MEANS AND METHODS OF EXPRESSING THE SENSES IN ENGLISH PREFIXAL VERBS

The paper dwells upon the systematic description of English verbal prefixes. The verbal prefix is to be treated in the paradigmatic and syntagmatic plane of the language. It is asserted in this article that the meaning of a prefix is identical to that of the preposition – the relationship between two objects in space extrapolating on two consecutive states of the subject/object in time, and when generalized, form the two types of senses. Such prefix features as origin, transporting opportunity, negation and valency are considered, as well as semantic features (such as polysemy and chains of synonyms). In semantic analysis we deal with semes as the meaning constituents defining basic and secondary semes. The process of the formation of different senses has been distinguished by means of semantic opposition and combinations of semes that form the invariant meaning of the verbal prefix.

Entre modalité et conditionnalité

In the Bantu language Kirundi (JD62), the verbal prefix oo- has traditionally been described as either conditional or potential. In this article, we show by means of a corpus-based analysis of its uses that it is first and foremost a modal prefix, and its conditional use is only a secondary development. Dans la langue bantoue kirundi (JD62), le préfixe verbal oo‑ a été décrit comme un marqueur soit du conditionnel, soit du potentiel. Dans cet article, nous montrons à partir d’une analyse de corpus qu’il est avant tout un préfixe modal et que son usage comme marque du conditionnel n’est qu’un développement secondaire

Non-canonical inverse in Circassian languages

This paper discusses a typologically peculiar inverse-like construction found in the polysynthetic ergative Circassian languages of the Northwest-Caucasian family. These languages possess a cislocative verbal prefix, which, in addition to marking the spatial meaning of speaker-orientation, systematically occurs in polyvalent verbs when the object outranks the subject on the person hierarchy. The inverse-like use of the cislocative in Circassian differs from the “canonical” direct-inverse system in that, first, it is fully redundant since the person-role linking is achieved by means of the person markers themselves and, second, it does not occur in the basic transitive construction, featuring instead in configurations involving an indirect object both in ditransitive and bivalent intransitive verbs. It is argued that the typologically outstanding properties of the Circassian inverse-like marking can be naturally explained by its diachronic origin.

The semantics of English out-prefixation: a corpus-based investigation

The verbal prefix out- in its scalar-comparative sense is among the most productive English locative prefixes. Although several authors make use of the construction as a test environment for verb classification, few studies have looked at its semantics in any depth. Moreover, previous work on this prefix relies on fairly small databases or self-generated data, and no reliable corpus-based investigations are available, calling into question the usefulness of present semantic analyses and the application of the construction as a test environment. This study aims at remedying these shortcomings via presenting a database culled mostly from COCA and iWeb. Based on the analysis of the wide range of attestations in the database it is shown that existing generalizations and previous semantic analyses are wrong and that particular restrictions proposed in the literature are not borne out by the data. Several claims, including core features of the formalizations offered in the literature, have to be discarded. Furthermore, alleged base-restrictions on the input out- allows are shown to be far too restrictive. This holds for verbal as well as adjectival and nominal bases. It is shown that approaches that deny the existence of category-changing prefixes are misguided. Overall, the construction is more flexible regarding possible interpretations and more promiscuous with respect to possible bases than previously thought. At the same time, the system is not unrestricted. Generalizing over the data, this article lays out the requirements and specific challenges any full formal account of out- will have to match.

Possessive Construction in Uab Meto

This paper is a result of research which is aimed to uncover the structure and marking on the possessive construction in Uab Meto based on morpho-syntax point of view. The data collected for this research were classified into the primary data (observation) and the secondary data (the data that are obtained from texts). The technique employed to analyze the data was descriptive-analytic, and the approach applied was deductive-inductive. The result of the research shows that in Uab Meto, predicative possession is expressed through the verb muiɁ ‘have/has’. In some usages, muiɁ metathezised to muɁi. Possesive construction of Uab Meto is also applied topicalization strategy, and the last is using a verbal prefix ma-. This prefix ma- is a verbal prefix because it carries a verbal meaning, that is have/has. Furthermore, there are two attributive possessive constructions, namely juxtaposed construction. The possessor in juxtaposed constructions can be a noun or pronoun. The second attributive possessive is pronominal clitic to show the agreement with the possessors. Relating to the marking, there are only two ways, namely by juxtaposition and pertensive marker to mark the the possession. Uab Meto allows all pronouns to mark the attributive possessive relation. Without free pronoun as the possessor, a speaker Uab Meto will understand that it is a possessive noun phrase. Clitic in possession in is obligatory for inalienable possession in Uab Meto.

Revisiting the Indonesian prefixes peN-, pe2- and per-

This paper presents a literature review on three nominalising prefixes in Indonesian: peN-, pe2- and per- whose function is to create agent, instrument, or patient (e.g. tulis ‘to write’ – penulis ‘writer’, wisata ‘travel’ – pewisata ‘traveller’ and tapa ‘ascetic’ – pertapa ‘hermit’). The ‘N-‘ in peN- stands for ‘nasal’ due to its five nasalised allomorphs (e.g. pen-, peny-, pem-, peng-, and penge-). However, there is one peN- allomorph which is not nasalised, henceforth called pe1-. Pe2-, the other prefix, is described as having similar in form and meaning as pe1-. Per-, the last prefixed is described as the archaic nominalisation prefix. Some theorists believed that Indonesian nominalisation is derived from peN- and per- in which pe2- belongs to per-, some argued that it is formed from peN- in which pe2- is one of peN- variant or per-, and some stated that nouns are derived from peN-, pe2- or per-. PeN- is described as the most productive of the three prefixes and is believed to correlate with the verbal prefix meN- (e.g. menulis ‘to write’ – penulis ‘writer’) with the process of affix substitution. Whereas pe2- is described as corresponding with the verbal prefix ber- (e.g. berwisata ‘to travel’ – pewisata ‘traveller’). Thus far, there has been no consensus addressing whether pe2- the allomorph of peN- or per- or none of them. This paper will examine existing theories and research relevant to this issue.

Albanian World-View: Co-Locativity as the Schematic Meaning of Albanian Verbal Prefix Bashke-

The traditional approach to verb prefixes is to consider them as bound morphemes without a real emphasis and analysis of their cognitive meaning. In this paper we use the concept schematic meaning which gathers verbs with different meaning while they share the same prefix. In our case, the Albanian bashke-prefix was chosen and its allomorph bashka-. In order to appreciate the schematic meaning concept and its application in the Albanian case, we considered the schematic meaning as the super-schema of bashke-prefix (co-prefix). This super-schema characterizes the metaphorical reading of the same prefix with different meaning which plays an important role in the semantics of abstract notions. This cognitive model helps to build a rather clear image of how the trajector and landmark inter-act as the basic units of spatial relations; the schematic brings about diverse meaning in a strict spatial frame-work.

Albanian World-View: Co-Locativity as the Schematic Meaning of Albanian Verbal Prefix Bashke-

The traditional approach to verb prefixes is to consider them as bound morphemes without a real emphasis and analysis of their cognitive meaning. In this paper we use the concept schematic meaning which gathers verbs with different meaning while they share the same prefix. In our case, the Albanian bashke-prefix was chosen and its allomorph bashka-. In order to appreciate the schematic meaning concept and its application in the Albanian case, we considered the schematic meaning as the super-schema of bashke-prefix (co-prefix). This super-schema characterizes the metaphorical reading of the same prefix with different meaning which plays an important role in the semantics of abstract notions. This cognitive model helps to build a rather clear image of how the trajector and landmark inter-act as the basic units of spatial relations; the schematic brings about diverse meaning in a strict spatial frame-work.