Verbal Prefixes Research Articles

Iespējamās grūtības priedēkļverbu nozīmju skaidrošanā latviešu valodas apguvējiem ar ķīniešu kā dzimto valodu: opozīcija pabeigts/nepabeigts

The article deals with the problem of teaching Latvian prefixed verbs to speakers of Chinese as a mother tongue. It is based on a corpus-based study that has elucidated the most significant differences in the expression of aspectual meanings in both languages, which can cause difficulties in the learning process. The present article focuses on the perfective/imperfective opposition and sheds light to situations where the perfective meaning expressed by a prefixed verb in Latvian might not be reproducible in Chinese and therefore might be found difficult by a learner whose native language is Chinese. The author offers a summary of means of expressing perfectivity in Chinese and illustrates their use in practice with examples from the corpus, revealing possible challenges and their causes, which lie in the different structure of both languages. As a result, the author concludes that constructions in Chinese that semantically correspond to prefixed verbs in Latvian are by structure analogous to verb + adverb or verb + adjective constructions in Latvian. Such constructions are usually compounds, thus in the process of teaching one might consider an option to try explaining prefixed verbs as compounds. Of course, whether prefixed verbs should be explained and how it should be done depends on the level of knowledge. However, this approach might be useful when a learner already speaks Latvian and starts asking questions. Overall, the results of the described research can be applied practically in the process of teaching Latvian as a foreign language, as well as in translation work.

A generative syntactic analysis of Latvian grammatical prefixes<i> jā-</i>, <i>ne-</i>

The present study explores Latvian grammatical prefixes jā-, ne-, from the generative syntactic perspective. To date, in contrast to significant research within the traditional syntactic dimension, generative syntactic studies of Latvian in general have been very limited (e.g., Apse 2007; Fábregas et al. 2018; Kushnir 2019; Biks 2020), and verbal morphosyntax is yet to become a topic of discussion. Meanwhile, the two grammatical verbal prefixes under analysis raise a number of questions, such as their incompatibility with respect to one another in Standard Latvian, their placement on the generative syntactic tree, and the non-canonical case marking in the debitive construction. To answer these questions, the present study builds on the generative theory of X-bar syntax (Chomsky 1993; 1995), Rizzi’s (1997) Split-CP hypothesis, Case Theory (Chomsky 2001), and previous findings on the Baltic verb (Korostenskiene 2017; 2022). The proposed approach to the debitive construction and accompanying non-canonical case-marking in Latvian is hoped to contribute to the existing field of research as well as to have implications for the study of clausal phenomena in Baltic languages from the generative syntactic perspective.

Syntactic transfer and Russian influence in Veps

Abstract The current article examines Russian influence on Veps in the light of morphosyntactic change, morphological borrowing and the adoption of new categories. Spoken language has traditionally played a dominating role in the development of Veps and involved extensive variation. Conceivably, there is plenty of both dialectal and idiosyncratic variation in the adoption of Russian characteristics. Actual language contact is based on the intertwining of inherited and borrowed features, and multiple ways of adapting foreign patterns in morphological and syntactic rules. Consequently, the parallel use of Veps and Russian vocabulary and grammar has increased non-Finnic features in Veps. In the current article prefixal verbs are analysed in more detail by a cross-analysis of verbal morphology in Veps and Russian. The borrowing of Russian verbal prefixes in Veps shows that, in principle, lexically ruled grammatical patterns are more easily borrowed than categories that influence morphological paradigms.

Роль аффиксальных средств русского языка в развитии категории вида

By the beginning of the written period of the Russian language, the formation of new aspectual meanings in verbs is already noticeable. The means of forming the category of aspect in the history of the Russian language are affixes: prefixes formalize the meaning of finiteness; suffixes participate in expressing the meaning of non-finiteness. The initial stage of the formation of the category of aspect is semantic transformations of prefixes. The processes of delocalization – neutralization of their initial spatial meanings – are developing in prefixes, and the semantic function of expressing the meaning of general result is being formed. This process is accompanied by the development of prefixal synonymy, semantically duplicating secondary prefixation in verbs with a general resultative meaning. The aspectual function of the prefixes, which originally had a vaguely expressed perfective meaning, was strengthened by the development of special means of imperfectivation, such as a variety of suffixes (with the suffix -iva/-yva prevailing). The competition of suffixal means of imperfectivation is expressed in the development of variation, secondary duplicate suffixation in the circle of imperfective verbs, and changes in the aspectual function of suffixal verbs. Along with the stabilization of the means of expressing the imperfective meaning, the aspectual (perfective) meaning of prefixes is strengthened. A notable role in this process belongs to secondary prefixation as a means of removing the bi-aspectual meanings of prefixal verbs. Suffixes and prefixes play a crucial role in the formation of the aspectual system of the Russian language. However, the nature of their participation in the formation of the category of aspect in Russian is different. In the history of the Russian language special suffixes of imperfectivation appear, there are no special aspectforming prefixes, prefixes undergo a change in terms of content, they acquire the ability to act not only in the function of a word-forming, but also an aspect-forming means. The history of the formation of the category of aspect in Russian indicates its morphological-derivational character.

