Acedo-Matellán & Mateu (2013). Satellite-framed Latin vs. verb-framed Romace: A syntactic approach

12 gener, 2013

Autors:

V. Acedo-Matellán & J. Mateu

Títol:

Probus, International Journal of Latin and Romance Linguistics

Editorial: De Gruyter
Data de publicació: Gener del 2013
ISBN13: https://doi.org/10.1515/probus-2013-0008

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In this paper we are interested in the relation between two facts accompanying the diachronic change from Latin to Romance within the domain of the morphological and argument-structural properties of the predicates expressing change. On the one hand, the element encoding the transition itself, which we call the Path, and the verb are realised as two distinct morphemes in Latin, but as one and the same morpheme in the daughter languages: in Talmy's (2000) terms, the former is a satellite-framed language and the latter are verb-framed languages. On the other hand, there is a whole range of argument-structural patterns which are found in Latin but not in Romance: unselected object constructions, complex directed motion constructions, productive locative alternation, etc. We show, within a syntactic view of argument structure and morphology, that both facts are intimately related. Furthermore, we provide data from Old Catalan showing an intermediate stage between the Latin satellite-framed system and the Romance verb-framed system.

Mateu & Gómez-Vázquez (2026). The locative alternation with intransitive verbs in Latin.

2 setembre, 2026

Journal of Latin Linguistics

Autors:

Jaume Mateu & Diana Gómez-Vázquez

Títol:

The locative alternation with intransitive verbs in Latin

Editorial: Journal of Latin Linguistics
Col·lecció:
Data de publicació: 2026

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Abstract

The locative alternation with intransitive verbs, which is quite productive in English, is also shown to be attested in Latin. In the theme/figure subject variant, the location surfaces as an oblique complement: e.g. oculis micat acribus ignis (Verg. Aen. 12.102) and Et resonet tota planctus in Aemilia (Mart. 6.85.6). In contrast, in the location/ground subject variant, the theme is typically expresssed via a nominal phrase in the ablative case (and less frequently in the genitive case): e.g. et crebris micat ignibus aether (Verg. Aen. 1.90) and resonat magnis plangoribus aether (Verg. Aen. 4.668). The two variants are shown to involve a different syntactico-semantic construal, with a different pragmatics as well. The meaning of the location subject variant is shown to go beyond the well-known “holistic effect” (i.e. its subject is “fully affected”): this variant entails theme and event abundance and so-called “dynamic texture”, whereby the events described by the verb happen simultaneously and repetitively throughout all parts of a space. Finally, we also provide a sketch of our syntactic approach to the event structure of some relevant verbs that enter into the intransitive locative alternation in Latin.

Keywords: argument structure alternation; event structure; intransitive verbs; Latin; locative alternation

Mateu (2021). On the argument structure of complex denominal verbs in Latin: A syntactic approach

21 abril, 2021

The Linguistic Review

Autors:

Jaume Mateu

Títol:

On the argument structure of complex denominal verbs in Latin: A syntactic approach

Editorial: The Linguistic Review
Col·lecció:
Data de publicació: April 21, 2021

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Abstract

In this paper I offer a syntactic approach to the formation of complex denominal verbs in Latin. Two basic types of prefixed locative denominal verbs can be distinguished in this language: location ones “agglutinate” a PP expressing location, whereas locatum ones contain a noun expressing the locatum object. Assuming a syntactic distinction between Incorporation and Conflation in denominal verb formation, I claim that prefixed location verbs are formed via Incorporation (i.e. Internal Merge), whereas prefixed locatum verbs are formed via Conflation (i.e. External Merge). Unprefixed locative verbs can only be interpreted as locatum predicates, but unlike prefixed locatum verbs, they are analyzed as involving a possessive relation and as being formed via incorporation. The present approach also provides an explanation of why Romance locatum verbs, unlike location ones, are not necessarily prefixed. It is also claimed that unprefixed and prefixed locatum verbs in Romance are formed via incorporation rather than via conflation, its reason being related to the typological shift from the presence of a typical conflation pattern in satellite-framed Latin to a lack of it in verb-framed Romance languages. Finally, I show that Latin prefixed denominal verbs and prefixed deadjectival ones are all telic and project a ResultP in syntax. In contrast, this projection can be argued to be absent from unprefixed denominal and deadjectival verbs.

Keywords: conflation; denominal verbs; incorporation; Latin; locative verbs; syntactic argument structure

Ohannesian (2021). Interfixation

19 abril, 2020

ohannesian 2021

Autors:

Maria Ohannesian

Títol:

Interfixation. Dins Fábregas, Acedo-Matellán, Armstrong, Cuervo, Pujol (eds.) "The Routledge Handbook of Spanish Morphology"

Editorial: Taylor & Francis Group
Data de publicació: Maig del 2021
ISBN13: 9780429318191

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The Routledge Handbook of Spanish Morphology presents a state-of-the-art, detailed and exhaustive overview of all aspects of Spanish morphology, paying equal attention to the empirical complexities of the morphological system and the theoretical issues that they raise.
As such, this handbook is relevant both for those interested in the facts of Spanish morphology and those interested in general morphology that want to explore how the Spanish facts illuminate our understanding of human language and current theories of morphology.
This volume is also unique in its extent and coverage. Written by an international team of leading experts in the field, it contains 42 chapters divided into four sections, covering all synchronic and diachronic aspects of Spanish morphology, including inflection; derivation; compounding and other processes of word formation; the interaction of morphology with other modules of grammar and the role of morphology in language acquisition, psycholinguistics and language teaching.

Cabré, Teresa, Maria Ohannesian i Francesc Torres-Tamarit. 2026. Los verbos acabados en -uir y las desinencias verbales del español.

9 juny, 2026

Autors:

Teresa Cabré, Maria Ohannesian, Francesc Torres-Tamarit

Títol:

Los verbos acabados en -uir y las desinencias verbales del español.

Editorial: Verba
Col·lecció:
Data de publicació: Juny 2026

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This paper proposes a morphological segmentation of the regular Spanish verbal paradigm that significantly simplifies its analysis. In the proposed model, the thematic vowel (TV) is always present in the underlying representation of all verbal forms of the three conjugations, either as stressed or as pre-accented. This analysis offers several advantages over more traditional approaches, such as those represented by recent grammars by the Royal Spanish Academy, since it allows the morphological structure of the three regular conjugations to be unified, including verbs whose root ends in a vowel, like those ending in -uir, with an /i/ following the root that has usually been analysed as an antihiatic epenthetic segment. The model also establishes that the thematic vowel of the first, second, and third conjugations is respectively /a/, /e/, and /i/ throughout the present stem and in forms historically derived from the infinitive. In the rest of the paradigm, the first conjugation maintains /a/, whereas the second and third display a common pattern with the alternation /i ~ je/, interpreted synchronically as allomorphy. Surface differences derive from general phonological principles of Spanish, in particular stress assignment and the productive process of stem-final vowel deletion. Tense-aspect-mood morphemes are also regularised.