- https://deenes.ffzg.hr/%7Ermatasov/englishCV.htmedit
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This paper presents the basic typological properties of the causative construction in Kabardian, using Dixon’s (2000) typology of causatives, and points out some of its cross– linguistically unusual features. It is argued that arguments... more
This paper presents the basic typological properties of the causative construction in Kabardian, using Dixon’s (2000) typology of causatives, and points out some of its cross– linguistically unusual features. It is argued that arguments of causativized verbs preserve the same cases they are assigned by the underlying non–causatives, in accordance with the “Dependent–first” strategy of case assignment (Matasovi} 2009). We also discuss the juncture/ nextus type of Kabardian causatives. Several arguments show that the construction represents nuclear coordination. An examination of reflexivized causatives in Kabardian, and the comparison of similar structures in Spanish, English, and Jakaltek, shows that languages can differ in their choice of the argument which serves as the binder of the reflexive in a nuclear juncture: in some languages this is the highest ranking macrorole of the causative verb (e.g. in Jakaltek), but in others this can be the highest ranking macrorole of the underl...
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This paper is based on the research which led to the publication of my “Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic” (EDPC). Its aim is to examine the exclusive Celto-Slavic lexical isoglosses, and to propose a few new etymologies, in which... more
This paper is based on the research which led to the publication of my “Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic” (EDPC). Its aim is to examine the exclusive Celto-Slavic lexical isoglosses, and to propose a few new etymologies, in which the Celtic-Slavic correspondences play an important role.
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Firstly, there were two words for “sun” in PIE, a neuter abstract noun (*sh₂wor) and a masculine noun and theonym (*seh₂wōl). The reconstruction of a heteroclitic noun with the alternation of *l and *n is both inherently improbable and... more
Firstly, there were two words for “sun” in PIE, a neuter abstract noun (*sh₂wor) and a masculine noun and theonym (*seh₂wōl). The reconstruction of a heteroclitic noun with the alternation of *l and *n is both inherently improbable and unwarranted by evidence. Secondly, there are several names of sun and moon formed with the suffix *-sn- in early IE dialects, and two of them are preserved in Celtic. Thirdly, in Celtic, nouns meaning ‘sun’ and ‘moon’ are generally derived from two types of roots: a) roots meaning ‘brilliance, light’; b) roots referring to physical shape and/or motion of the heavenly bodies in question.
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U radu se pokazuje kako glasovna promjena po kojoj je završno *-īn(s) postalo *-ē(s) u skupini dijalekata iz kojih su potekli zapadni i istočni slavenski jezici objašnjava postanak nekih padežnih nastavaka "mekih" osnova... more
U radu se pokazuje kako glasovna promjena po kojoj je završno *-īn(s) postalo *-ē(s) u skupini dijalekata iz kojih su potekli zapadni i istočni slavenski jezici objašnjava postanak nekih padežnih nastavaka "mekih" osnova (nominativ i akuzativ množine i genitiv jednine jā-osnova, te akuzativ množine jo-osnova). Ta se promjena nije dogodila u dijalektima iz kojih su potekli južnoslavenski jezici, aprethodila je nekim općeslavenskim promjenama, npr. prijelazu praslavenskoga *ē u *ā iza *j. Time se objašnjava postanak sjevernoslavenskih participa prezenta na -a (npr. staroruski nesa, bera) koji su se analoški proširili iz glagola kod kojih je završno -a pravilno nastalo iza j (npr. staroruski znaja).
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This book discusses the origin and history of the grammatical category of gender in the Indo-European family of languages. The gender systems of Proto-Indo-European (PIE), as well as those of its various daughter languages, are assessed... more
This book discusses the origin and history of the grammatical category of gender in the Indo-European family of languages. The gender systems of Proto-Indo-European (PIE), as well as those of its various daughter languages, are assessed from historical, typological, and areal points of view. In addition, common properties and tendencies (or drift) in the development of gender in different Indo-European branches are presented. The formal and semantic principles of gender assignment in PIE are examined on the basis of a reconstructed lexicon of PIE nouns.
