From Space to Discourse: The Grammaticalization and Cognitive Reinterpretation of tā in Persian within Heine’s Model

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Masoud Dehghan ¹

Mohammadreza Abdolmaleki ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of English and Linguistics, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran

² Instructor of English, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran

10.22067/jlkd.2026.97103.1362

Abstract

This study examines the process of grammaticalization of the Persian element tā from the perspective of Heine’s cognitive–grammatical approach (1991;1997;2003). The central research question concerns how the wide range of functions associated with tā—from spatial and temporal uses to conditional, resultative, and discourse-related constructions—can be explained within a coherent, cognitively grounded developmental pathway. The theoretical framework of the study was based on Heine’s conceptual continuum, which models linguistic change as systematic shifts across conceptual domains, from embodied experience to increasingly abstract levels. The data were drawn from accessible and reliable sources of contemporary Persian and were analyzed using a conceptual–functional approach. The results demonstrated that all uses of tā are grounded in the persistence of the underlying PATH–END POINT image schema, with functional variation arising from cognitive reanalysis of this schema across different conceptual domains. Furthermore, the findings showed that the grammaticalization path of tā does not terminate with grammatical stabilization but extends into the level of discourse emphasis, where tā functions as a device for evaluative highlighting and discourse organization. These results strengthen the explanatory capacity of Heine’s model for the analysis of Persian and underscore the close interaction between conceptualization, grammatical structure, and discourse-level meaning.

Keywords

Cognitive Grammaticalization

Path–End Point Schema

Heine

discourse emphasis

tā in Persian

Subjects

• Semantics

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