The structure of simple action sentences in the Koryak language and the ways of their metaphorization

Abstract

The Koryak language features an isosemic way of expressing an action model in the form of an elementary simple sentence, including a subject in the form of the ergative or instrumental case, an object in the form of the absolutive, and an action predicate. The case used for marking the subject-agent depends on its belonging to a particular part of speech, with personal pronouns marked with the ergative case and nouns with the instrumental one. The way of expressing an object cannot be varied: it always takes the form of an absolute case. The position of an instrument is optional: it is implemented if a predicate or a linguistic situation requires it and is formed by the instrumental case. The instrument represents a dependent reduced action proposition: “who does what” and, at the same time, “who uses what” to implement the action expressed by the main proposition. It is possible for the action model to be metaphorically transferred from the physical sphere to the intellectual, mental, and social spheres. When transferred to the intellectual sphere, the action model indicates the transfer of an ideal object, that of information; when transferred to the mental sphere, it denotes auditory and visual perception; when transferred to the social sphere, it expresses the meaning of possession.