Phasal Polarity in Abaza

Phasal polarity (PhP) is a cross-linguistic category including such values as already, still, no longer, and not yet. This paper discusses the morphologically bound markers of phasal polarity in Abaza, a polysynthetic Northwest Caucasian language. We demonstrate that the Abaza affixes -χ’a already, -rḳʷa still, -χ (+ negation) no longer, and -s (+ negation) not yet represent four different PhP expressions. Their corresponding positive or negative counterparts are disallowed, marginal, or semantically unrelated to phasal polarity; for example, -χ (without negation) is a repetitive marker. Abaza PhP suffixes differ in their compatibility with TAM categories, with some of them seemingly incorporated into the TAM system. We also present some preliminary data on the obligatory nature of Abaza PhP markers and their frequency in texts. On the one hand, our findings show that at least -χ’a already and -s (+ negation) not yet are obligatory in natural development contexts (where lexical PhP expressions are usually not used). On the other hand, the textual frequency of PhP expressions in Abaza does not differ much from that of corresponding PhP adverbs in English or Russian. In conclusion, the paper compares the PhP system of Abaza with those in three other Northwest Caucasian languages: Abkhaz, Adyghe, and Kabardian. In Abkhaz, given that the meanings of -χ’a and -s (+ negation) are very close to the perfect and the negative perfect, respectively, lexical expressions with the particles š’ta already or maḳ’ana still are sometimes employed instead. As for still and no longer, these values can be expressed by lexical items exclusively. In Adyghe and Kabardian, the suffix -xe (-č̣’e in some Kabardian dialects) already is attested, although it is extremely rare in texts. The most frequent PhP item in Adyghe and Kabardian is the suffix -ž’ə (+ negation) no longer, which, similarly to the Abaza -χ, functions as a repetitive marker in positive contexts.