Directionality, case and actionality in Hittite

In addition to their role with regard to lexical aspect and verb semantics, the Hittite enclitic particles -san and -kan play an important role in interplay with local adverbs and case. We will show that the directional function of lative -san, when referring to goal and directed path, and of punctual -kan, when it causes limitation to an initial point of a motion and refers to source, both specify the semantic content of combinations of local adverbs/preverbs and verbs in a way that corresponds to categories of mode as defined by Kracht in his studies of semantics of locatives and directionality selection. A contrastive analysis of Latin local adverbs and Hittite local and directional adverbs/preverbs as they co-occur with -san or -kan sheds light on the entire range of functions of the two particles in Middle Hittite and the rapid changes in their use throughout the phases of Hittite language history.