Ordinary insubordination as transient discourse

Abstract

Insubordination – the conventionalized use of morphologically non-finite forms as finite ones – is an ordinary syntactic event in synchronic spontaneous discourse; it is also an ordinary stage of the grammaticalization of non-finite clauses as finite ones. is chapter explores the morphosyntactic typology of insubordination and its ontogeny in Inner Asian Turko-Mongolic languages. In so doing, I clarify criterial features of insubordination. I also consider whether insubordination is a transient phenomenon as part of a larger process of grammaticalization, using a rich diachronic dataset from a half dozen Inner Asian languages.