Scalar markers between aspect and modality: The case of Lithuanian be-

Summary The present article proposes an analysis of a subset of functions of the Lithuanian verbal prefix be-, one of a small group of prefixes performing functions usually characteristic of particles rather than prefixes, such as those of focus, phasal and scalar markers. They have correspondingly been called ‘particle-like prefixes’ in Lithuanian grammar. While in its aspectual use be- is mainly progressive in modern Lithuanian, its original function was phasal (continuative), and it is this meaning that extended to scalar meanings. The article focuses on the variety of functions this scalar be- has acquired in grammar, and the ways in which it has become a marker of various constructional meanings that can be characterized as modal. More generally, it shows the importance of the Lithuanian data in elucidating the role of scalarity as a mediator between aspect and modality.

Latin Verbal Prefix ex- in Regard to Aspect

This paper investigates the role of the verbal prefix ex- as a component in Latin aspect. The author provides definitions of “aspect”, “Aktionsart” and “situation type”, and particularly sets light to the term “telicity”, distinguishing between the “inherent telicity” and “maximal telicity”. Based on a meticulous examination of all occurrences of the indicative imperfect of verbs with the prefix ex- in a comprehensive corpus encompassing well-preserved Latin texts from Plautus to Ovid, the author verifies her hypothesis that the prefix ex- adds the notion of telicity to the verbs, and that the most common interpretation of their imperfects is the iterativity of telic events.

A voicing rule for non-continuant obstruents in Thebo Tibetan

Abstract Voicing alternation and the function of Tibetan verbal prefixes are two problems that have attracted scholars of Tibetan and Sino-Tibetan linguistics for over a century. This article presents a voicing rule in Thebo Tibetan and systematically analyzes the verb paradigm to explain the constraints for this rule and its apparent exceptions. The latter part of this article analyzes the evolution of the verbal paradigm from Old Tibetan to Thebo, using a model based on exceptions, sound laws, and analogy, and proposes the derived direction of the irregular verbal alternations in Thebo. The main contribution of this study is to provide additional evidence in solving the enigma of directionality for voicing alternation in Tibetan.

On the development of the substantive form of the Russian verb (the problem of the verb aspect in -(e)nie, -tie word forms in the 18th–early 21st c.)

The substantive form of the verb in the Russian language includes -nie, -enie, and -tie word forms. There is a historical tendency towards the grammaticalization of these formations. The category of aspect penetrates into their composition through the -yvanie forms, preserving the meaning of the imperfective aspect. Their productivity has been growing since the middle of the 18th c. by “waves,” reaching a maximum in 1761–1800, 1861–1880, 1921–1940, and 2001–2020. Half of the -yvanie forms are formed earlier than their pairs from the perfective verbs ending in -(e)nie and -tie which combine the meaning of both types; in the synchronously operating system, the aspectual pair is “completed.” With pure aspectual prefixes, po- and s-, the -yvanie forms are practically not formed. If the aspectual opposition does not add up at the stage of perfectivization, perfective prefix verbs easily form at the stage of imperfectivization their aspectual pair ending in -yvanie. Thus, the category of aspect penetrates into the system of the substantive form of the verb, enhancing the effect of this verbal category on the nominal forms of the verb.

Verbal marking, intransitivity, and argument structure

Abstract This paper provides an intransitive analysis for an array of predicates which exhibit specific marking patterns in Budai Rukai. Contra previous lexical approaches, it is argued that a verbal prefix found on the predicates instantiates a functional head v, which constructs an intransitive vP. Its spell-out form is conditioned by its interaction with other higher functional categories, including tense, causative, passive, and complementizer. With respect to intransitivity, the resulting vP does not admit an accusative object, and it exhibits unergative, unaccusative, and anticausative properties. Regarding argument structure, these predicates are mostly one-place predicates. The sole argument is the grammatical subject which usually denotes an affected theme or an experiencer.

