PREFIXES AS PERFECTIVIZERS: SEMANTICALLY EMPTY UNITS?

Abstract

This article deals with some issues related to the semantics of verbal prefixation. The analysis is based on the use of the terms “empty prefix” and “semantically empty prefix,” which are frequently found in scholarship dealing with the Slavic languages and in handbooks describing these languages. Discussing this term and its (near) synonyms from different points of view and examining its usage contexts the article explores general issues related to research on verbal prefixes and their classification into various formal and semantic groups. Some suggestions are offered on how to overcome difficulties in prefix research and its practical application.