Շնողի խոսվածքը

Abstract

Field dialectological research conducted in the village of Shnogh has revealed the consistent and salient realization of the principal features of the Lori dialect in the local vernacular, while also identifying distinctive linguistic traits that may serve as a basis for comparison with the speech of other settlements and regions of Lori Province. In particular, whereas the i element in the ie pronunciation of the diphthong ē /ե/ has generally been regarded as very weak, our observations show that in the Shnogh dialect this element is realized with considerable prominence. Another noteworthy feature is the use of aspirated pʿ instead of f in loanwords, a phenomenon that has not previously been documented for the Lori dialect. Among the grammatical features, special attention should be paid to the absence of the particle -ner /-ներ/, the formation of ordinal numerals by means of the particle -um /-ում/, the correlation between the E- and I-conjugation classes and verbal voice, whereby verbs of the E-conjugation (infinitives in -el /-ել/) are active, whereas verbs of the I-conjugation (infinitives in -il /-իլ/) are passive, the preservation of distinct active and passive conjugational paradigms in certain finite verbal forms, and the expression of purposive meaning by means of the subjunctive participle. The vocabulary likewise exhibits noteworthy etymological, semantic, and word-formational characteristics, particularly the presence of distinctive derivational patterns. The findings provide further evidence that a comprehensive description of language use requires the systematic documenttation and analysis of all its manifestations.