The diachrony of the Basque marker bait-: from a manner expression to subordinator

Abstract This article analyzes the diachrony of the Basque marker bait-, which is a verbal prefix in subordinate clauses, but also has other functions: for example, it appears in independent clauses and indefinite pronouns. In subordinate clauses, it is used in two ways. First, it co-occurs with clause-initial conjunctions in reason, manner or result clauses or with pronouns in relative clauses. Secondly, it is used on its own, in relative, reason, result and complement clauses (with a limited group of verbs, such as emotive factive predicates or predicates of happening). The article combines evidence from a corpus study (6822 examples from 16th- to 20th-century texts) and internal reconstruction to (1) determine if and in what way the subordinator bait- and the affirmative bai ‘yes’ can be diachronically related, and (2) try to establish diachronic relations between the functions of bait-. It is proposed that the missing link between the subordinator and the affirmative particle might be a manner expression bai which had anaphoric functions. The marker bait- emerged as a reanalyzed form of the manner expression, which then gradually and through various pathways spread to different types of subordinate clauses and was reanalyzed as a subordinator.

Beowulf 1563a and Blissian Metrics

A. J. Bliss, in his authoritative and influential monograph on The Metre of Beowulf (1967), analysed l. 1563a, hē ġefēng þā fetelhilt, as a member of his group (4) of verses beginning with finite verbs. In verses of that group, in which the verb is the last particle before the first stressed element, alliterating finite verbs are thought to be an integral part of the alliterative scheme of the line and hence to be metrically stressed. This means that, according to Bliss, l. 1563a is a Type 1A2a with hē and ġe- in anacrusis. This analysis is compatible with Bliss’s definition of anacrusis, according to which any two unstressed syllables can be in the extrametrical prelude to a verse. As this essay shows, however, personal pronouns are not normally found in anacrustic positions in the poem, and so it appears reasonable to believe that seemingly anacrustic hē is not part of the authorial reading, but a result of scribal misapprehension of the text in the exemplar. After considering several possibilities and solutions, this article proposes cancellation of hē on the grounds that the scribe found the absence of a pronominal subject at that point confusing, and so decided to supply one to make the syntax of the passage closer to the syntax of late Old English verse. Emendation to ġefēng þā fetelhilt does not change Bliss’s analysis of l. 1563a as a Type 1A2a, but it does mean that that verse should be considered a member not of group (4), but of group (3): the verb is the only particle before the first stressed element. The essay concludes by reminding readers of Bliss’s monograph that his definition of anacrusis can be accepted as long as pronouns and linguistic elements other than verbal prefixes and proclitic ne are excluded from the definition.

Семантика неполноты действия в русском, украинском и английском языках

Semantic categories can be studied effectively using a comparative approach, since it allows to determine the general and specific features of the object under study against the background of the languages under consideration, but also to see the peculiarities of native speakers’ perception of the surrounding world. This is also relevant for the category of aspectuality. The discoveries of Slavic aspectology of the 20th century were actively used to study aspectual semantics in other Indo-European languages, including Germanic ones, in which the category of aspectuality has a different character and structure. Some questions in this field still remain controversial, with certain aspectual meanings requiring further study. This research focuses on the semantics of incomplete action in verbs and verb combinations of the attenuative mode of action in the Russian, Ukrainian, and English languages. The type of aspectual meaning under consideration is related to the idea of a partially complete action, action lasting for a short period of time, or insufficient to obtain a full result. Prefixal verbs with diminutive and related meanings are numerous in Slavic languages, which is explained by a developed verbal prefixation in general and special features of speakers of Slavic languages. A comparison of “attenuative” verbs and verbal units in Russian, Ukrainian, and English makes it possible to identify the main meanings of incomplete action in these languages and assess the productivity of their formation patterns in the compared languages. The study has demonstrated the variety of means to express the incompleteness of an action (prefixes, suffixes, adverbial combinations, etc.) in the compared languages, as well as the synthetic way of expressing the specified semantics in Russian and Ukrainian and the analytical way in English. This is explained both by the predominantly analytical structure of English as a whole, and by the likely lesser significance of attenuative meanings for English speakers when actualizing the inner parameters of the action. The analysis has demonstrated the following meanings of the studied units in the languages under consideration: 1) incompleteness of an action and its lesser result; 2) limited action in terms of its duration; 3) simultaneous incompleteness of an action and its complementarity, an addition of something to it; 4) lesser degree of an action, its sporadic character. Individual aspects of the meanings of incompleteness in compared languages do not coincide and and are in the relations of intersection.

