The accusativus cum infinitivo in 16th–19th century Croatian texts. Contact-induced and internally motivated syntactic change
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Sanja Perić Gavrančić
Abstract
The focus of this paper is on the occurrence and origin of the accusativus cum infinitivo (AcI) construction, which was used as a syntactic equivalent of the declarative clause in the pre-standard period of the Croatian language. After a short overview of the status of this construction in the Classical, Medieval and Neo-Latin periods, confirmations of the AcI syntactic pattern in Croatian writings have been observed in texts translated directly from Latin templates. A separate analysis has been conducted on the texts initially written in the vernacular, in which the occurrence of the AcI construction is not necessarily conditioned by the adherence to the Latin syntactic pattern. The analysis has revealed that the AcI construction has not only been reproduced in translated, but has also been adopted in original Croatian writings. It seems that these adoptions are predominantly governed by verba sentiendi and the verb činiti ‘make’ followed by a causative AcI complement. The rise of this construction in the texts originally written in Croatian appears to be the result of externally motivated language change induced by sociolinguistic circumstances. Conversely, the restructuring of the genuine Latin AcI construction and its limited usage, restricted to the abovementioned matrix verb groups, can be interpreted as an internally motivated syntactic change.
Abstract
The focus of this paper is on the occurrence and origin of the accusativus cum infinitivo (AcI) construction, which was used as a syntactic equivalent of the declarative clause in the pre-standard period of the Croatian language. After a short overview of the status of this construction in the Classical, Medieval and Neo-Latin periods, confirmations of the AcI syntactic pattern in Croatian writings have been observed in texts translated directly from Latin templates. A separate analysis has been conducted on the texts initially written in the vernacular, in which the occurrence of the AcI construction is not necessarily conditioned by the adherence to the Latin syntactic pattern. The analysis has revealed that the AcI construction has not only been reproduced in translated, but has also been adopted in original Croatian writings. It seems that these adoptions are predominantly governed by verba sentiendi and the verb činiti ‘make’ followed by a causative AcI complement. The rise of this construction in the texts originally written in Croatian appears to be the result of externally motivated language change induced by sociolinguistic circumstances. Conversely, the restructuring of the genuine Latin AcI construction and its limited usage, restricted to the abovementioned matrix verb groups, can be interpreted as an internally motivated syntactic change.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- Glossing IX
- Introduction 1
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Part I: The influence of Latin on Slavonic vernaculars
- The paths of grammaticalization of North Slavonic connectors. An interface point of Slavonic, Greek and Latin 11
- The influence of Latin on the syntax of Old Polish numerals 37
- The influence of the Latin Vulgate on the word order of pronominal enclitics in the 1st edition of the Old Czech Bible 53
- The accusativus cum infinitivo in 16th–19th century Croatian texts. Contact-induced and internally motivated syntactic change 81
- Relative coordination. Kateri-/koteri-relatives in 18th century Slovene and Kajkavian 107
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Part II: The influence of Greek on Church Slavonic
- Blocking of syntactic constructions without Greek counterparts in Church Slavonic 133
- The article-like usage of the relative pronoun iže as an indicator of early Slavonic grammatical thinking 163
- Past tense usage in Old Russian performative formulae. A case study into the development of a written language of distance 179
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Part III: The influence of Latin on Church Slavonic
- When Church Slavonic meets Latin. Tradition vs. innovation 201
- Non-strict negative concord proper and languages in contact. Translating Latin into Croatian Church Slavonic and Greek into Old Church Slavonic 233
-
Part IV: In lieu of a conclusion
- First attestations. An Old Church Slavonic sampler 255
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- Glossing IX
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: The influence of Latin on Slavonic vernaculars
- The paths of grammaticalization of North Slavonic connectors. An interface point of Slavonic, Greek and Latin 11
- The influence of Latin on the syntax of Old Polish numerals 37
- The influence of the Latin Vulgate on the word order of pronominal enclitics in the 1st edition of the Old Czech Bible 53
- The accusativus cum infinitivo in 16th–19th century Croatian texts. Contact-induced and internally motivated syntactic change 81
- Relative coordination. Kateri-/koteri-relatives in 18th century Slovene and Kajkavian 107
-
Part II: The influence of Greek on Church Slavonic
- Blocking of syntactic constructions without Greek counterparts in Church Slavonic 133
- The article-like usage of the relative pronoun iže as an indicator of early Slavonic grammatical thinking 163
- Past tense usage in Old Russian performative formulae. A case study into the development of a written language of distance 179
-
Part III: The influence of Latin on Church Slavonic
- When Church Slavonic meets Latin. Tradition vs. innovation 201
- Non-strict negative concord proper and languages in contact. Translating Latin into Croatian Church Slavonic and Greek into Old Church Slavonic 233
-
Part IV: In lieu of a conclusion
- First attestations. An Old Church Slavonic sampler 255
- Index 303
