7 What makes a complex postposition: The cyclic development of postpositions in Estonian
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Anni Jürine
Abstract
The paper gives an overview of complex adpositions (CAs) in Estonian with a special focus on complex postpositions (CPOs). The development of CPOs in Estonian is a process still in its early stages and has (thus) so far received very little attention. However, in available previous research, CPOs have been claimed to have the following characteristics: unit interpretation, desemanticization, decategorialization, and extension to new contexts. These characteristics, which are also observed in many other accounts of CAs, may be used as criteria to distinguish Estonian CPOs from their source form (the simple postpositional phrase). As there are many parallels in the development of complex and simple postpositions in Estonian, the present paper observes these characteristics in CPOs against the backdrop of functional and formal properties of simple postpositions. The results indicate that the development of the simple and the complex structure share a number of characteristics, including the stage of lexicalization, which is argued to be vital for emerging of new function words in Estonian. It is suggested that the development of CPOs can be viewed as an instance of ‘recycling grammar’ - a recurrent phenomenon where new complex grammatical items develop as a result of lexical and grammatical components merging together.
Abstract
The paper gives an overview of complex adpositions (CAs) in Estonian with a special focus on complex postpositions (CPOs). The development of CPOs in Estonian is a process still in its early stages and has (thus) so far received very little attention. However, in available previous research, CPOs have been claimed to have the following characteristics: unit interpretation, desemanticization, decategorialization, and extension to new contexts. These characteristics, which are also observed in many other accounts of CAs, may be used as criteria to distinguish Estonian CPOs from their source form (the simple postpositional phrase). As there are many parallels in the development of complex and simple postpositions in Estonian, the present paper observes these characteristics in CPOs against the backdrop of functional and formal properties of simple postpositions. The results indicate that the development of the simple and the complex structure share a number of characteristics, including the stage of lexicalization, which is argued to be vital for emerging of new function words in Estonian. It is suggested that the development of CPOs can be viewed as an instance of ‘recycling grammar’ - a recurrent phenomenon where new complex grammatical items develop as a result of lexical and grammatical components merging together.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction: Complex adpositions and complex nominal relators 1
-
Indo-European language families & isolates
- 1 Complex adpositions in Romance: Emergence and variation 33
- 2 Complex adpositions in three West Germanic Languages: German, Dutch, and English 65
- 3 Complex adpositions in Slavic languages: The case of Serbian 139
- 4 Complex prepositions in Breton 195
- 5 On complex adpositions in Modern Greek 233
- 6 Complex prepositions in Albanian: A first assessment 265
-
Non Indo-European languages
- 7 What makes a complex postposition: The cyclic development of postpositions in Estonian 299
- 8 Complex and simple postpositions: The split in Permic 335
- 9 Case marking and complex adpositions in Basque 367
- 10 Structure and origin of Turkish adpositions 403
- 11 A chapter on compound prepositions in Maltese: prep-prep combinations and related issues 439
-
Discussion
- 12 Complex adpositions in Europe and beyond: A synthesis 473
- Index 497
- Language Index 501
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction: Complex adpositions and complex nominal relators 1
-
Indo-European language families & isolates
- 1 Complex adpositions in Romance: Emergence and variation 33
- 2 Complex adpositions in three West Germanic Languages: German, Dutch, and English 65
- 3 Complex adpositions in Slavic languages: The case of Serbian 139
- 4 Complex prepositions in Breton 195
- 5 On complex adpositions in Modern Greek 233
- 6 Complex prepositions in Albanian: A first assessment 265
-
Non Indo-European languages
- 7 What makes a complex postposition: The cyclic development of postpositions in Estonian 299
- 8 Complex and simple postpositions: The split in Permic 335
- 9 Case marking and complex adpositions in Basque 367
- 10 Structure and origin of Turkish adpositions 403
- 11 A chapter on compound prepositions in Maltese: prep-prep combinations and related issues 439
-
Discussion
- 12 Complex adpositions in Europe and beyond: A synthesis 473
- Index 497
- Language Index 501