The main trends in the word-formative adaptation of the latest borrowings to denote actions and states in the Ukrainian literary language of the 21 st century

At the beginning of the 21 st century, especially in its second decade, foreign units were entering to the journalistic and scientific Ukrainian language so rapidly that linguists sometimes did not have time for objective reasons to evaluate their “quality” and the appropriateness of their use. The activation of borrowings caused a certain disorder: adaptation to the grammatical system of the Ukrainian language occurs unevenly, often with hesitation in word-formative adaptation. A significant number of new adapted borrowed lexemes are not yet in normative, general or industry dictionaries. The most verb lexemes appeared primarily in the field of information technology, quite a few verb lexemes appeared in the field of business, finance, psychology, cosmetology etc. Lexemes of the foreign languages (mostly from English, less often from German, French, Italian or other languages) such as verbs and nouns were adapted in Ukrainian using verb suffixes -ува-, -изува-/-ізува-. The dynamic entry of such words into modern Ukrainian has caused a multi- tude of ways of them adaptation. It is often difficult to determine whether a verb in the Ukrai- nian language has been formed from a foreign verb or noun. This indicates the ambiguous word-formation adaptation of the analyzed verbs. The verb suffix -и- also proved to be productive in adaptation of the new borrowings. The verbs formed with it have common root corre- lates among foreign verbs and nouns. We observe hesitation in the word-formative adaptation of some verbs. It is indicates by the availability of common root variants with suffixes -ува– and -и-. Derivatives that have replenished the stock of reflexive verbs have been formed from some of the analyzed lexemes either with the help of the postfix -ся, or this postfix and the suffix -и-. Among the prefixes which found in borrowed verb lexemes, the prefix ре- is regularly used and the prefix де- is somewhat less used. In enriching the lexicon of the Ukrainian language with borrowings, there are many cases of simultaneous adaptation to modern Ukrainian of related verb structures: with a prefix and without it. Sometimes it is difficult to establish the direction of derivation. Common root lexemes could have entered modern Ukrainian directly from English or another language with a prefix or have been formed with a prefix from verbs adapted in a suffixal way. The second stage of word-formative adaptation of borrowings shows that derivatives have been formed from many verb bases adapted in modern Ukrainian using proper Ukrainian productive word-forming prefixes зà-, з-(с-), нà-, роз-, по-, про-, пере-, which express the word-formative semantics usual for them. Unmotivated, groundless oversaturation of modern Ukrainian literary language with borrowed lexemes, word-formative formants, etc., uncontrolled using of such units lead to the leveling of national features of the Ukrainian language. This problem prompts a rethinking of ways to replenish the terminological systems of various branches of science with new borrowed language units and this problem prompts to a more critical usage of criteria for adaptation of foreign lexemes. Keywords: borrowings to denote actions and states, word-formative adaptation, proper Ukrainian word-forming verb suffixes, proper Ukrainian word-forming verb prefixes, foreign languages bases.

Study on Word Formation and Coding of French and Romanian Table Separated Event Verbs

This article invites 10 native French and 10 Romanian speakers to describe 24 videos, and then compares the verbs representing separation events to conduct empirical research on separation events in French and Romanian. In the verb expression of separation events, both French and Romanian verbs use corresponding verb prefixes, indicating tension from "receiving" to "opening". However, when encoding the same separation event, the encoding focus of the two languages is different. Romanian focuses on the movement of a certain component after separation, while French focuses on the action itself. However, overall, both languages can be classified as dual frame languages with both satellite frame language and verb frame language features.

Mirativity in the Slovak language on the example of prefixal verbs in the daily newspaper SME

The phenomenon of mirativity, which is based on conveying information that is new or unexpected and causes surprise and counter-expectation, was observed and analysed in many languages; however, there is a lack of research on the topic in the Slovak language. The aim of this paper is to identify, analyse and compare mirative meanings based on Aikhenvald’s range. We have applied Aikhenvald’s approach to the set of collected prefixal verbs of sight perception in the past tense using journalistic texts selected from the daily newspaper SME that are listed in the Slovak National Corpus. We are particularly interested in showing how the grammatic and semantic categories of Aktionsart are intertwined with the concept of mirativity. The results demonstrate that the most frequently used types of Aktionsart in sentences with mirative overtones are inchoative, comitative, delimitative and resultative.

The Cognitive Approach to the Semantics of the Russian Verbal Prefix Pere-: A Useful Contribution to Consecutive Interpreting?

