STRUCTURAL DECOMPOSITION OF PASHTO PATH PS

Background and Purpose: Past studies categorized Pashto prepositions as pre-position, post-position and ambi-position on the basis of their syntactical position in a unit of grammar. This paper aims to analyze the Pashto path prepositions and to find out its syntactic differences from other major languages, particularly English. Methodology: A data corpus consisted of 245 clauses and sentences collected from Pashto grammar books was analysed using a nanosyntax approach, following Pantcheva and Svenonius’ decomposition of Path Ps and Place Ps where the terminal nodes of Pashto path Ps in the data were identified. Findings: The findings revealed that Pashto Path Ps exhibited Pantcheva’s eight functional semantic heads, but its complexity due to ambiposition and precedence of place Ps over path Ps in complex phrases required adjustments in Pantcheva and Svenonius’ syntactical models to harness the complex patterns of Pashto prepositional system. Moreover, the headedness of PPs in Pashto is flexible, as it can be both head initial and head final. Contributions: This paper not only contributes to the existing literature on Pashto Path Ps but also reflects that the existing syntactic models may further be enriched by their application to cross linguistic data. This paper suggests further studies into Pashto prepositions from other syntactic and semantic perspectives such as nanosyntax algebraic models and iconicity which will not only contribute to the understanding of Pashto grammar and syntax but also to learning Pashto as a second language and translating it. Keywords: Preposition, post position, ambiposition, Path Ps, Place Ps. Cite as: Sardaraz, K., & Kainat. (2022). Structural decomposition of Pashto path Ps. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 168-195. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp168-195