3 Complex adpositions in Slavic languages: The case of Serbian
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Dejan Stosic
Abstract
The chapter offers an illustration of the adpositional systems of Slavic languages through both an overview of simple adpositions and an in-depth study of complex adpositions in Serbian, a South-Slavic language. Using a broad definition of complex adpositions, which can be considered as multi-word functional equivalents of simple adpositions, I first provide an inventory of four hundred expressions which, while displaying variable degrees of fossilization, constitute the empirical basis for this work. This then allows me to point out that their formation follows up to twenty different patterns, and that the vast majority of them involve four construction schemas, with one highly productive pattern forming about 70% of complex adpositions in Serbian, namely [P1 N] (e.g. u okviru ‘in the framework/scope of’). Finally, a quantitative, corpus-based analysis confirms that, as in other European languages, the class of complex adpositions in Serbian is to be thought of as a continuum between sequences that are formally coalesced and semantically rather opaque, and those that exhibit a certain degree of transparency.
Abstract
The chapter offers an illustration of the adpositional systems of Slavic languages through both an overview of simple adpositions and an in-depth study of complex adpositions in Serbian, a South-Slavic language. Using a broad definition of complex adpositions, which can be considered as multi-word functional equivalents of simple adpositions, I first provide an inventory of four hundred expressions which, while displaying variable degrees of fossilization, constitute the empirical basis for this work. This then allows me to point out that their formation follows up to twenty different patterns, and that the vast majority of them involve four construction schemas, with one highly productive pattern forming about 70% of complex adpositions in Serbian, namely [P1 N] (e.g. u okviru ‘in the framework/scope of’). Finally, a quantitative, corpus-based analysis confirms that, as in other European languages, the class of complex adpositions in Serbian is to be thought of as a continuum between sequences that are formally coalesced and semantically rather opaque, and those that exhibit a certain degree of transparency.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction: Complex adpositions and complex nominal relators 1
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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
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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
