√ov Is in the Air
The Extreme Multifunctionality of the Slovenian Affix ov
Abstract
In this paper we consider several instances of the Slovenian affix ov, which surfaces in many, apparently unrelated contexts. Here we focus on (i) ov in verbs, where it can act as an imperfectivizer or a verbalizer, (ii) ov found in possessive adjectives and kind adjectives derived from nouns, (iii) ov which precedes the adjectiviser (e)n in denominal adjectives, and (iv) ov in nominal declension (acting as a genitive case ending in dual and plural or as a dual/plural augment). Building on the observation that certain affixes function either as inflectional or as derivational (see Simonović and Arsenijević 2020), and working within a Distributed Morphology approach which postulates that derivational affixes should be analyzed as roots (e.g. Lowenstamm 2014), we argue for a single multifunctional ov. This ov is a potentially meaningless root that can take as a complement other roots (thus forming a “radical core”) or phrases, resulting in different structures and consequently different stress patterns and meanings, but can also act as an Elsewhere allomorph, whose insertion is guided by an interplay of phonological and morphological constraints.
Downloads
References
ARSENIJEVIĆ, Boban (2018) “Serbo-Croatian suffix -va and the illusion of the imperfective specification.” Paper presented at the conference Ambigo: Workshop on Ambiguity – Theory, Development, and Processing, University of Göttingen on 4–6 July 2018. Gottingen: University of Göttingen.
CREEMERS, Ava/Jan DON/Paula FENGER (2017) “Some affixes are roots, others are heads.” Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 36/1 45–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-017-9372-1
HALLE, Morris/Alec MARANTZ (1993) “Distributed morphology and the pieces of inflection.” In: K. Hale/S. J. Keyser (eds), The View from Building 20: Essays in Linguistics in Honor of Sylvain Bromberger. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 111–176.
HALLE, Morris/Alec MARANTZ (1994) “Some key features of distributed morphology.” In: A. Carnie/H. Harley/T. Bures (eds), MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 21. Cambridge, MA: MITWPL, 275–288.
KAGER, René (2008) “Lexical irregularity and the typology of contrast.” In: K. Hanson/S. Inkelas (eds), The nature of the word: studies in honor of Paul Kiparsky. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 397–432.
LOWENSTAMM, Jean (2014) “Affixes as roots.” In: A. Alexiadou/H. Borer/F. Schäfer (eds), The syntax of roots and the roots of syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 230–259.
MARANTZ, Alec (1996) “‘Cat’ as a phrasal idiom.” Manuscript. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
MARVIN, Tatjana (2003) Topics in the stress and syntax of words. Doctoral dissertation. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
MIRTIČ, Tanja (2016) “Podaljševanje osnove z morfemom -ov- pri samostalnikih prve moške sklanjatve v sodobni knjižni slovenščini.” In: F. Marušič/P. Mišmaš/R. Žaucer (eds), Škrabčevi dnevi 9. Zbornik prispevkov s simpozija 2015. Nova Gorica: Založba Univerze v Novi Gorici, 16–33.
NEVINS, Andrew (2015) “Free-Rides in Morphological Classification: The Case of Catalan Pre-Stressing Suffixes.” In: M. Lloret/C. Pons-Moll/E. Bosch-Roura (eds), Clàssics d'ahir i d'avui en la gramàtica del català. Barcelona: Edicions Universitat Barcelona, 105–118.
PRINCE, Alan/Paul SMOLENSKY (1993) Optimality Theory: Constraint Interaction in Generative Grammar. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Center for Cognitive Science.
SIMONOVIĆ, Marko (2020) “Derivational affixes as roots across categories.” [In press.]
SIMONOVIĆ, Marko/Boban Arsenijević (2020) “Syntax predicts prosody: Multi-purpose morphemes in Serbo-Croatian.” In: F. Marušič/P. Mišmaš/R. Žaucer (eds), Advances in formal Slavic linguistics 2017. Berlin: Language Science Press, 277–304.
SMITH, Jennifer (2011) “Category-specific effects.” In: M. van Oostendorp/C. J. Ewen/E. Hume/K. Rice (eds), The Blackwell companion to phonology. Oxford: Blackwell, 2439–2463.
TOPORIŠIČ, Jože (2000) Slovenska slovnica. Maribor: Obzorja.
WOLF, Matthew (2013) “Lexical insertion occurs in the phonological component.” In: E. Bonet/M. Lloret/J. Mascaró (eds), Understanding allomorphy: perspectives from Optimality Theory. London: Equinox Publishing, 361–407.
ZOLL, Cheryl (1992) “When syllables collide: a theory of alternating quantity.” Manuscript. Brandeis University.
Copyright (c) 2020 Marko Simonović, Petra Mišmaš
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors are confirming that they are the authors of the submitting article, which will be published (print and online) in journal Linguistica by Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia). Author’s name will be evident in the article in journal. All decisions regarding layout and distribution of the work are in hands of the publisher.
- Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit their self to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
