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
- 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
- 3.Discussion
- 4.Conclusion
- Notes
-
References
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Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
Dickey, Stephen M.
2024.
Russian aspect from a cognitive linguistic perspective.
Russian Linguistics 48:1
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