Original scientific paper
A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF THE VERBAL PREFIKS O(B)- IN CROATIAN
Ljiljana Šarić
; University of Oslo, ILOS
Petra Mikolić
; Sveučilište u Zagrebu
Abstract
This article analyzes the verbal prefix o(b)- in Croatian from a cognitive
linguistic perspective, focusing on how its apparently different meanings relate to each other, and the extensions of its spatial meanings into non-spatial domains. The prototypical meaning of verbs prefixed with o(b)- involves a general notion of circular movement realized in concrete spatial realms: a trajector (TR) performs a circular movement around a landmark (LM). This spatial schema of circular movement can be illustrated by the motion verb optrčati ‘make a full circle by running around a certain area’. Our analysis aims to show that the central meaning, move around (an object), has a special status in the meaning network because it directly or indirectly motivates all of the other meanings. We show that the various meanings of o(b)-verbs are not a random collection of unrelated senses, but form a semantic network in which individual meanings emerge via metaphorical and metonymic extensions and relate to systematic and partially predictable applications of concrete spatial relations to abstract ideas.
Keywords
verbal prefixes; o(b)- in Croatian; cognitive linguistics
Hrčak ID:
155123
URI
Publication date:
19.2.2016.
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