Serbo-Croat
3 Followers
Recent papers in Serbo-Croat
: Rad se bavi upotrebom glagola trebati, od njegove težnje ličnoj upotrebi u pojedinim značenjima, preko rigidne verzije norme koja predviđa isključivo bezličnu upotrebu, do hibridnih upotreba kao posledice sukoba prethodna dva... more
: Rad se bavi upotrebom glagola trebati, od njegove težnje ličnoj upotrebi u pojedinim značenjima, preko rigidne verzije norme koja predviđa isključivo bezličnu upotrebu, do hibridnih upotreba kao posledice sukoba prethodna dva parametra i pokušaja liberalizacije norme. Osnovna pitanja su vezana za visok stepen svesti prosečnog govornika o normi u ovom domenu, pojavu hibridnih varijanata, mehannizme upotrebe kojima se govornici upravljaju, gde prepoznajemo primenu odgovarajućeg post-gramatičkog filtera, te sintaksičkih i semantičkih karakteristika glagola trebati u savremenom kolokvijalnom jeziku, za koje pokazujemo da su daleko bliže obrascu upotrebe koji dozvoljava lične oblike.
Lexemes may be split internally, by phenomena such as suppletion, periphrasis, heteroclisis and deponency. Generalizing over these phenomena, which split a lexeme’s paradigm, we can establish a typology of the possible internal splits.... more
Lexemes may be split internally, by phenomena such as suppletion, periphrasis, heteroclisis and deponency. Generalizing over these phenomena, which split a lexeme’s paradigm, we can establish a typology of the possible internal splits. There are also lexemes whose external requirements are split: they induce different agreement, for instance. Again, a typology of these splits has been proposed. The next logical step is to attempt a typology of the possible relations between internal and external splits. This is not straightforward, since we need to avoid spurious linkages. Four lines of argument are offered: (i) general plausibility: the internal-external linkage is compelling, and so other accounts require a degree of coincidence which is unlikely; (ii) overabundance: alternative inflectional forms link to different external requirements; (iii) variation in time and space: splits in inflection and in external requirements vary, while maintaining their linkage; (iv) pluralia tantum ...
What the prosody of Serbian short and long form adjectives tells us about the nominal structure * The paper tests the predictions of two competing views of the nominal structure, the DP-Parameter Hypothesis and the Universal DP... more
What the prosody of Serbian short and long form adjectives tells us about the nominal structure * The paper tests the predictions of two competing views of the nominal structure, the DP-Parameter Hypothesis and the Universal DP Hypothesis, in the domain of the prosodic behavior of the long and short form adjectives in Serbian. The prediction of the former is that both types of adjectives will prosodically behave the same, and similar to the noun. The prediction of the latter is that long form adjectives will pattern with determiner words and short form adjectives with nouns. The testing, using relative clause paraphrases of adjectives, supported the Universal DP Hypothesis, as it fully confirmed its predictions.
Evidence is presented that Serbo-Croatian, in contrast to other Slavic languages with lexical prosody, is developing a prosodic system in which stressed inflectional suffixes are avoided and stress is becoming a property of the word stem.... more
Evidence is presented that Serbo-Croatian, in contrast to other Slavic languages with lexical
prosody, is developing a prosodic system in which stressed inflectional suffixes are avoided
and stress is becoming a property of the word stem. Five case studies are shown in which stress
is moving from from inflectional suffixes to stems.
bèžīte >> bežíte (conf. Slovenian bežíte)
In a large class of verbs with a short rising accent in the present tense, the forms for 1PL and
2PL traditionally allowed the stress on the theme vowel: bežímo ‘we run’, bežíte ‘you(PL) run’
(conf. bèž-a-ti ‘to run’, bèž-ī-m ‘I run’). Nowadays this pattern is vanishing from standard
Serbo-Croatian and only bèžīmo/bèžīte is possible. We refer to normative work recognising the
decline of bežímo/bežíte and analyse a recent social media hype after a Serbian politician uttered
‘Gdȅ bežíte?’ ‘Where are you running to?’. An analysis of the ensuing parodies of his statement
shows that modern standard speakers applied the pattern to verbs in which it was never possible
(e.g. zviždíte, for actual zvíždite ‘you(PL) whistle’), which we interpret as evidence that the old
generalisations are not internalised in these speakers and that the modern Serbo-Croatian
grammar only derives bèžīmo, bèžīte.