The cognitive approach to the semantics of Russian verbal prefixes (RVPs) defines each of their meanings by virtue of a visual cognitive configuration. Since the process of note-taking in consecutive interpreting (CI) calls for the use of symbols that must be clear, evocative, and unambiguous, the aim of this work is to test whether configurations for RVPs can be effectively repurposed as CI symbols, as a way to help interpreters provide more precise translations of Russian prefixed verbs into a target language. In particular, we will focus on the meaning <TRANSFER> of the RVP pere- in the context of Russian→Italian CI. We will analyze examples of Russian texts that will be translated into CI symbols, using RVP configurations for pere-verbs; on the basis of that, these symbols will in turn be translated into Italian. This way, we hope to provide some useful guidelines for the visual language of CI symbols, so as not to alter the meaning of Russian prefixed verbs when interpreting into Italian.

Verbal Prefix do- in Russian and Ukrainian

Despite its frequent usage, the verbal prefix do- has received little attention in both Russian and Ukrainian research. The literature that is available describes the prefix as identical in both languages. This study aims at testing this claim by comparing translations of Russian and Ukrainian do-verbs into the other language using a parallel corpus. It is argued that in both languages do- can express REACH, ADDITION, and EXCESS. In Ukrainian, though, this prefix can additionally express CONVEY.

Par dažu bezpriedēkļa un priedēkļa verbu lietojumu ar adverbiem un prievārdu pār

In Latvian language, prefix and prefix-free verb constructions with prepositions and adverbs are used in parallel, where the prefix, adverb and preposition are close in terms of the meaning. The aim of the research is to study the connection of prefix-free and prefix verbs with prepositions and adverbs, to study the use of these constructions, reciprocal attitudes and semantics. The novelty of the research is indicated by the fact that extensive systematic studies have not been conducted on the connection between prefixed and prefix-free verb and preposition and/or adverb, their semantics, as well as the possible motivation for doubling the preposition and adverb. The article examines constructions with prepositions uz, no, caur, pār, expressing spatial direction attitudes and which, in modern Latvian, have prefixes corresponding in the meaning – uz-, no-, pār-, as well as adverbs: virsū, ārā, cauri, pāri, nost. The source of the examples analysed in the study is written language on the Internet – chatting, i.e. microblogging site „Twitter”, news publications, comments on the Internet, „Web Corpus of Latvian Language” (Tīmeklis2020) and other sources where coverage of spoken language is available. It has been observed that in cases when a prefix, adverb and preposition of close meaning are used in the same sentence, it is easier to visualize what is being said as if it is being „drawn” before the eyes, and such structures make the text more imaginative. The meaning of a verb plays an important role in what adverb or preposition it binds to itself. In the research, a tendency was observed that most of the time, in constructions of prefixed verb and prefix-free verb, preposition and adverb with verbs of motion of close meaning and of literal sense, are used.

The Effect of Prefixation on Syllable Structure in Najdi Arabic

This study investigates the effect of prefixation on the syllable and syllabification in Najdi Arabic. It mainly addresses the role of prefixation on the syllable in this variety of Arabic, providing a prosodic representation of it within the context of rule-based phonology. The paper provides a review of the phonological processes that deal with prefixation phenomena in Najdi Arabic, whose domains of application are somewhat subject to syllabification processes and the syllable structure. To achieve this, the paper discusses the three types of prefixation in Najdi Arabic: (a) nominal prefixes, i.e., the definite article /ʔal/ and prepositional prefixes (predominantly fi- ‘in’, and bi- ‘in/at’), (b) the agreement-related prefixes, i.e., verbal prefixes and (c) the adverbial prefix /ʔib-/ ‘with’, which is prefixed to the host noun and changes its grammatical category to an adverb. The results show that each type of prefixation has its own functions, which are essentially related to the type of the host it attaches to. For instance, the prefix /ʔib-/, which is the Najdi Arabic adverbial marker, is a stress-bearing morpheme, given that it is a heavy syllable on its own, which attaches to the initial position at the very beginning of its nominal host.

Norm-forming speech acts in regional councils’ resolutions of the Middle Polish age on the example of declaratives

Resolutions adopted by regional councils in the Middle Polish age are highly valuable to a historian of the Polish language, since they are testimonies to the early Polish official style. The research leads to the conclusion that the repertoire of performative verbs used for verbalising norms was fairly extensive and contained both native words, mainly prefixal verbs (e.g. odkładać, odsyłać, naznaczać, postanowić, ustanowić, umacniać, uwalniać), and genetically Latin lexis (e.g. aprobować, akceptować, deklarować, deputować, libertować, prefigować). All declaratives in the resolutions are realised by means of indicative sentences with the predicate in the 1st person plural, less frequently in the 3rd person singular. The intentions discussed above are only occasionally expressed using impersonal forms, which prevail in the contemporary official texts.