Skip to main content
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Mihi est from Brythonic to Breton I

  • EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: November 9, 2020
Indogermanische Forschungen
From the journal Indogermanische Forschungen Volume 125 Issue 1

Abstract

Middle Breton (MB) presents a singular anomaly of pronominal argument coding. Objects are accusative proclitics save in two constructions, where coding is split by person: 3rd unique enclitics ~ 1st/2nd accusative proclitics. The constructions are HAVE, from Insular Celtic mihi est, where the new coding replaces inflectional nominatives (cf. Latin mihi est ~ sunt); and imperatives, where it replaces accusative enclitics in V1 (cf. French aide-moi ~ ne m’aide pas). The evolution is traced in light of a crosslinguistic construction type that suggests its nature, noncanonical subject + 3rd nominative ~ 1st/2nd accusative object. Part I: (1) Decomposition of HAVE as dative clitic + BE from Brythonic throughout “conservative” varieties of Breton. (2) Breton-Cornish innovation of nonclitic datives for mihi est and their subjecthood. Part II: (3) Brythonic unavailibility of mesoclisis in V1 and Breton-Cornish nonagreement with nominative objects, resulting in independent > enclitic pronouns for accusative objects of imperatives and nominative objects of mihi est. (4) MB alignment of imperatives with mihi est in 3rd person, restriction on nominative enclitics, and recruitment of 1st/2nd person accusative proclitics upon loss of mesoclisis. (5) Transition to accusative objects in “innovative” varieties and subject-object case interactions.

Keywords: mihi est; oblique subjects; nominative objects; person restrictions; case theory; proclisis-enclisis alternations; Breton; Cornish; Brythonic
Online erschienen: 2020-11-09
Erschienen im Druck: 2020-11-01

© 2020 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Titelei
  2. Inhalt
  3. Gr. ἀρτιεπής, ved. ṛtvíya‑ vā́k‑, jav. raϑβiiavacah‑
  4. Gr. σφήξ ‚Wespe‘ und uridg. *(s)bʰeh₁gʰ-
  5. Greek ἅρπαξ ‘robber; robbery’
  6. The last verse of the Middle Phrygian epigram from Dokimeion
  7. History of the Albanian present suffix ‑i/‑ën from Proto-Indo-European to the modern dialects
  8. Slavic *ljuby and the heterogeneity of the inflectional class in *‑y
  9. Meta-Tatian
  10. Habitual auxiliaries in Ancient Greek
  11. The nominative/vocative plural of Vedic masculine a-stems in complex nominal expressions
  12. Zur Entwicklung von ἑκὼν εἶναι im Altgriechischen
  13. Urindogermanische Lehnwörter in den uralischen und finno-ugrischen Grundsprachen
  14. Syntax of the Hittite infinitive
  15. Mihi est from Brythonic to Breton I
https://doi.org/10.1515/if-2020-013
Keywords for this article
mihi est; oblique subjects; nominative objects; person restrictions; case theory; proclisis-enclisis alternations; Breton; Cornish; Brythonic

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Titelei
  2. Inhalt
  3. Gr. ἀρτιεπής, ved. ṛtvíya‑ vā́k‑, jav. raϑβiiavacah‑
  4. Gr. σφήξ ‚Wespe‘ und uridg. *(s)bʰeh₁gʰ-
  5. Greek ἅρπαξ ‘robber; robbery’
  6. The last verse of the Middle Phrygian epigram from Dokimeion
  7. History of the Albanian present suffix ‑i/‑ën from Proto-Indo-European to the modern dialects
  8. Slavic *ljuby and the heterogeneity of the inflectional class in *‑y
  9. Meta-Tatian
  10. Habitual auxiliaries in Ancient Greek
  11. The nominative/vocative plural of Vedic masculine a-stems in complex nominal expressions
  12. Zur Entwicklung von ἑκὼν εἶναι im Altgriechischen
  13. Urindogermanische Lehnwörter in den uralischen und finno-ugrischen Grundsprachen
  14. Syntax of the Hittite infinitive
  15. Mihi est from Brythonic to Breton I
Downloaded on 1.5.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/if-2020-013/html?lang=en
Scroll to top button