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Ablativus absolutus with the Perfect Participle: Grammatical Relations and Diathesis

  • Silvia Pieroni
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Exploring Latin: Structures, Functions, Meaning
This chapter is in the book Exploring Latin: Structures, Functions, Meaning

Abstract

As far as we know, the label ablativus absolutus was introduced in the 11th century by Alberic of Montecassino to designate the well-known Latin construction. Thereafter, the term absolutus has become a key-concept in metalinguistic descriptions, to refer both to the fact that the construction is not governed by a verb or a preposition and to the lack of coreference linkages to the matrix proposition. As has already been observed in several studies, however, coreference linkages between the nominal in the ablative and the arguments of the proposition are not ruled out. In particular, when the absolute construction includes the perfect participle of a transitive verb, its agent - in a wide sense - is fairly commonly coreferential with the subject of the matrix proposition. Starting from this observation, this paper questions the diathetic character of the ablativus absolutus with a perfect participle, both when the structure is transitive and when it is intransitive, as well as the related issue of the grammatical relation of the nominal involved. Some common assumptions are thus challenged, such as the passiveness of the absolute construction and the subjecthood of the nominal in the ablative. The paper concludes with a proposal for the description of the Latin ablativus absolutus with the perfect participle.

Abstract

As far as we know, the label ablativus absolutus was introduced in the 11th century by Alberic of Montecassino to designate the well-known Latin construction. Thereafter, the term absolutus has become a key-concept in metalinguistic descriptions, to refer both to the fact that the construction is not governed by a verb or a preposition and to the lack of coreference linkages to the matrix proposition. As has already been observed in several studies, however, coreference linkages between the nominal in the ablative and the arguments of the proposition are not ruled out. In particular, when the absolute construction includes the perfect participle of a transitive verb, its agent - in a wide sense - is fairly commonly coreferential with the subject of the matrix proposition. Starting from this observation, this paper questions the diathetic character of the ablativus absolutus with a perfect participle, both when the structure is transitive and when it is intransitive, as well as the related issue of the grammatical relation of the nominal involved. Some common assumptions are thus challenged, such as the passiveness of the absolute construction and the subjecthood of the nominal in the ablative. The paper concludes with a proposal for the description of the Latin ablativus absolutus with the perfect participle.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Volume I: Word
  5. Section 1: Phonology and Morphology
  6. Rix’s Law in Latin and the Etymology of īnfula ‘band, bandage’ 1
  7. Language Change across the Ancient Lifespan: Variation in the Genitive Singular of Second Declension io-stems in Ovid 15
  8. Marciana: A Case Study in Greek-Influenced Endings 31
  9. Nasal Presents in Latin between Root, Aspect and Actionality: A Nanosyntactic Account 49
  10. Verbs in -sc- between Inflection and Derivation. Lexicographic Representation and Theoretical Issues 67
  11. Section 2: Lexical Semantics
  12. Lexique et cognition en latin : la dénomination des catégories naturelles 85
  13. Las oposiciones privativas descubiertas en Praga y la tradición erudita latina 105
  14. Between Linguistics and Stylistics: Nominal Compounding and Literary Genre in Latin 121