grȁdōvā >> gradóvā, grȁdovima >> gradòvima (conf. Slovenian gradôvi)
As amply attested in normative work, the paradigm grȁdovi~gradóvā~gradòvima
‘towns.NOM~ACC~DAT.INS.LOC’ has been replaced by grȁdovi~grȁdōvā~grȁdovima,
thereby creating a new accentual paradigm. We also show that for modern speakers the pattern
with the stressed interfix -ov- is not even considered familiar for the DAT.INS.LOC and
familiar but extremely archaic for the GEN form. The pattern in -óvā is now also possible (in
parodies) in words where it was never possible, e.g. robóvā ‘slaves.GEN’ for actual ròbōvā.
kȁmenu >> kamènu, pȍglēdu >> poglédu
The singular locative suffix -u is traditionally considered tone-attracting in accentless nouns,
e.g. kȁmēn ‘stone’ and pȍglēd ‘gaze’. This pattern is unfamiliar to most modern speakers for
the words with a short penult (e.g. kamènu), while for long penults (e.g. poglédu) the pattern
has survived in some fixed expressions, but it is considered impossible outside of them e.g. (u
tvojem pȍglēdu *poglédu ‘in your gaze’). Tellingly, the tone-attracting property of the suffix
has survived in monosyllables, where it never leads to a stress shift (conf. klûb~klúbu
‘club.NOM~LOC’).
pȕtovati >> putòvati
In most standard varieties in Serbia, the denominal verbs of the type putòvati ‘to
travel’~pùtujēm ‘I travel’ are moving to the new type pȕtovati~pùtujēm. The new infinitive
prosody is clearly based on the past participle pȕtovao. Tellingly, these verbs do not join the
existing falling type rȁdovati~rȁdujēm because the present tense pùtujēm already had stress on
the stem.
Formal Description of Slavic Languages 12.5 University of Nova Gorica
December 2017
66
ˈžena >> žeˈna, ˈkonja >> koˈnja, ˈselo >> seˈlo, ˈželim >> žeˈlim
Finally, we present a small case study from the stress standard varieties which developed in
cities outside the Neo-Štokavian area (we present data from Zagreb, Rijeka, Pula, Bor and Niš).
In all these varieties, although final stress is allowed (e.g. in kriˈstal) and stressed inflectional
endings of the type žeˈlim are widely attested in surrounding dialects, stressed inflectional
endings are entirely absent. As a consequence, these varieties are unique in Serbo-Croatian (and
possibly also entire Slavic) for having lost any prosodic prominence on inflectional endings
while having lexical prosody.
Based on the 5 cases studies, we analyse the general move towards stem-stressed prosody as
the final step in a chain of language changes initiated by the Neo-Štokavian retractions, which
were automatic and contrast-preserving, but led to a massive removal of stress from inflectional
endings. We also consider the possibility that the changes in question were accelerated by the
fact that Neo-Štokavian has been the standard since mid-19th century. Finally, we discuss the
general reasons behind this language change in terms of markedness and, more specifically, the
constraints proposed within the Optimality Theory (e.g. in Kager 2000).
References
Kager. René, 2000. Stem stress and peak correspondence in Dutch. In J. Dekkers, F. van der Leeuw & J. van de Weijer (Eds.),
Optimality Theory: Phonology, Syntax, and Acquisition (pp. 121-150) (30 p.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
prosody, is developing a prosodic system in which stressed inflectional suffixes are avoided
and stress is becoming a property of the word stem. Five case studies are shown in which stress
is moving from from inflectional suffixes to stems.
bèžīte >> bežíte (conf. Slovenian bežíte)
In a large class of verbs with a short rising accent in the present tense, the forms for 1PL and
2PL traditionally allowed the stress on the theme vowel: bežímo ‘we run’, bežíte ‘you(PL) run’
(conf. bèž-a-ti ‘to run’, bèž-ī-m ‘I run’). Nowadays this pattern is vanishing from standard
Serbo-Croatian and only bèžīmo/bèžīte is possible. We refer to normative work recognising the
decline of bežímo/bežíte and analyse a recent social media hype after a Serbian politician uttered
‘Gdȅ bežíte?’ ‘Where are you running to?’. An analysis of the ensuing parodies of his statement
shows that modern standard speakers applied the pattern to verbs in which it was never possible
(e.g. zviždíte, for actual zvíždite ‘you(PL) whistle’), which we interpret as evidence that the old
generalisations are not internalised in these speakers and that the modern Serbo-Croatian
grammar only derives bèžīmo, bèžīte.
