From ning to ja and beyond
Keywords: old literary Estonian, grammaticalization, conjunctions, pragmatic particles
This article examines the occurrence and functional distribution of the linguistic units ja and ning (‘and’) in early written Estonian texts. In modern Estonian, ja and ning are high-frequency synonymous coordinating conjunctions, whose functions have been described in previous linguistic studies and subjected to prescriptive language regulation. The corpus-based study reveals that while the conjunction ning appears in the oldest preserved texts, evidence of the reinterpretation of the affirmative response particle ja(a) as a conjunction can already be found in early 17th-century texts. Based on the preserved sources of written Estonian, it is evident that the contact-induced particle ja occurs in (inter)subjective contexts, not only in an affirmative function but also in a connective one (jaa > ja). This represents a rare developmental pathway for conjunctions: a contact-induced particle (ja) evolving into a conjunction. This process demonstrates a transition from pragmatics to grammar.
Previous studies suggest that the more common developmental path involves the opposite direction: a conjunction evolving into a particle. However, such an exceptional pathway becomes possible when the contact-induced linguistic unit possesses a suitable phonological structure and meaning. Although the particle functions of ja – affirmative, emphatic, and concordant – also exist in German, the conjunction function develops only in Estonian. The entrenchment of the conjunction ja was further supported by deliberate decisions made during the ecclesiastical reforms of written language in the late 17th century, as well as by the authority of the 1739 Estonian Bible.
The emphatic function of the particle ja – conveying meanings ‘indeed, surely’ and derived from German – also appears in 17th-century texts, albeit rarely. This represents a secondary branch of functional development influenced by language contact. However, the development of the conjunction ja is primarily linked to the reinterpretation of the affirmative particle jaa, as evidenced by numerous bridging constructions in texts from the early 17th century onward. The emphatic and affirmative functions connect ja as both an affirmative response particle (jaa) and as an emphatic particle (‘ju’). The decline of emphatic usage and the increased positioning of ja in sentence-internal connective roles led to its preference as a neutral coordinative conjunction from the 18th century onward.
A distinction between Northern and Southern Estonian usage lies in the fact that Southern Estonian texts overwhelmingly favour the conjunction ning until the late 18th century. The affirmative response particle jaa emerges in Southern Estonian texts only in the second half of the 18th century. The emphatic use of ja in the sense of ‘indeed, surely’ is also rare in written Southern Estonian. Consequently, the development of ja into a conjunction occurs earlier and more rapidly in Northern Estonian texts compared to Southern Estonian ones.
Külli Habicht (b. 1964), PhD, University of Tartu, Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, Associate Professor of Estonian Language (Jakobi 2, 51005 Tartu), kulli.habicht@ut.ee
Külli Prillop (b. 1974), PhD, University of Tartu, Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, Researcher of Estonian Phonology (Jakobi 2, 51005 Tartu), kulli.prillop@ut.ee
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Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumi (EKM) Eesti Kultuurilooline Arhiiv (EKLA)
f 192, m 33:1 (M.A) – Cellarius Esthonico-Germanicus oder Wörter-Buch der Esthnischen Sprache und zwar Dörptschen Mund-Art, nebst dem deutschen Register, wie auch einer kertzen Esthnischen Grammatica aufgesetzt von Johann Christoph Clare. P. O. 1730.
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