Grammaticalization of nouns meaning ‘head’ as reflexive markers in the Kartvelian and Basque languages

Abstract

Nouns denoting human body parts often participate in grammaticalization processes in the languages of the world. In particular, body part nouns sometimes serve as a source for reflexive markers. Reflexive markers derived from the word ‘head’ are attested in quite a limited number of the world’s languages, two examples of which are the Kartvelian language family and the isolate Basque language. Some generalizations about such patterns have been established. However, not so many studies on the grammaticalization of reflexive pronouns provide a comparative analysis of similar developments in unrelated languages. This work presents a more detailed insight into the diachronic evolution of the Georgian noun tavi ‘head’ used as a reflexive marker, as well as into its interaction with another reflexivization strategy existing in the language. The corresponding data from other Kartvelian languages (Svan, Megrelian and Laz) provide additional evidence for the hypothesis that ‘head’ as a marker of reflexivity spreads areally. The Basque noun buru ‘head’ shows a rather similar, but not completely identical picture of grammaticalization process, and, as in Georgian, the Basque construction coexists with another reflexivization strategy. Both Georgian and Basque grammaticalization patterns present some differences with respect to the universal developments proposed in previous literature.