Abstract
Morphemes that encode the semantic role of Beneficiary display complex patterns of polysemy. Such patterns have arisen through diachronic processes which are for the most part still unexplored. In the paper I discuss common assumptions about the directionality of semantic extension and about expected and unexpected polysemies. I show that, next to the often mentioned polysemy of Beneficiary, Recipient, Purpose and Direction, another frequent pattern includes Beneficiary, Purpose and Cause. Morphemes that exhibit such polysemy have original spatial meanings which include Location or Path, but not Direction. Notably, such original spatial meanings have been dropped in the course of semantic developments described in the paper. After discussing some well-attested diachronic developments, I show that, at least in the languages of Europe, markers of Beneficiary, Purpose, and Cause underwent an unpredicted semantic extension that led them to also indicate Direction. Such extension provides evidence for a rare development that has led a concrete spatial concept to be denoted by a morpheme that had an abstract meaning.
Acknowledgments
I thank Anton Antonov, Eitan Grossman, Seppo Kittilä, and two anonymous reviewers for useful comments on the content and style of this paper. All of the usual disclaimers apply.
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Appendix: Abbreviations
- 1
first person
- 2
second person
- 3
third person
- I
set I cross-referencing affix (Laz)
- II
set II cross-referencing affix (Laz)
- abl
ablative
- acc
accusative
- add
additive
- all
allative
- ant
anterior
- aor
aorist
- art
article
- aux
auxiliary
- b
noun class agreement marker
(Chechen)
- ben
beneficiary
- caus
causative
- coe
coenunciation
- comp
complementizer
- cop
copula
- cvb
converb
- dat
dat
- dem
demonstrative
- det
determiner
- dir
directive
- erg
ergative
- evd
evidential
- f
feminine
- fut
future
- gen
genitive
- gndv
gerundive
- imp
imperative
- impf
imperfect
- indf
indefinite
- inf
infinitive
- int
interrogative
- j
noun class agreement marker
(Chechen)
- loc
locative
- m
masculine
- m/p
medio-passive
- mid
middle
- neg
negation
- nom
nominative
- p
passive
- pf
perfect
- pl
plural
- poss
possessive
- ppf
pluperfect
- prs
present
- pst
past
- ptc
particle
- ptcp
participle
- pv
preverb
- quot
quotative
- refl
reflexive
- rel
relative
- sbjv
subjunctive
- sg
singular
- sup
supine
- ths
thematic suffix
- tr
transitive
- val1
valency operator 1
- val3
valency operator 3
- val5
valency operator 5
©2016 by De Gruyter Mouton
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- The development of iterative verbal periphrases in Romance
- Interfaces between linguistic systems: Evidence from Child Language
- Against Isomorphism and the Maxim of Charity in child language acquisition: Implications for the validity of the TVJT methodology
- The mapping of space onto the domain of benefaction and some unpredicted trends in semantic change
- Investigating language change using Anglo-Norman spoken and written register data
- On the possibility of proper verbs
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- The development of iterative verbal periphrases in Romance
- Interfaces between linguistic systems: Evidence from Child Language
- Against Isomorphism and the Maxim of Charity in child language acquisition: Implications for the validity of the TVJT methodology
- The mapping of space onto the domain of benefaction and some unpredicted trends in semantic change
- Investigating language change using Anglo-Norman spoken and written register data
- On the possibility of proper verbs