Polyfunctionality of Sakha (Yakut) Iterative : Participant-Plural and Semantic Extension

Abstract

This study describes various functions of the Sakha (Yakut) iterative suffix and contrasts its typological features with those of equivalent forms in cognate and neighboring languages. The Sakha iterative suffix expresses a plurality of actions and participants. However, this suffix, traditionally regarded as one of the aspectual suffixes, can have various connotations, such as repetitive movement, individuality of the agent, and plurality of places or recipients, depending on the transitivity and lexical meaning of the verb. Therefore, it is inappropriate to regard the Sakha iterative suffix merely as aspectual. This suffix is also characterized by a semantic orientation combining several different events, contrasting the simultaneous and cooperative implication of the reciprocal-cooperative suffix -(i)s. Among Turkic languages, the Sakha iterative is outstanding in its semantic extension and shows a certain degree of commonality with neighboring non-cognate languages