This paper focuses on verbs that can appear with two non-active voice morphologies in Greek. The starting point of the study is a comparison to the Vedic verbs that can also have two different,... Show moreThis paper focuses on verbs that can appear with two non-active voice morphologies in Greek. The starting point of the study is a comparison to the Vedic verbs that can also have two different, though formally related, non-active morphologies. In Vedic, these belong to the semantic class of verbs denoting decay and destruction as well as some other spontaneous processes. On the contrary, in Greek, there is a tendency for verbs that participate in causative-anticausative alternations to appear with both middle and passive voice morphology (for instance: ‘unbind sth. –be unbound’; ‘cause to lean –lean’). It will be argued that these verbal classes demonstrate a diachronic tendency for change in their voice marking, which often results in the emergence of lability (that is, the same morphological marking for both transitive and intransitive uses). The authors also show that the diachrony of Greek displays a clear decrease in the percentage of such verbs. This decrease is related to the ongoing decline of the middle voice. However, it can also be due to the expansion of the labile type in Greek at the expense of verbs of change-of-state that could appear with middle and passive voice morphologies. Show less
Although for some scholars the very possibility of syntactic reconstruction remains dubious, numerous studies have appeared reconstructing a variety of basic elements of Proto-Indo-European syntax... Show moreAlthough for some scholars the very possibility of syntactic reconstruction remains dubious, numerous studies have appeared reconstructing a variety of basic elements of Proto-Indo-European syntax based on evidence available particularly from ancient and/or archaic Indo-European languages. The papers in this volume originate from the Workshop “PIE Syntax and its Development” (Thessaloniki 2011), which aimed to bring together scholars interested in these problems and to shine new light on current research into ancient Indo-European syntax. Special attention was paid to the development of the hypothetical reconstructed features within the documented history of Indo-European languages. Show less
The present paper focuses on some Vedic present formations that are traditionally considered as iteratives. These include the -aya-presents with the short root syllable of the type patayati ... Show moreThe present paper focuses on some Vedic present formations that are traditionally considered as iteratives. These include the -aya-presents with the short root syllable of the type patayati ‘flutters’ (as opposed to the -aya-causatives of the type pātayati ‘makes fly, makes fall’ with the long root syllable) and the reduplicated presents of the type bibharti ‘carries’. The author argues that the meaning of these formations should be described as atelic, rather than iterative (although in some contexts the iterative meaning may indeed appear). An atelic action or process, such as patayati ‘flutters’ or bibharti ‘carries’, does not suggest any inner terminal point built into the situation (“iterativ-ziellose Bedeutung” in terms of B. Delbruck). By contrast, actions or processes expressed by such presents as patati ‘flies’ or bharati ‘brings’ can be qualified as telic, that is, directed to a certain goal, as suggested by the very nature of this action/process. The paper also provides morphological and functional parallels of these formations outside Indo-Iranian, foremost in Slavic (of the type nositi ‘carry’). Show less
This article addresses the variable alignment properties of experiencer constructions in Indo-Aryan (IA) languages in the light of the available historical data fromVedic Sanskrit onwards. The... Show moreThis article addresses the variable alignment properties of experiencer constructions in Indo-Aryan (IA) languages in the light of the available historical data fromVedic Sanskrit onwards. The first aimof the article is to shed light on the possible historical sources, emergence andexpansionof constructionswithnon-cnonicallymarkedarguments inOld IA ingeneral.The second aimis to gain abetterunderstanding of the variation in case marking and agreement patterns that can be attested in New IA experiencer constructions, given that the interplay among morphological cases, semantic roles and additional semantic motivations poses many unsolved questions. Show less
The ancient Indo-European languages, such as early Vedic or (Homeric) Greek, are usually considered to be characterized by a high degree of lability. According to the communis opinio, they had a... Show moreThe ancient Indo-European languages, such as early Vedic or (Homeric) Greek, are usually considered to be characterized by a high degree of lability. According to the communis opinio, they had a considerable number of labile verbs or verbal forms that could be labile, cf. rudrah r̥tasya sadaneṣu vāvr̥dhuḥ ‘Rudras have grown [intransitive] in the residences of the truth' ~ indram ukthani vāvr̥dhuḥ ‘The hymns have increased [transitive] Indra'. This paper offers a general overview of the Vedic verbal forms for which labile patterning is attested. I will argue that, for most of these forms, the secondary character of lability can be demonstrated. Thus, for many labile forms with middle inflection (in particular, forms belonging to the present system), labile patterning results from the polyfunctionality of the middle diathesis (self-beneficent / anticausative). The secondary transitive usages of some fundamentally intransitive verbs such as puṣyati ‘prospers; makes prosper' originates from the syntactic re-analysis of content accusative constructions of the type ‘X prospers (in) Y' → ‘X makes Y prosper'. I will further demonstrate that, within the Old Indo-Aryan period, we observe the decline of the labile type. Already in the second most ancient Vedic text, the Atharvaveda, we find very few labile forms. Thus, most of the active perfects which show labile syntax in the Rgveda are either attested in intransitive usages only, or in transitive usages only, or do not occur at all. I will also discuss the main mechanisms of the loss of labile pattern in Old Indo-Aryan. Show less
This paper focuses on the evolution of the Old Indo-Aryan reciprocal pronoun anyo'nya- as well as some related forms, tracing its grammaticalization from the early Vedic period onwards until the... Show moreThis paper focuses on the evolution of the Old Indo-Aryan reciprocal pronoun anyo'nya- as well as some related forms, tracing its grammaticalization from the early Vedic period onwards until the beginning of the Middle Indic period. On the basis of a comparison of the history of this formation with similar processes documented in some other Indo-European branches (Greek, Slavic etc.), I uncover some basic mechanisms and scenarios of the evolution of reciprocal constructions attested in the history of Indo-Aryan languages in a diachronic typological context, offering a number of typological generalizations on the diachrony of reciprocals. Show less
This paper explores the social stratification of Maldivian society, with particular focus on its history and traces of earlier alleged caste systems and slavery as well as their impact on Maldivian... Show moreThis paper explores the social stratification of Maldivian society, with particular focus on its history and traces of earlier alleged caste systems and slavery as well as their impact on Maldivian society, and the implications this fact had for their social structure. I will argue that some anthropologically remarkable traces of earlier social stratification, such as slavery and the caste system, can still be found on the islands. The same holds true for the social structure of the island Minicoy, part of the Sultanate Maldives until the beginning of the 16th century, which now belongs to India. I will demonstrate that while the middle castes have largely disappeared, the upper level of the caste hierarchy (which has survived in the local elite), the lower castes and certain groups of former slaves have been much more resistant to social developments and structural changes in the society. Show less
The present paper demonstrates the relevance of the semantic approach to transitivity(going back to Hopper and Thompson 1980) for the analysis of Vedic causative verbs. It argues that in terms of... Show moreThe present paper demonstrates the relevance of the semantic approach to transitivity(going back to Hopper and Thompson 1980) for the analysis of Vedic causative verbs. It argues that in terms of this approach it is possible to explain a number of constraints on causative derivation (which cannot be explained in terms of the traditional, syntactic, definition) and to offer a unified account of the semantics of these verbs. The paper also briefly discusses some theoretical implications of this analysis of causative verbs in Vedic for a diachronic typology of transitivity. Show less