  15. The Thing Is . . . : Observations on the Largest Noun in Latin, the Entry res in the Thesaurus linguae Latinae 139
  16. A New Approach to the Etymology of Latin testa ‘earthenware’ and tesca/tesqua ‘?’ 153
  17. Il lessico del vestiario nel glossario latino-greco degli Hermeneumata Celtis 167
  18. Enantiosemia in Latin: The Case of Lexemes Suffixed in -ōsus in the Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius 173
  19. Latin Blues: A Corpus-Based Investigation of caeruleus 189
  20. On the Evolution of Latin Motion Verbs. A View from Vindolanda 211
  21. Alternating Opinions. Latin Opinion Verbs at the Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface of Non-Prototypical Transitivity 229
  22. Light Verbs and Aktionsart: A Case Study 247
  23. Contributing to a New Database on Valency Classes with Latin Data. Challenges and Perspectives 263
  24. The Prefix circum- and the Locative Alternation in Latin: The Case of circumdo 283
  25. Drawing the Comitative Area: The Semantic Network of co(-m/-n/-r/-l)-/cum in Plautus 299
  26. Caught in Between: A Synchronic and Diachronic Account of inter- Prefixation in Latin 317
  27. Inversive re-. How to Undo an Action 339
  28. Sull’etimologia del lat. ballo e del gr. βαλλίζω (con integrazioni sugli esiti romanzi di denso / addenso e su alcuni termini greci per indicare la danza) 357
  29. Volume II: Clause and Discourse
  30. Section 3: Syntax and Semantics
  31. Lepidus vivis: Semantic Content and Functional Gradation in Secondary Predicates 373
  32. Ablativus absolutus with the Perfect Participle: Grammatical Relations and Diathesis 399
  33. Latin Constructions sum + Present Participle: Pragmatic and Syntactic Evidence against the Periphrastic Analysis 415
  34. L’évolution de la négation entre double négation (DN) et concordance négative (NC) dans les langues anciennes et modernes 433
  35. Ita ou sic corrélatifs de complétives 451
  36. L’insertion syntaxique d’un constituant nominal dans la comparaison similative 467
  37. Présentations différentes d’un contenu sémantique en latin : la synonymie syntaxique au niveau du syntagme et au niveau de la proposition 487
  38. “Valenzmisere” and Latin Syntax and Semantics 499
  39. LASLA-SynthIA, a New Tool to Study Latin Word Order: the Case-Study of the Left- and Right-Dislocations in the Pro Roscio Amerino 517
  40. “Long-Distance Hyperbaton”: A Case Study based on Cicero’s Orations 527
  41. Section 4: Text Structure and Pragmatics
  42. Nunc age . . . expediam: A Didactic Introductory Construction in Virgil’s Poetry 549
  43. Per exempla: The Forms and Uses of Example Markers in Latin 565
  44. Apte dicere. Epistemic Phrases and Facework in Cicero’s Oratorical Works 583
  45. ¿Cómo pedir humildemente? La perífrasis dignari + infinitivo 597
  46. The Sequence [subject + verb sum + aliquid/ nihil subject complement]: A Comparative Study while Analysing an Ovidian Textual Motif 615
  47. Translatio facta: Pomponius Porphyrio on the Comprehension and Production of Metaphors 641
  48. Section 5: Conversation and Dialogue
  49. The Quotative inquit as a Device of Speech Segmentation in the Roman Novel 661
  50. (Story)telling in the Latin Novel and Epigram 679
  51. Continuations by Others 703
  52. Movenda iam sunt bella: Persuasion in Juno’s Prologue to Hercules Furens 721
  53. Pro di immortales! Invocations and Oaths as Interjections 739
  54. Semantic Diversity and Conversational Potential of faxo in the Language of Roman Comedy 757
  55. Section 6: Epigraphy
  56. Fecit curavit: A Micro-Contextual Approach to Epigraphic Formulae and Textual Variation in Latin Inscriptions 775
  57. Divodurum Vulgare: Linguistic Change and Cultural Integration in the Vulgar Latin Inscriptions of Divodurum (Metz) 789
  58. Index 805
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111332956-024

