Reference Point Phenomena in English and Kurdish: A comparative Study

Abstract

An analysis of reference point phenomena in Kurdish and English is presented in this article. In order to find out differences and similarities between Kurdish and English, the study compares both languages' reference points. A variety of grammatical phenomena, including prototype, figure/ ground, definite article, metonymy, pronominal anaphora, possessive constructions, topic and topic-like constructions, are explored and described according to Langacker’s reference-point model. All of these structures have the feature that one salient thing acts as a cognitive reference point, allowing the mind access to a less salient, connected entity. The definite article in Kurdish is expressed by an added clitic. It seems that in Kurdish, ezafe and possessive pronoun clitics serve as relational identifiers between the target and reference point.