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The article discusses the issue of the Baltic – Slavonic parent language and the chronology of the general phonetic changes of the languages. According to the author, the fact that the languages contain several common sound changes does... more
The article discusses the issue of the Baltic – Slavonic parent language and the chronology of the general phonetic changes of the languages. According to the author, the fact that the languages contain several common sound changes does not prove the existence of their common patent language. The changes could have been incidental or resulting from a contact of the two languages already upon separation of the two branches. Notwithstanding that, the phonetic changes in the Baltic and Slavonic languages are connected by the same period; in addition there are no previous changes, which would be characteristic of the exclusive branch of Baltic – Slavonic languages, which means that in the history of the languages there was a period, most likely outright upon the disintegration of the common Indo-European parent language, when several sound changes disseminated throughout the territory, on which later the Baltic and Slavonic languages were born. In the author’s opinion the period continued for a time period, sufficient for the phonetic changes to set out according to a certain chronological order. If there was a possibility to identify the chronological order of the said phonetic changes, this would be one of the additional evidence of existence of the Baltic – Slavonic parent language on a specific territory for a certain defined period of time
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Research Interests: Computer Science, Phonology, Croatian, Linguistics, Lexicon, and 3 moreSyllable, Hrvatski, and Syllabic Verse
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U ovom se članku raspravlja o uvjetima za izvlačenje iz pridjevskih skupina s upitnom riječju u hrvatskome. Tvrdi se da je izvlačenje moguće iz nespecifičnih, ali ne i iz specifičnih atributnih pridjevskih skupina, dok je iz predikativnih... more
U ovom se članku raspravlja o uvjetima za izvlačenje iz pridjevskih skupina s upitnom riječju u hrvatskome. Tvrdi se da je izvlačenje moguće iz nespecifičnih, ali ne i iz specifičnih atributnih pridjevskih skupina, dok je iz predikativnih pridjevskih skupina izvlačenje u pravilu moguće. Ograničenja na izvlačenje upitnih riječi iz pridjevskih skupina u hrvatskome motivirana su pragmatičkim načelom da se ne može pitati o onome što je presupozicija izreke.This paper examines the possibilities of extraction of wh-words from adjective phrases in Croatian. It is argued that extraction is possible from non-specific, but not from specific attributive adjective phrases, while it is generally possible from predicative adjective phrases. The restrictions on extraction are motivated by the pragmatic principle stating that presupposed information cannot be questioned
Research Interests: Croatian and Linguistics
There is still no scholarly consensus about the origin of the Balto-Slavic intonations. The traditional view is that all long vowels and diphthongs receive the acute in BaltoSlavic, while short vowels and diphthongs are circumflexed. On... more
There is still no scholarly consensus about the origin of the Balto-Slavic intonations. The traditional view is that all long vowels and diphthongs receive the acute in BaltoSlavic, while short vowels and diphthongs are circumflexed. On the other hand, according to the Leiden school, the only source of the Balto-Slavic acute is the glottal stop, which is either a reflex of the PIE laryngeals, or of the following glottalized stops (traditional voiced stops) in syllables that underwent Winter’s law. We believe that the traditional view that PIE lengthened grade vowels receive the acute in Balto-Slavic can no longer be defended. It is contradicted by such examples as PIE *dugh2tēr ‘daughter’ > Lith. dukt, PIE *(H)rēk-s-o-m ‘I said’ > Croat. rijêh, PIE *h2ōwyom ‘egg’ > Croat. jâje. It should also be taken as proved that syllables closed by laryngeals and voiced stops (or glottalics, by Winter’s law) received the acute intonation in Balto-Slavic. However, the fact that the PIE ...
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In this paper we present a brief overview of the history of linguistic contacts of Arbanasi Albanian, a Gheg Albanian dialect spoken in Croatia, with Croatian and Italian. Then we discuss a number of contact-induced changes in that... more
In this paper we present a brief overview of the history of linguistic contacts of Arbanasi Albanian, a Gheg Albanian dialect spoken in Croatia, with Croatian and Italian. Then we discuss a number of contact-induced changes in that language. We show that Arbanasi Albanian was subject to strong influences from Croatian (and, to a lesser extent, from Italian) on all levels of linguistic structure. Using the data from our own fieldwork, we were able to show that there were also influences on the level of syntax, including the borrowing of certain constructions, such as analytic causative and imperative constructions, as well as the extension of the use of infinitive in subordinate clauses.
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roatian patúljak „dwarf“ is derived from Vulgar Latin (or early Dalmato-Romance) *puttus „boy“, or its derivative, *puttilus, *puttulus „small, tiny“.
