Evidentiality in Uzbek and Kazakh

 
Four verbs that indicate imperfectivity in their contracted aorist forms (žat- ‘lie down’, tur- 
‘stand’, otïr- ‘sit’, žür- ‘walk, go’) are not subject to this constraint, as seen in (167). These 
verbs are unusual in Kazakh in that they employ a form of the aorist with a high vowel (-Ir) or 
completely omit it. The Uzbek cognates of these same four verbs behave strangely in the 
25
Žanuwzakov, Telman. 2009. “Azamattar.” Ädebi Älem. Accessed 4 Feb 2011. 
http://adebiet.kz 

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115 
converbial past in -(i)b, expressing imperfective past, rather than non-confirmativity. The simple 
present in Kazakh (-A/y) is, however, compatible with eken: 
(169) Bankomat ta osïlay iste-y-di eken negiz-i-nde. (Kaz) 
ATM also thus work-
PRES
-3 
EVID
basis-3-
LOC
‘ATMs also apparently work that way, on that basis.’ 
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In conjunction with the simple present, the past tense features of eken may be suppressed, or the 
combination of the present tense plus the expression of past tense by eken may result in a sort of 
perfect meaning: 
(170) Osï Qazaq-tar qašan-nan basta-p qazaqša söyleydi eken? (Kaz) 
that kazak-
PL
when-
ABL
begin-
CVB
Kazakh speak-
PRES
-3
EVID
‘How long have those Kazakhs been speaking the Kazakh language?’ 
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In Uzbek, forms of the verb based upon the perfect in -gan (-ayotgan and -adigan, both 
of which express ongoing action) freely express either past or present tense; this is likely a result 
of their origin in the perfect: 
(171) Ular arava-da ket-ayotgan ekan. (Uz) 
they car-
LOC
go-
PROG
EVID
‘They were going by car.’ 
(Joyce 2007, 22) 
 
(172) Rossiya-dan ishchi-lar kel-adigan ekan (Uz) 
Russia-
ABL
worker-
PL
come-
PROG EVID
‘Workers are (apparently) coming from Russia.’ 
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Non-verbal predicates in both Uzbek and Kazakh bear present tense by default. Past 
tense may be expressed by the addition of the copular past edi, and other verbal categories may 
be expressed with the support of the verb bo’l-/bol- ‘to be, become’. Because ekan/eken 
26
2007. “Šïnïnda da osïlay ma?..” Aršattïŋ Žeke Saytï, 16 Jul. Accessed 7 Feb 2011. 
http://www.arshat.kz/indexwp.php/?paged=32 
27
2005. “Qazaqtar qašan qazaqša söyleydi eken.” Kazax.ru, 7 July. Accessed 7 Feb 2011. 
http://www.kazakh.ru/talk/mmess.phtml?idt=7698 
28
Malik, Tohir. 2010. “Shaytanat.” O’z-Lib, 5 Dec. Accessed 7 Feb 2011. 
http://kutubxona.com/Tohir_Malik._Shaytanat_(IV-_kitob,_II-_qism) 

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116 
typically does not always express past tense when combined with non-verbal predicates, bo’l-
/bol- may be used to remove this temporal ambiguity and ensure a past tense interpretation: 
(173) Ona-otam-ning aytishlaricha bu park juda chiroyli bo’l-gan ekan. (Uz) 
Parents-
GEN
according.to this park very beautiful be-
PRF EVID
‘According to my parents, this park used to be very beautiful.’ 
 
Because the existential bor/bar is incompatible with the verb bo’l-/bol-, the verb bo’l- may stand 
alone when speakers wish to express existence, the past tense, and non-firsthand information 
simultaneously: 
(174) Onda 5000-day kitap bol-ğan eken (Kaz) 
There 5000-
APPROX
book be-
PRF EVID
‘There had been about 5000 books there.’ 
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