Contrast, concessive meaning, and peripheries: A diachronic register study on Hungarian pedig meaning ‘but’ and ‘(al)though’

Varga, Mónika (2025) Contrast, concessive meaning, and peripheries: A diachronic register study on Hungarian pedig meaning ‘but’ and ‘(al)though’. ACTA LINGUISTICA ACADEMICA, 72 (2). pp. 267-294. ISSN 2559-8201

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Abstract

In Modern Hungarian, pedig can signal opposition or continuation between two states of affairs, as well as express concessive meaning, i.e. ‘however, although’, but it has exhibited the latter function only since the 16th century, while the others are older. This paper studies the functional expansion resulting in a shift between the subtypes of expressing contrast and a structural difference as well. Concessive pedig occurs both in clause- or sentence-initial position and, unlike other Hungarian conjunctions, in clause- or sentence-final position. The analysis investigates historical data from the 16th century up to recent language use, showing the diffusion of concessive pedig and variation with its functional variants in different registers. The study also raises the question of whether the change in the word order is connected to the functional difference, involving the role of peripheries in the grammaticalization process.

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