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This paper discusses different approaches to diachronic syntax inherent in the difference between the functionalist syntactic theories (such as Role-and-Reference Grammar) and generative theories (such as Minimalism). It is shown that... more
This paper discusses different approaches to diachronic syntax inherent in the difference between the functionalist syntactic theories (such as Role-and-Reference Grammar) and generative theories (such as Minimalism). It is shown that functionalist and generative theories make different predictions with respect to the possibility and relative frequency of particular syntactic changes, as well as with respect to the diachronic stability of certain syntactic features in linguistic families. Moreover, the Principle of Diachronic Stability, suggested by the author, predicts that semantically and pragmatically motivated syntactic features behave differently in the history of languages. This principle can be formulated only in a theory such as Role-and-Reference Grammar, which takes into account semantic and pragmatic factors that shape the syntax of a language.
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Research Interests: Geography, Linguistics, Agreement, Proto Indo European, Noun, and 3 moreBrill, Nominative Case, and Morpheme
This article posits a regular sound change of final*-ı̄n (s) to*-ē (s) in the group of Slavic dialects from which East and West Slavic later developed. This change accounts for the origin of some case endings of the" soft"... more
This article posits a regular sound change of final*-ı̄n (s) to*-ē (s) in the group of Slavic dialects from which East and West Slavic later developed. This change accounts for the origin of some case endings of the" soft" stems (the nominative and accusative plural and ...
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Abstracts This paper refutes the received opinion that the Slavic collective suffix -ьje should be derived from a putative PIE suffix *-iyo-. It is argued that the suffix -ьje is a regular development of the PIE collective formant *-ey-/... more
Abstracts This paper refutes the received opinion that the Slavic collective suffix -ьje should be derived from a putative PIE suffix *-iyo-. It is argued that the suffix -ьje is a regular development of the PIE collective formant *-ey-/ -i-, discovered by N. Oettinger (1995, 1999). Besides ...
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This paper presents an analysis of those words, attested in Balto-Slavic, that do not have a clear Indo-European etymology and that could have been borrowed from some substratum language. It is shown that Bal toSla vic shares most of... more
This paper presents an analysis of those words, attested in Balto-Slavic, that do not have a clear Indo-European etymology and that could have been borrowed from some substratum language. It is shown that Bal toSla vic shares most of those words with other Indo-European languages of Northern and Western Europe (especially with Germanic), while lexical parallels in languages of Southern Europe (Greek and Albanian) are much less numerous. Georg Holzer’s “Temematic” hypothesis is also discussed, and a number of alternatives to his etymologies are suggested. It is argued that Balto-Slavic contains very few words borrowed from substratum languages that are not present in other branches of Indo-European.
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Osim koordinacije, u kojoj su povezane sintaktičke strukture posve neovisne jedna o drugoj, i subordinacije, u kojoj jedna sintaktička struktura čini konstituentu unutar druge strukture, gramatika uloga i referenci (Role and Reference... more
Osim koordinacije, u kojoj su povezane sintaktičke strukture posve neovisne jedna o drugoj, i subordinacije, u kojoj jedna sintaktička struktura čini konstituentu unutar druge strukture, gramatika uloga i referenci (Role and Reference Grammar) razlikuje i treći tip sintaktičkoga odnosa koji se naziva kosubordinacija (Van Valin 2005: 183‒198). Kod kosubordinacije (engl. cosubordination) jedna sintaktička struktura nije dijelom (konstituentom) druge, ali nije ni posve neovisna o njoj, već mora biti u dosegu nekoga operatora (npr. vida, vremena, načina, negacije, ili ilokucijske snage) sintaktičke strukture s kojom je kosubordinirana. U ovom radu pokazujemo da neke sintaktičke strukture u hrvatskom jeziku zadovoljavaju definiciju kosubordinacije, primjerice rečenice povezane sastavnim veznicima s izostavljenim subjektom i pomoćnim glagolom u futuru i perfektu.