grȁdōvā >> gradóvā, grȁdovima >> gradòvima (conf. Slovenian gradôvi)
As amply attested in normative work, the paradigm grȁdovi~gradóvā~gradòvima
‘towns.NOM~ACC~DAT.INS.LOC’ has been replaced by grȁdovi~grȁdōvā~grȁdovima,
thereby creating a new accentual paradigm. We also show that for modern speakers the pattern
with the stressed interfix -ov- is not even considered familiar for the DAT.INS.LOC and
familiar but extremely archaic for the GEN form. The pattern in -óvā is now also possible (in
parodies) in words where it was never possible, e.g. robóvā ‘slaves.GEN’ for actual ròbōvā.
kȁmenu >> kamènu, pȍglēdu >> poglédu
The singular locative suffix -u is traditionally considered tone-attracting in accentless nouns,
e.g. kȁmēn ‘stone’ and pȍglēd ‘gaze’. This pattern is unfamiliar to most modern speakers for
the words with a short penult (e.g. kamènu), while for long penults (e.g. poglédu) the pattern
has survived in some fixed expressions, but it is considered impossible outside of them e.g. (u
tvojem pȍglēdu *poglédu ‘in your gaze’). Tellingly, the tone-attracting property of the suffix
has survived in monosyllables, where it never leads to a stress shift (conf. klûb~klúbu
‘club.NOM~LOC’).
pȕtovati >> putòvati
In most standard varieties in Serbia, the denominal verbs of the type putòvati ‘to
travel’~pùtujēm ‘I travel’ are moving to the new type pȕtovati~pùtujēm. The new infinitive
prosody is clearly based on the past participle pȕtovao. Tellingly, these verbs do not join the
existing falling type rȁdovati~rȁdujēm because the present tense pùtujēm already had stress on
the stem.
Formal Description of Slavic Languages 12.5 University of Nova Gorica
December 2017
66
ˈžena >> žeˈna, ˈkonja >> koˈnja, ˈselo >> seˈlo, ˈželim >> žeˈlim
Finally, we present a small case study from the stress standard varieties which developed in
cities outside the Neo-Štokavian area (we present data from Zagreb, Rijeka, Pula, Bor and Niš).
In all these varieties, although final stress is allowed (e.g. in kriˈstal) and stressed inflectional
endings of the type žeˈlim are widely attested in surrounding dialects, stressed inflectional
endings are entirely absent. As a consequence, these varieties are unique in Serbo-Croatian (and
possibly also entire Slavic) for having lost any prosodic prominence on inflectional endings
while having lexical prosody.
Based on the 5 cases studies, we analyse the general move towards stem-stressed prosody as
the final step in a chain of language changes initiated by the Neo-Štokavian retractions, which
were automatic and contrast-preserving, but led to a massive removal of stress from inflectional
endings. We also consider the possibility that the changes in question were accelerated by the
fact that Neo-Štokavian has been the standard since mid-19th century. Finally, we discuss the
general reasons behind this language change in terms of markedness and, more specifically, the
constraints proposed within the Optimality Theory (e.g. in Kager 2000).
References
Kager. René, 2000. Stem stress and peak correspondence in Dutch. In J. Dekkers, F. van der Leeuw & J. van de Weijer (Eds.),
Optimality Theory: Phonology, Syntax, and Acquisition (pp. 121-150) (30 p.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- by Marko Simonovic and +1
- •
- Phonology, Slavic Languages, Serbian, Croatian
It is argued that gender in morphological gender languages has the function of syntactically expressing the unit of counting component of the lexical semantics of the noun, thus mediating related syntactic processes such as the expression... more
It is argued that gender in morphological gender languages has the function of syntactically expressing the unit of counting component of the lexical semantics of the noun, thus mediating related syntactic processes such as the expression of plurals.
