Deixis And Reference Tracking In Tsova-Tush

Abstract

This dissertation takes an in-depth look at deixis and reference tracking in Tsova-Tush, a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in the Republic of Georgia. First, I establish basic patterns of argument structure, complementation, and question formation using available corpora. I identify an unusual type of subordination that combines properties of complement and relative clauses, and I outline patterns of apparent long-distance agreement and long-distance reflexivization. Together, these descriptions characterize the structure of simple clauses through complex sentences in Tsova-Tush. Building off these insights, I undertake an investigation of deixis in embedded contexts, typically established within complement clauses. I show that Tsova-Tush has a restricted type of indexical shift, in which all context parameters shift together under verbs of speech, while indexically shifted clauses retain the ability to form semantic dependencies. Beyond indexical shift, I detail other types of embedded perspectives, including quotation and perspective-taking under perception verbs, and I use corpus methods to describe the function of quotatives and discourse markers. Finally, I explore reference tracking in thirteen narratives. I identify an indefinite marker for first mentions of animate referents and discuss the use of demonstrative adjectives as markers of definiteness at subsequent mentions. Conditions for covert reference, including activation status and syntactic position, are described. Argument dropping is found to be preferred when reference is continuous across clauses and when the referent serves as the subject of a transitive verb. Further, in contrast to some other languages, I show that gender in Tsova-Tush is a poor strategy for reference tracking, but that shifted attitudes assist in maintaining the activation and prominence of the attitude holder. This examination of narratives further contributes a description of several additional discourse-level features, including tail-head linkage. Altogether, this dissertation provides a detailed examination of patterns in Tsova-Tush syntax, semantics, and discourse relevant to the study of deixis and reference tracking. I show that Tsova-Tush exhibits syntactic phenomena found in other Caucasian languages, such as indexical shift and long-distance agreement. Further, I find that one purpose of shifted indexicals is to aid in reference tracking, while gender agreement can fail to exhibit this function.