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Obligatory control refers to the relation of obligatory coreference between one of the arguments in the matrix clause and an unexpressed argument of the subordinate infinitive. This paper provides examples of subject and object control in... more
Obligatory control refers to the relation of obligatory coreference between one of the arguments in the matrix clause and an unexpressed argument of the subordinate infinitive. This paper provides examples of subject and object control in Croatian that reveal significant differences between these two constructions. Subject control is understood as a purely syntactic relation, while the analysis of object control requires the introduction of semantic macroroles. The two constructions are therefore based on different basic principles, which results in various asymmetries with regard to restrictions on possible syntactic realizations. Moreover, the limitations on scope interpretation of temporal adverbs resulting from word order changes in object control constructions suggest that the two verbs in object control might form a tighter unit than those in subject control constructions.Obvezna kontrola označava odnos obvezne korefencije između jednog od argumenata u glavnoj surečenici i nei...
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Obligatory control refers to the relation of obligatory coreference between one of the arguments in the matrix clause and an unexpressed argument of the subordinate infinitive. This paper provides examples of subject and object control in... more
Obligatory control refers to the relation of obligatory coreference between one of the arguments in the matrix clause and an unexpressed argument of the subordinate infinitive. This paper provides examples of subject and object control in Croatian that reveal significant differences between these two constructions. Subject control is understood as a purely syntactic relation, while the analysis of object control requires the introduction of semantic macroroles. The two constructions are therefore based on different basic principles, which results in various asymmetries with regard to restrictions on possible syntactic realizations. Moreover, the limitations on scope interpretation of temporal adverbs resulting from word order changes in object control constructions suggest that the two verbs in object control might form a tighter unit than those in subject control constructions.
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This paper offers an extensive analysis of the reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European word-initial cluster *skin Proto-Slavic. It is argued that the regular reflex of this cluster is the Proto-Slavic *x-, but that *skwas analogously... more
This paper offers an extensive analysis of the reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European word-initial cluster *skin Proto-Slavic. It is argued that the regular reflex of this cluster is the Proto-Slavic *x-, but that *skwas analogously re-introduced in a great number of cases under the influence of prefixed forms and cases where forms with and without the so-called “s-mobile” co-existed in Slavic. This conclusion is in accordance with the fact that *x< *skis far more common in derivationally isolated words that do not occur with prefixes.
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This paper deals with the origin and development of the gender resolution rule according to which the predicate adjective agrees with the masculine antecedent when there is agreement with a conjunction of subjects at least one of which... more
This paper deals with the origin and development of the gender resolution rule according to which the predicate adjective agrees with the masculine antecedent when there is agreement with a conjunction of subjects at least one of which denotes a male person. Apart from Croatian, such a rule exists (or existed) in the other Slavic languages, as well as in Baltic languages, so it can safely be posited for Proto-Slavic and Proto-Balto-Slavic. We further show that most contemporary and ancient Indo-European languages had such a gender resolution rule. Where such a rule does not exist (as in Germanic languages), there is a plausible historical explanation. In Hittite, which preserves the most ancient gender system of Indo-European (with only common and neuter genders, and no feminine gender), the default agreement is with the common gender noun. Recent advances in our understanding of the development of gender in Indo-European allow us to show that the rule taking the masculine as the de...
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Saetak U ovom se radu izlau osnovna tipoloka obiljeja kabardinske kauzativne konstrukcije u skladu s Dixonovom (2000) tipologijom kauzativa. Iznose se neka tipoloki neobična svojstva te kabardinske konstrukcije. Pokazuje se da... more
Saetak U ovom se radu izlau osnovna tipoloka obiljeja kabardinske kauzativne konstrukcije u skladu s Dixonovom (2000) tipologijom kauzativa. Iznose se neka tipoloki neobična svojstva te kabardinske konstrukcije. Pokazuje se da argumenti glagola u kauzativu ostaju u istim ...
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This paper proposes a new sound rule for Proto-slavic, according to which* g (from PIe* g,* gw,* gh, and* gwh) was lost before* m. This development was posterior to Winter's law and the merger of voiced and aspirated stop in slavic.... more
This paper proposes a new sound rule for Proto-slavic, according to which* g (from PIe* g,* gw,* gh, and* gwh) was lost before* m. This development was posterior to Winter's law and the merger of voiced and aspirated stop in slavic. The operation of the rule is illustrated by ...
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The purpose of this paper is to present data on a particular syntactic phenomenon in Kabardian, which is variously referred to as" backward control" and" long distance agreement"(Polinsky and Potsdam)," case and... more
The purpose of this paper is to present data on a particular syntactic phenomenon in Kabardian, which is variously referred to as" backward control" and" long distance agreement"(Polinsky and Potsdam)," case and agreement climbing"(Johanna Nichols, ...