Periphrases with Motion Verbs in Vedic Sanskrit: (between) Textual Analysis and Grammaticalization Patterns

Abstract

AbstractThe Sanskrit language knows the use of iterative‐continuative periphrases which are so far mostly unexplored. The aim of this paper is to investigate the grammaticalization of the motion verbs i‐ ‘go’ and car‐ ‘move’ plus participle into auxiliary verbs, collecting data from the earliest attestations (c. 2nd millennium BC) to Late Vedic (c. 900–600 BC). I argue that in the earliest attestations there are no clear cases of periphrasis, but the motion verbs are combined with an extremely high percentage of intensive participles (with iterative Aktionsart). On the other hand, in Late Vedic i‐ ‘go’ and car‐ ‘move’ function as iterative‐continuative auxiliaries in composition with participial form. As I will show, this new periphrastic construction is one of the strategies to substitute the synthetic intensive category, which was slowly disappearing after the Early Vedic time.