Juk and gi, and “particles” in contemporary Lithuanian: Explaining language-particular elements in a cross-linguistic context
Articles
Vladimir Panov
Vilnius University, Lithuania; Russian Academy of Sciences
Published 2019-12-20
https://doi.org/10.15388/Kalbotyra.2019.3
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Keywords

discourse particles
uncontroversial information marking
shared knowledge
common ground
illocutionary force
Lithuanian
German
comparative concepts

How to Cite

Panov, V. (2019) “Juk and gi, and ‘particles’ in contemporary Lithuanian: Explaining language-particular elements in a cross-linguistic context”, Kalbotyra, 72, pp. 58–86. doi:10.15388/Kalbotyra.2019.3.

Abstract

In this paper, I propose to take a fresh look at the elements traditionally termed “particles” in descriptions of Lithuanian. I establish criteria that would allow one to come up with a meaningful classification of such elements, and argue for the descriptive language particular category of “sentence particles”. I then turn to the syntax and functions of juk and gi, two prominent elements of this category. In order to understand their functions better, I invoke cross-linguistic comparison. I demonstrate that the ideas expressed in the literature on the German particles doch and ja can also be applied to Lithuanian. All four particles exhibit a common meaning component, which I describe as framing the proposition as uncontroversial, but also significant differences. Finally, I provide a brief overview of similar categories in some neighboring and genealogically related languages, and introduce the general methodological and areal-typological dimension of the phenomenon.

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