Sull’imperfetto indicativo e gli altri tempi in -eɾ del dialetto armeno di Urmia

Abstract

In the Armenian dialect of Urmia (Northern Iran), the indicative imperfect displays a very innovating inflection, based on the addition of the morpheme ‘-eɾ’ (properly the imperfect 3s of the verb ‘to beʼ) to the indicative present. This morpheme of ‘remotenessʼ creates opposition between other tenses as well, such as perfect and pluperfect, future and past future. The article deals with the reconstruction of the origin and diffusion of this innovating morpheme in the verbal system of the Armenian dialect of Urmia, focusing both on endogenous morphological dynamics and on the role of language contact with Turkic varieties as a trigger of this morphological change.

Keywords

• Armenian. Armenian dialects. Imperfect. Language contact. Morphemes order. Morphological change. Urmia