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Volume I: Word
  5. Section 1: Phonology and Morphology
  6. Rix’s Law in Latin and the Etymology of īnfula ‘band, bandage’ 1
  7. Language Change across the Ancient Lifespan: Variation in the Genitive Singular of Second Declension io-stems in Ovid 15
  8. Marciana: A Case Study in Greek-Influenced Endings 31
  9. Nasal Presents in Latin between Root, Aspect and Actionality: A Nanosyntactic Account 49
  10. Verbs in -sc- between Inflection and Derivation. Lexicographic Representation and Theoretical Issues 67
  11. Section 2: Lexical Semantics
  12. Lexique et cognition en latin : la dénomination des catégories naturelles 85
  13. Las oposiciones privativas descubiertas en Praga y la tradición erudita latina 105
  14. Between Linguistics and Stylistics: Nominal Compounding and Literary Genre in Latin 121
  15. The Thing Is . . . : Observations on the Largest Noun in Latin, the Entry res in the Thesaurus linguae Latinae 139
  16. A New Approach to the Etymology of Latin testa ‘earthenware’ and tesca/tesqua ‘?’ 153
  17. Il lessico del vestiario nel glossario latino-greco degli Hermeneumata Celtis 167
  18. Enantiosemia in Latin: The Case of Lexemes Suffixed in -ōsus in the Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius 173
  19. Latin Blues: A Corpus-Based Investigation of caeruleus 189
  20. On the Evolution of Latin Motion Verbs. A View from Vindolanda 211
  21. Alternating Opinions. Latin Opinion Verbs at the Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface of Non-Prototypical Transitivity 229
  22. Light Verbs and Aktionsart: A Case Study 247
  23. Contributing to a New Database on Valency Classes with Latin Data. Challenges and Perspectives 263
  24. The Prefix circum- and the Locative Alternation in Latin: The Case of circumdo 283
  25. Drawing the Comitative Area: The Semantic Network of co(-m/-n/-r/-l)-/cum in Plautus 299
  26. Caught in Between: A Synchronic and Diachronic Account of inter- Prefixation in Latin 317
  27. Inversive re-. How to Undo an Action 339
  28. Sull’etimologia del lat. ballo e del gr. βαλλίζω (con integrazioni sugli esiti romanzi di denso / addenso e su alcuni termini greci per indicare la danza) 357
  29. Volume II: Clause and Discourse
  30. Section 3: Syntax and Semantics
  31. Lepidus vivis: Semantic Content and Functional Gradation in Secondary Predicates 373
  32. Ablativus absolutus with the Perfect Participle: Grammatical Relations and Diathesis 399
  33. Latin Constructions sum + Present Participle: Pragmatic and Syntactic Evidence against the Periphrastic Analysis 415
  34. L’évolution de la négation entre double négation (DN) et concordance négative (NC) dans les langues anciennes et modernes 433
  35. Ita ou sic corrélatifs de complétives 451
  36. L’insertion syntaxique d’un constituant nominal dans la comparaison similative 467
  37. Présentations différentes d’un contenu sémantique en latin : la synonymie syntaxique au niveau du syntagme et au niveau de la proposition 487
  38. “Valenzmisere” and Latin Syntax and Semantics 499
  39. LASLA-SynthIA, a New Tool to Study Latin Word Order: the Case-Study of the Left- and Right-Dislocations in the Pro Roscio Amerino 517
  40. “Long-Distance Hyperbaton”: A Case Study based on Cicero’s Orations 527
  41. Section 4: Text Structure and Pragmatics
  42. Nunc age . . . expediam: A Didactic Introductory Construction in Virgil’s Poetry 549
  43. Per exempla: The Forms and Uses of Example Markers in Latin 565
  44. Apte dicere. Epistemic Phrases and Facework in Cicero’s Oratorical Works 583
  45. ¿Cómo pedir humildemente? La perífrasis dignari + infinitivo 597
  46. The Sequence [subject + verb sum + aliquid/ nihil subject complement]: A Comparative Study while Analysing an Ovidian Textual Motif 615
  47. Translatio facta: Pomponius Porphyrio on the Comprehension and Production of Metaphors 641
  48. Section 5: Conversation and Dialogue
  49. The Quotative inquit as a Device of Speech Segmentation in the Roman Novel 661
  50. (Story)telling in the Latin Novel and Epigram 679
  51. Continuations by Others 703
  52. Movenda iam sunt bella: Persuasion in Juno’s Prologue to Hercules Furens 721
  53. Pro di immortales! Invocations and Oaths as Interjections 739
  54. Semantic Diversity and Conversational Potential of faxo in the Language of Roman Comedy 757
  55. Section 6: Epigraphy
  56. Fecit curavit: A Micro-Contextual Approach to Epigraphic Formulae and Textual Variation in Latin Inscriptions 775
  57. Divodurum Vulgare: Linguistic Change and Cultural Integration in the Vulgar Latin Inscriptions of Divodurum (Metz) 789
  58. Index 805
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