EXPRESSION OF DEGREE IN POTHWARI ADJECTIVES: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORMS

Abstract

In this study, the expression of the degree in the Pothwari adjectives is investigated with a particular focus on the comparative and superlative constructions. Pothwari, an Indo-Aryan language widely spoken in the Potohar region of Pakistan, is under-documented, especially in the aspects of its grammatical and morphosyntactic structures. The study fills this gap by considering how speakers of Pothwari express comparison and gradation and whether they are realized through morphological or periphrastic processes. To fulfill this, this study used a mixed-method approach where both quantitative and qualitative methods are used. Structured questionnaires and elicitation tasks were used to collect quantitative data which aimed to generate comparative and superlative forms by native speakers. This made it possible to discover frequency patterns and structural tendencies. The results indicate that comparative constructions are common than superlative forms in Pothwari. One of the main findings of the research is that the language tends to use more periphrastic strategies of showing degree, based on the use of separate lexical means and intensifiers, as opposed to systematic morphological inflection. Morphological marking exists but to a small extent and with limited productivity. These results are further supported by the qualitative analysis that shows that in natural speech, speakers tend to rely on flexible and context-dependent expressions. There are also sociolinguistic variables that are age and education, language is influenced by these factors in that young people tend to use more simplified structures and more educated people tend to use more standardized structures or structures influenced by Urdu.