Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.22210/suvlin.2020.089.04
Analysing resultative verbal prefi xation in Croatian on the basis of two constructions with thematically restricted arguments
Davor Krsnik
orcid.org/0000-0001-7458-2507
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Abstract
Th e paper deals with two specifi c constructions in Croatian, one characterized by objects that specify
the period of time spent on a particular action, and the other by objects indicating the intrinsic features
of the subject which are somehow removed through the verb’s action. Studying the two constructions is
relevant for understanding the relationship between prefi xation and resultativity. In the study of Slavic
languages verbal prefi xation is widely viewed as the main cause of rare occurrence or complete absence of
adjectives in the function of resultative secondary predicates. Authors who share this view defi ne prefi xes
as core predicators that trigger lexical subordination of verbs with which they form complex predicates
thus determining their causative or resultative meaning. However, our analysis of the two constructions
mentioned above shows that prefi xes are not core predicators. On the contrary, prefi xation tied to causative
and resultative predicates appears to be just an epiphenomenon of a more complex background process. To
explain this process, we rely on the theoretical framework and methods of Construction Grammar.
Keywords
prefixation; telicity; perfectivity; resultativity; Croatian language
Hrčak ID:
242009
URI
Publication date:
30.7.2020.
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