Grammaticalization of Morphological Changes Manifested in Finite Single-word Lexical Verbs in Shahmukhi Punjabi

Abstract

Punjabi exhibits a rich linguistic landscape characterized by agglutinative and fusional features. This linguistic complexity has led many scholars, including Tehseen et al. (2023) and Jamshaid & Akhtar (2022), to emphasize the significance of morphological distinctions within Punjabi, surpassing even its syntactic variations. The primary objective of this study is to undertake an extensive morphological analysis of finite single-word lexical verbs in Shamukhi Punjabi. Drawing from our preliminary findings, two key hypotheses were formulated. First, we postulated that the notion of verbal finiteness plays a pivotal role in categorizing Punjabi verbs. Second, we hypothesized that morphological intricacies linked to progressive and perfective aspects, voice, gender, and number systems manifest within the domain of finite single-word lexical verbs. To achieve these research objectives, we employed a corpus of modest proportions, encompassing one hundred thousand words from Shahmukhi Punjabi. This study operates within the framework of inflectionally regular verbs, allowing us to identify recurring morphological structures within finite single-word verbs and their sub-systems. Our findings offer compelling evidence that Punjabi verbs can indeed be categorized based on finiteness, while also highlighting the diverse inflections that characterize finite single-word verbs concerning number, gender, aspect, and voice systems. This research not only holds promise for the preservation and enrichment of the Punjabi language but also contributes significantly to our understanding of the intricate linguistic structures embedded within Shahmukhi Punjabi.