Paper abstract:

This paper focuses on the genesis of the class category in the Ibero-Caucasian languages and uses descriptive and comparative methods.

The universal class category, used to classify substantives according to social role, is the core of the grammar of the Ibero-Caucasian languages, completely penetrating the morphological structure of the noun and the verb (A. Dirr, Arn. Chikobava...). Except for Kartvelian, Circassian, and some Lezgi (Lezgi, Agul, and Udi) languages, classifiers have been confirmed in other studied languages. According to the singular forms, two-, three- and four-class regressive systems are now observed in the Ibero-Caucasian languages. In particular, the class systems are distributed as follows: a) binary opposition is typical only for the northern dialect of the Tabasaran language: I class {d-}, II class {b-}; b) in the regressive three-class system, the human class of the binary opposition is differentiated into the classes of men (I - w) and women (II - j), while all the rest are grouped in the class of things (III - b). Three-class systems are attested in the Dargwa, Avar, and some Andian languages, and in other languages, four-class neutral systems function.

According to the specialized literature, different points of view are presented in the studied languages in connection with the genesis of the class category (G. Dumézil, Arn. Chikobava, N. Trubetskoy, N. Andguladze, G. Topuria...).

In our opinion, the binary opposition (I - w, II - b) should have been characteristic in the initial class system. As regards the progressive three-class system, it maintained the aforementioned binary opposition, with the difference that the first class was separated from the second class by the proper marker{j-}. It is assumed that in the Proto-North Caucasian only the exponent {d-} initially functioned as a class IV formant, while in the Proto-Daghestanian it was represented by the allomorphs {d-/r-}. The evolution of classes is schematically represented as follows:

a) Proto-North Caucasian, b) Proto-Nakh

My class *w

II class * j

III class *b

IV class *d

d) Proto-Daghestanian

I class *w

II class * j

III class *b

IV class *d/r

The system of grammatical classes of the Ibero-Caucasian languages, starting from their Proto-Caucasian to the synchronous position, follows the main trend of change - the cardinal line of reduction of classes.