This chapter discusses second argument markers in Bohairic Coptic complex verbs constructed with the light verbs er‑ ‘do, make’ and ti- ‘give’ and typically used to integrate verbal borrowings from Greek. The question is examined if Coptic argument marking can be considered a replica of Greek valency patterns. Enhancement of already existing marking strategies seems more plausible, however, whereby the rise of complex verbs has contributed to a radical restructuring of the transitivity system in Coptic. Two competing subsystems of transitivity are distinguished: a recessive one characterized by head marking and emphasis on the discriminating function of case and a productive one in which the characterizing function of case becomes prominent thanks to dependent marking by means of a preposition.
Article outline
1.Subject and aims of the present chapter
2.Structure of the chapter
3.Introduction
3.1Basic information about Egyptian-Coptic and the corpus examined
3.2Egyptian and Greek in contact
3.3Case: some preliminaries
3.3.1Case, its marking and its functions
3.3.2Case and language contact
3.3.3Case in Ancient Greek
4.Complex verbs and their arguments in Bohairic Coptic
4.1Formation strategies of complex verbs
4.2Complex verbs and their valency: An overview
4.3Greek valency patterns in Coptic?
4.4Discussion
5.Conclusions: Two subsystems of transitivity in Bohairic Coptic
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Fendel, Victoria Beatrix
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2022. List of Abbreviations. In Coptic Interference in the Syntax of Greek Letters from Egypt, ► pp. xi ff.
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