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Article published In:
Languages in Contrast
Vol. 18:2 (2018) ► pp.252–282

The verbal prefix u- in Croatian and Bulgarian

| University of Oslo (Norway)
| Shumen University (Bulgaria)

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.

Keywords: verbal prefixes, prefixal semantics, the prefix u-, Bulgarian / Croatian
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
  • 3.Discussion
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 4 December 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.16015.sar
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