Vol. 18:2 (2018) ► pp.252–282
The verbal prefix u- in Croatian and Bulgarian
This study compares the semantic networks of the verbal prefix u- in two South Slavic languages, Bulgarian (blg.) and Croatian (cro.), in a cognitive linguistics framework using two databases of prefixed verbs drawn from dictionaries and corpora. We point to similarities and overlapping categories in the semantic networks of u- in blg. and cro., as well as to differences. When accounting for the differences, we consider prefixes semantically similar to u- (within one language and in both languages) that combine with the same base verbs forming either prefixed near-synonyms (e.g., blg. uvehna, zavehna, izvehna ‘wither, fade’; cro. umastiti, omastiti, zamastiti ‘grease, stain’) or prefixed verbs that are only seemingly near-synonyms (e.g., blg. ukaža ‘indicate, show’, okaža se ‘turn out’; cro. ocrniti ‘denigrate, slander’, ucrniti (se) ‘color black, wear black’). We examine how the meaning networks of individual semantically related prefixes (e.g., u- and za-, iz-) overlap within one language and across the two languages, as well as how different construals of the same event affect the prefix choice.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1The prefix u- in Slavic
- 1.2 U- verbs and aspect
- 1.3Data
- 2.The semantic network of Bulgarian and Croatian u- verbs
- 2.1
into schema
- 2.1.1 move/put into
- 2.1.2 move/put into a metaphorical container
- 2.1.3 cover/wrap
- 2.1.4 gain/save
- 2.1.5 target/direct
- 2.1.6 adjust
- 2.1.7 Perceive
- 2.2
Away schema
- 2.2.1 Move away
- 2.2.2 Metaphorical move away – reduce/disappear/lessen
- 2.2.3
Move downwards
- Harm (die, kill)
- 2.2.4 Overdo / move away from a norm
- 2.2.5 Catch
- 2.3Abstract meanings linked to both into and away
- 2.3.1 Affect
- 2.3.2 Change of physical/emotional state
- 2.1
into schema
- 3.Discussion
- 4.Conclusion
- Notes
-
References
https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.16015.sar
References
Corpora
[Last accessed 9 April 2016]