In this paper we deal with the inchoative-stative (initio-transformative) verbs first proposed as a different verb type by Johanson (1971; 1999; 2000) in Turkic languages and existing in Kazakh as well such as bol- 'become + be', otur-... more
In this paper we deal with the inchoative-stative (initio-transformative) verbs first proposed as a different verb type by Johanson (1971; 1999; 2000) in Turkic languages and existing in Kazakh as well such as bol- 'become + be', otur- 'sit + sit down', uyïqta- 'fall asleep + be asleep', etc. Furthermore, our study also explores the ways how Kazakh speakers specify bipartite actional structure of inchoative-stative verbs with different grammatical and lexical devices. Inchoative- stative verbs encompass both a dynamic inchoative action and a post-transformative stative action. In the paper we first examine actional features of inchoative-statives and subsequently represent a list of 31 verbs which we determined to be inchoative- stative in Kazakh. Then, considering the corresponding Russian perfective and imperfective equivalents of the Kazakh verbs, we suggest that the inchoative-stative verbs must be dichotomized into two different classes. The first class covers verbs that express a process (preparatory phase) before the initial transformation point and the second class encompasses the verbs that indicate initial momentaneous actions. In order to understand to what extent Kazakh speakers apply actional modification and phase marking on each inchoative-stative verb class, considering the bilingualism of Kazakh speakers, we used a translation questionnaire which consisted of 47 Russian sentences translated into Kazakh by 15 informants. We determined two models of sentences for each class. The first model is "(S/he/it) Verbx-PAST (just/just a moment ago, at x hour) and still Verbx-PRESENT" which was applied for all the (31) inchoative-stative verbs. The second model is "(S/he/it) (gradually/slowly, etc) Verbx-PRESENT" and this was developed for the indication of the imperfective aspect of the 12 inchoative-statives that have a salient dynamic process before the crucial initial limit. The results of the questionnaire are presented in eight tables and three graphs. The most important result can be summarized as follows: In order to mark one of the actions (/phases) found in the semantic representation of the inchoative-stative verbs, Kazakh speakers utilize (i) grammatical devices such as postverbs (consisting of 'a converb + auxiliary') or special inflectional forms, (ii) lexical devices such as lexical alternatives and phase verbs such as begin and finish.
