (2007). Teoretična gramatika bălgarskija ezik, Morfologija. Plovdiv: PU: “Paisij Hilendarski”.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Langacker, R. (1987). Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, Volume I: Theoretical prerequisites. Stanford: Stanford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Langacker, R. (1991). Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, Volume II: Descriptive application, Stanford: Stanford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lazard, G. (1956). Caractères distinctifs de la langue tadjik. Bulletin de la Société de Linguistique de Paris, 521, 117–186.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lazard, G. (1996). Le médiatif en person. In Z. Guentchéva (Ed.), L’énonciation médiatisée (pp. 21–30). Louvain/Paris: Peeters.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lazard, G. (1999). Mirativity, evidentiality, mediativity, or other? Linguistic Typology, 3(1), 91–109. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lazard, G. (2000). Le médiatif: Considérations théoriques at application à l’iranien. In L. Johanson & B. Utas (Eds.), Evidentials in Turkic, Iranian, and neighbouring languages (pp. 209–229). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lindstedt, J. (1994). On the development of the South Slavonic perfect. In Three papers on the perfect. EUROTYP Working Papers, 6(5), 215–236.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lindstedt, J. (2000). The perfect: Aspectual, temporal and evidential. In Ö. Dahl (Ed.), Tense and aspect in the languages of Europe (pp. 365–384). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Linguistic Typology, 2012, 16(3).![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Maslov, Y. S. (1956). K voprosu o sisteme form pereskazyvatel’nogo naklonenija. In Sbornik v čest na Aleksandăr Teodorov-Balan (pp. 311–318). Sofia.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Maslov, Y. S. (1981). Grammatika bolgarskogo jazyka. Moscow: Vyssaja Skola.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Michailovski, B. (1996). L’Inférentiel du népalais. In Z. Guentchéva (Ed.), L’énonciation médiatisée (pp. 109–423). Louvain/Paris: Peeters.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Nitsolova, R. (2003). The evidentiality in Bulgarian and in other Balkan languages. The Third International Academic Conference of KACEES, 14th – 15th July 2003, Sofia University, 17–29.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Nitsolova, R. (2007). Modalizovannaja evidencial’naja sistema bolgarskogo jazyka (Modalised evidential system in Bulgarian Language). In V. S. Hrakovskij (Ed.), Evidential’nost’ v jazykah Evropy i Azii (pp. 105–195). Saint Petersburg: Nauka.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Nitsolova, R. (2008). Bălgarska gramatika (Morfologija). Sofia: Universitetsko izdatelstvo “Sv. Kliment Ohridki”. English translation by Christo Stamenov: Bulgarian Grammar, 2017. Berlin: Frank & Timme.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Penchev, Y. (1967). Kăm văprosa za vremenata v săvremennija bălgarski ezik. Bălgarski ezik, 171, 131–143.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Penchev, Y. (1994). Modalnost i vreme. Sӑpostavitelno ezikoznanie, 19(6), 28–37.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Peirce, C. A. (1994). Collected Papers, Vol. I-VI1. Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Plungian, V. (2010). The types of verbal evidentiality marking. In G. Diewald & E. Smirnova (Eds.), Linguistic realization of evidentiality in European languages (pp. 15–58). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Romanski, S. (1925). Recenzija za G. Weigand [CR pour G. Weigand]. Makedonski pregled, 21, 8–10.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sonnenhauser, B. (2013). Evidentiality’ and point of view in Bulgarian. Săpostavitelno ezikoznanie, 2–3, 110–130.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sonnenhauser, B. (2015). Hear-say, inference, surprise: (Self-)distancing in Bulgarian. In B. Sonnenhauser & A. Meermann (Eds.), Distance in language: Grounding a metaphor (pp. 117–141). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Stankov, V. (1967/1976). Kategorii na indikativa v săvremennija bălgarski ezik. Bălgarski ezik, 171, 330–344.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Stankov, V. (1969). Bălgarskite glagolni vremena. Sofia: Nauka I izkustvo.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tărpomanova, E. (2010). Admirativăt v bălgarski i albanski ezik. Bălgarski ezik, 57(1), 45–66.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tărpomanova, E. (2015). Evidentialnostta v balkanskite ezici: Bălgarski i albanski. Sofia: Ni pljus.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Vaillant, A. (1966). Grammaire comparée des langues slaves. Le verbe. T. 3. Paris: Institut des langues slaves.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Weigand, G. (1923). The admirative in Bulgarian. The Slavonic Review, 21, 567–568.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (2)
Cited by two other publications
Celle, Agnès, Anne Jugnet, Laure Lansari & Tyler Peterson
Depraz, Natalie & Agnès Celle
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 16 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.