Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.21857/y7v64tvjly

The Discrepancy between the Norm and Usage regarding Verb Rection among University Students

Fran Katarinčić orcid.org/0009-0006-8030-5227
Anastazija Vlastelić orcid.org/0000-0002-3280-0809

Abstract

A growing number of various forms of verb rection which are not prescribed by contemporary Croatian dictionaries and grammar books can be observed in actual language use. This paper reports the results of a study that investigates the frequency of non-prescribed rection of 11 verbs in formal and public communication, conducted during 2021 on 144 students studying at the University of Rijeka and the Polytechnic of Rijeka. The data was collected by means of an online questionnaire containing language production tasks and multiple-choice tasks. The results show that the participants largely produce the prescribed rection of the verbs lagati, ovisiti, pomagati, preseliti se, raspravljati, sličiti, smetati and svjedočiti. When it comes to the verb kontaktirati, non-prescribed forms occur in most cases, whereas the verbs brinuti se and odmarati se show the tendency of losing the property of reflexivity. The results of this study corroborate the findings of previous research on changes in the rection of certain verbs, and the significant frequency of non-prescribed forms indicates a potential revision of the Croatian language norm in the future.

Keywords

verb rection; youth language; norm; usage; standard Croatian

Hrčak ID:

306264

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/306264

Publication date:

19.7.2023.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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