Aspectual properties of the verbal prefix a - in Old English with reference to Gothic
-
Vlatko Broz
Abstract
This paper is a corpus-based study of the Old English verbal prefix a- which is no longer productive in English today, but survives in a few lexical relics such as arise, awake or ashamed. After a brief discussion of previous research and the etymology of this prefix, the paper investigates a range of meanings and functions that the verbal prefix a- had in early English, showing that it was in an advanced stage of grammaticalisation and that its primary function was to express perfective aspect. The prefix is contrasted with its cognate in Gothic, as well as its equivalents in Modern English and Croatian, a Slavic language that marks aspect morphologically.
Abstract
This paper is a corpus-based study of the Old English verbal prefix a- which is no longer productive in English today, but survives in a few lexical relics such as arise, awake or ashamed. After a brief discussion of previous research and the etymology of this prefix, the paper investigates a range of meanings and functions that the verbal prefix a- had in early English, showing that it was in an advanced stage of grammaticalisation and that its primary function was to express perfective aspect. The prefix is contrasted with its cognate in Gothic, as well as its equivalents in Modern English and Croatian, a Slavic language that marks aspect morphologically.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- * haitan in Gothic and Old English 17
- Incipient Grammaticalisation 41
- Passive auxiliaries in English and German 71
- Causative habban in Old English 101
- Remembering ( ge)munan 127
- The emergence of modal meanings from haben with zu -infinitives in Old High German 151
- Hearsay and lexical evidentials in Old Germanic languages, with focus on Old English 169
- Markers of Futurity in Old High German and Old English 195
- The Verb to be in the West Saxon Gospels and the Lindisfarne Gospels 217
- Aspectual properties of the verbal prefix a - in Old English with reference to Gothic 235
- Þǣr wæs vs. thâr was 263
- On gain and loss of verbal categories in language contact 289
- Index 313
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- * haitan in Gothic and Old English 17
- Incipient Grammaticalisation 41
- Passive auxiliaries in English and German 71
- Causative habban in Old English 101
- Remembering ( ge)munan 127
- The emergence of modal meanings from haben with zu -infinitives in Old High German 151
- Hearsay and lexical evidentials in Old Germanic languages, with focus on Old English 169
- Markers of Futurity in Old High German and Old English 195
- The Verb to be in the West Saxon Gospels and the Lindisfarne Gospels 217
- Aspectual properties of the verbal prefix a - in Old English with reference to Gothic 235
- Þǣr wæs vs. thâr was 263
- On gain and loss of verbal categories in language contact 289
- Index 313
