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Fir vs. eser

A morpho-syntactic change in Old Venetan vernaculars

 | University of Padova
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Abstract
This paper investigates the alternation between the auxiliaries eser (< lat. esse) and fir (< lat. fiĕri) of passive constructions, widely displayed in Old Venetan vernaculars. I will show that crossdialectal and diachronic microvariation is observable in the documentation from Venice, Padua and Verona: in the second half of the 14th cent. an innovation started from Venice and Padua led eser, initially constrained to stative predicates, to overlap with fir, ousting the latter to marginal functions. Following the principles of Nanosyntax, I will show that fir ceased to prevail as the unmarked auxiliary for eventive contexts when passive constructions with perfective value were no longer related to stative-resultative meaning. The trend is thus interpreted as the reflex of a change in the way passive voice was aligned with the properties of aspect.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Origin and development of fir
    • 1.2The distribution
  • 2.A fine-grained distinction reveals diachronic and areal change
    • 2.1Morphology
    • 2.2Argument structure
    • 2.3Aspect and Aktionsart
    • 2.4Textual properties
    • 2.5Summary
  • 3.Neutralization between fir and eser: Action and aspect
  • 4.A morpho-syntactic change
  • Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
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