Ablative and allative marking of static locations
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Tatiana Nikitina
Abstract
The study addresses the diachronic relationship between locative marking and the marking of goals and sources of motion. In ancient Indo-European languages, and in some modern ones, static spatial relations can be described by means of inherently dynamic expressions, which are normally used for encoding Goals and Sources (as in tothe left of the door). I suggest that this strategy presents an alternative to the use of rich systems of spatial prepositions specialized for encoding particular configurations. Its use pre-dates the development of basic spatial prepositions, which came to replace, in Indo-European languages, directional adverbs (sometimes also described as particles). The directional adverbs played a prominent role in the encoding of spatial notions in ancient languages. After they were reanalyzed as spatial prepositions and verbal prefixes, the directional strategy continued to be used for the expression of peripheral spatial meanings, for which no prepositional expression had developed. I illustrate this phenomenon with data from Ancient Greek and Modern Russian, and discuss how it can explain the data commonly described by the somewhat mysterious term “ablative-locative transfer”.
Abstract
The study addresses the diachronic relationship between locative marking and the marking of goals and sources of motion. In ancient Indo-European languages, and in some modern ones, static spatial relations can be described by means of inherently dynamic expressions, which are normally used for encoding Goals and Sources (as in tothe left of the door). I suggest that this strategy presents an alternative to the use of rich systems of spatial prepositions specialized for encoding particular configurations. Its use pre-dates the development of basic spatial prepositions, which came to replace, in Indo-European languages, directional adverbs (sometimes also described as particles). The directional adverbs played a prominent role in the encoding of spatial notions in ancient languages. After they were reanalyzed as spatial prepositions and verbal prefixes, the directional strategy continued to be used for the expression of peripheral spatial meanings, for which no prepositional expression had developed. I illustrate this phenomenon with data from Ancient Greek and Modern Russian, and discuss how it can explain the data commonly described by the somewhat mysterious term “ablative-locative transfer”.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Abbreviations vii
- Space in Diachrony xi
- The goal-over-source principle in European languages 1
- Overlaps in spatial encodings 41
- Ablative and allative marking of static locations 67
- How should a “classical” Satellite-Framed Language behave? 95
- Differential Goal marking vs. differential Source marking in Ancient Greek 119
- New evidence for the Source–Goal asymmetry 147
- A diachronic take on the Source–Goal asymmetry 179
- Spatial interrogatives 207
- Asymmetries between Goal and Source prefixes in Spanish 241
- Asymmetries in path encoding in Sicilian 281
- Source-oriented and Goal-oriented events in Old and Modern French 305
- Source-Location ambiguity and incipient decline in the recent evolution of the English directional particle away 329
- Prepositional phrase vs. bare instrumental 347
- Language index 369
- Subject index 371
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Abbreviations vii
- Space in Diachrony xi
- The goal-over-source principle in European languages 1
- Overlaps in spatial encodings 41
- Ablative and allative marking of static locations 67
- How should a “classical” Satellite-Framed Language behave? 95
- Differential Goal marking vs. differential Source marking in Ancient Greek 119
- New evidence for the Source–Goal asymmetry 147
- A diachronic take on the Source–Goal asymmetry 179
- Spatial interrogatives 207
- Asymmetries between Goal and Source prefixes in Spanish 241
- Asymmetries in path encoding in Sicilian 281
- Source-oriented and Goal-oriented events in Old and Modern French 305
- Source-Location ambiguity and incipient decline in the recent evolution of the English directional particle away 329
- Prepositional phrase vs. bare instrumental 347
- Language index 369
- Subject index 371
