Masha Volina (HSE University) Demonstrative Pronouns in Khwarshi

The Khwarshi language (Nakh-Daghestanian) has a rich system of demonstrative pronouns. Three series of demonstratives can be distinguished: žu — idu, o-CL-žu — a-CL-du and hobo-žu — hobo-du. Each series includes proximal and distal pronouns (which can be used both attributively and substantively), a demonstrative adjective with a meaning close to such and several adverbs. Pronouns from all three series can function deictically and anaphorically, although there is a "primarily anaphoric" series žu — idu and a "primarily deictic" series o-CL-žu — a-CL-du. Also, the paradigmatic structure of the Khwarshi demonstrative system is quite complex. In this talk, mainly based on my fieldwork data, I will describe the morphological structure of Khwarshi demonstratives, and the syntactic differences in their usage (mostly outlined in "A language for Guinness World Records: Fifteen (or more?) reflexive pronouns in Khwarshi" by Yakov Testelets). I will also briefly discuss spatial and discursive factors that influence the choice of a deictic, as well as my hypotheses regarding the differences in their semantics and, accordingly, their functions.