The Verb Prefix /bv-/ in Past Perfective of Gilaki Language, from Genesis to Inflexion

There is a typical inflectional prefix /bv-/ in past perfectives of many variants of Gilaki Language, which either has been considered as a mood affix in many syntactic sources of Gilaki, or has been neglected in other sources. In many of the mentioned variants, if this affix is omitted, the verb turns from past perfective to past imperfective. This article tries to prove that this affix is not a mood, ornament or extra affix, but an aspect affix which in origin, was not inflectional, although it has become inflected and grammaticalised due to the historical evolutions occurred to Gilaki. This process has led the Gilaki simple past to “markedness”, while substantially it has not been “marked”. Thus, it can be indicated that “markedness” might change diachronically.