Namaeh Farhangistan

Namaeh Farhangistan

A Corpus-Based Study on Copular Use of the Word Forms ‘hast’, ‘hastesh’, and ‘has’ in Contemporary Written Colloquial Persian; A Common Error or Grammaticalization?

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PhD student in Linguistics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 PhD student in Linguistics, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
10.22034/nf.2026.511788.1395
Abstract
This paper examines the usage of the verb forms of "hast" in written colloquial Persian, focusing specifically on their non-emphatic copular meaning to analyze the reasons behind the widespread use of this function in colloquial Persian writing. Using the informal-formal corpus Parsmap, which includes over 50,000 sentence pairs, 868 occurrences of the forms "hast", "hastesh", and "has" were extracted as research data. The various uses of this word forms in colloquial Persian were then analyzed and categorized. The findings show that in written colloquial Persian, the forms "hast", "hastesh", and "has" are used in different functions, including existential (indicating existence or presence) and emphatic copular (emphasizing the copula "ast"). Additionally, a third usage of this verb was observed, where it functions as a non-emphatic copula. This usage does not fit within conventional grammatical patterns but reflects speakers' tendencies toward using it. These changes can be interpreted as an example of the grammaticalization process of the verb "budan", particularly its third-person singular form "hast". Grammaticalization principles such as layering and divergence, along with mechanisms like pragmatic inference and semantic bleaching, are instrumental in explaining this phenomenon. This process highlights the dynamism and adaptability of Persian in responding to speakers' communicative needs.
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References
Sources are in Persian unless otherwise specified.
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Volume 25, Issue 1 - Serial Number 101
Nameh Farhangestan (Grammar)
March and April 2026
Pages 53-68

  • Receive Date 11 March 2025
  • Accept Date 22 May 2025