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Chapter 7. The synthetic perfect from Indo-Iranian to Late Vedic

  • Eystein Dahl
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Perfects in Indo-European Languages and Beyond
This chapter is in the book Perfects in Indo-European Languages and Beyond

Abstract

This paper outlines the origin and development of the synthetic Perfect from Indo-Iranian, the reconstructed common ancestral stage of the Iranian and Indo-Aryan languages, to Vedic, the oldest attested stage of Old Indo-Aryan. Comparative evidence from Old Iranian, Homeric Greek and a number of other Indo-European languages shows that this morphological category ultimately originates from Proto-Indo-European. In the course of its history, the synthetic Perfect develops from a P-oriented stative construction in Indo-European, via an anterior construction in Indo-Iranian to a general past tense with an emerging indirect evidential sense in Old Indo-Aryan. The present contribution highlights the various stages of development reflected in Vedic, but it also includes reference to the Indo-Iranian prehistory of the Vedic Perfect, as well as to its demise in later stages of Indo-Aryan. The development of the Indo-Iranian Perfect indicates that anterior categories tend to be rather unstable diachronically.

Abstract

This paper outlines the origin and development of the synthetic Perfect from Indo-Iranian, the reconstructed common ancestral stage of the Iranian and Indo-Aryan languages, to Vedic, the oldest attested stage of Old Indo-Aryan. Comparative evidence from Old Iranian, Homeric Greek and a number of other Indo-European languages shows that this morphological category ultimately originates from Proto-Indo-European. In the course of its history, the synthetic Perfect develops from a P-oriented stative construction in Indo-European, via an anterior construction in Indo-Iranian to a general past tense with an emerging indirect evidential sense in Old Indo-Aryan. The present contribution highlights the various stages of development reflected in Vedic, but it also includes reference to the Indo-Iranian prehistory of the Vedic Perfect, as well as to its demise in later stages of Indo-Aryan. The development of the Indo-Iranian Perfect indicates that anterior categories tend to be rather unstable diachronically.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Editors’ foreword vii
  4. Abbreviations xi
  5. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  6. Chapter 2. The development of the perfect within IE verbal systems 15
  7. Chapter 3. Celtic past tenses past and present 49
  8. Chapter 4. The development of the perfect in selected Middle and New Germanic languages 95
  9. Chapter 5. Perfects in Baltic and Slavic 123
  10. Chapter 6. Paradigmatisation of the perfect and resultative in Tocharian 215
  11. Chapter 7. The synthetic perfect from Indo-Iranian to Late Vedic 245
  12. Chapter 8. The perfect in Middle and New Iranian languages 279
  13. Chapter 9. The perfect in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic 311
  14. Chapter 10. The perfect in Classical Armenian 351
  15. Chapter 11. The Hittite periphrastic perfect 377
  16. Chapter 12. The Gothic perfective constructions in contrast to West Germanic 411
  17. Chapter 13. The perfect system in Ancient Greek 435
  18. Chapter 14. The perfect in Medieval and Modern Greek 483
  19. Chapter 15. The perfect system of Old Albanian (Geg variety) 505
  20. Chapter 16. The perfect system in Latin 549
  21. Chapter 17. Calquing a quirk 591
  22. Chapter 18. The perfect in context in texts in English, Sistani Balochi and New Testament Greek 615
  23. Chapter 19. Indo-European perfects in typological perspective 635
  24. Language Index 669
  25. Subject Index 675
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.352.07dah

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Editors’ foreword vii
  4. Abbreviations xi
  5. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  6. Chapter 2. The development of the perfect within IE verbal systems 15
  7. Chapter 3. Celtic past tenses past and present 49
  8. Chapter 4. The development of the perfect in selected Middle and New Germanic languages 95
  9. Chapter 5. Perfects in Baltic and Slavic 123
  10. Chapter 6. Paradigmatisation of the perfect and resultative in Tocharian 215
  11. Chapter 7. The synthetic perfect from Indo-Iranian to Late Vedic 245
  12. Chapter 8. The perfect in Middle and New Iranian languages 279
  13. Chapter 9. The perfect in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic 311
  14. Chapter 10. The perfect in Classical Armenian 351
  15. Chapter 11. The Hittite periphrastic perfect 377
  16. Chapter 12. The Gothic perfective constructions in contrast to West Germanic 411
  17. Chapter 13. The perfect system in Ancient Greek 435
  18. Chapter 14. The perfect in Medieval and Modern Greek 483
  19. Chapter 15. The perfect system of Old Albanian (Geg variety) 505
  20. Chapter 16. The perfect system in Latin 549
  21. Chapter 17. Calquing a quirk 591
  22. Chapter 18. The perfect in context in texts in English, Sistani Balochi and New Testament Greek 615
  23. Chapter 19. Indo-European perfects in typological perspective 635
  24. Language Index 669
  25. Subject Index 675
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