In the case of the Serbo-Croatian language(s), the importance of ideology is especially obvious, since it pervades even the ‘scientific’ description by linguists: On the one hand, there is a wide-spread notion that the former... more
In the case of the Serbo-Croatian language(s), the importance of ideology is especially obvious, since it pervades even the ‘scientific’ description by linguists: On the one hand, there is a wide-spread notion that the former Serbo-Croatian language has ‘dis¬inte-grated’ into up to four different languages (e.g. Katičić 1997, Rehder ³1998). A variant of this point of view is that Serbo-Croatian as such never existed (e.g. Auburger 1999). On the other hand, a few linguists maintain that Serbo-Croatian as a ‘linguistic’ language is still the same today as it was a century ago (e.g. Kordić 2004, Gröschel 2009) and that Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian are mere “political” (i.e. non-linguistic – and hence non-existant) languages (Thomas 1994).
In my talk it will become clear that none of these concepts is quite correct. What hap-pened a quarter of a century ago is a good example of the influence ideologies can have on language as a medium of communication itself. In the Serbo-Croatian case, ideology affects all levels of linguistic expression (the writing system, phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, and the lexicon). Apart from that, ideol¬o¬gies also determine such socio¬linguistic parameters as the status and area of application of standard varieties. Conse¬quent¬ly, ideologies changing over time bring about language change.
Most of the phenomena observed are caused by political ideas and language policies which I summarize under the cover term of ‘the ideology of separateness’. However, this ideology is opposed both by an ideology of togeth¬er¬ness and by a general inclination to maximize the potential audience of communication in a language. A question to be addressed in this context is whether such ideologies are really something external to lan¬guage or in how far they coincide with such ‘natural’ sociolinguistic requirements of a standard language as the “separatist function” and the “unifying function” proposed by Garvin & Mathiot (1960).
References
Auburger, Leopold. 1999. Die kroatische Sprache und der Serbokroatismus. Ulm/Donau.
Garvin, Paul L. & Madeleine Mathiot. 1960. The urbanization of the Guaraní language: A problem in language and culture. In: Men and cultures: Selected papers of the Fifth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Philadelphia, September 1 9 1956. Ed. Anthony F. C. Wallace. Philadelphia. 783 790. [Reprinted in: Readings in the sociology of language. Ed. Joshua A. Fishman. The Hague, Paris 1968. 365 374.]
Katičić, Radoslav. 1997. Undoing a “unified language”: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian. In: Undoing and redoing corpus planning. Ed. Michael Clyne. Berlin, New York. 165 191.
Gröschel, Bernhard. 2009. Das Serbokroatische zwischen Linguistik und Politik. Mit einer Bibliographie zum postjugoslavischen Sprachenstreit. München.
Kordić, Snježana. 2004. Pro und kontra: „Serbokroatisch“ heute. In: Slavistische Linguistik 2002: Referate des XXVIII. Konstanzer Slavistischen Arbeitstreffens, Bochum, 10. 9.−12. 9. 2002. Ed. Marion Krause, Christian Sappok. München. 97 148.
Rehder, Peter (ed.). ³1998. Einführung in die slavischen Sprachen (mit einer Einführung in die Balkan¬philo-logie). Darmstadt.
Thomas, Paul-Louis. 1994. Serbo-croate, serbe, croate…, bosniaque, monténégrin: Une, deux…, trois, quatre langues? Revue des études slaves 66:1. 237 259.
In my talk it will become clear that none of these concepts is quite correct. What hap-pened a quarter of a century ago is a good example of the influence ideologies can have on language as a medium of communication itself. In the Serbo-Croatian case, ideology affects all levels of linguistic expression (the writing system, phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, and the lexicon). Apart from that, ideol¬o¬gies also determine such socio¬linguistic parameters as the status and area of application of standard varieties. Conse¬quent¬ly, ideologies changing over time bring about language change.
Most of the phenomena observed are caused by political ideas and language policies which I summarize under the cover term of ‘the ideology of separateness’. However, this ideology is opposed both by an ideology of togeth¬er¬ness and by a general inclination to maximize the potential audience of communication in a language. A question to be addressed in this context is whether such ideologies are really something external to lan¬guage or in how far they coincide with such ‘natural’ sociolinguistic requirements of a standard language as the “separatist function” and the “unifying function” proposed by Garvin & Mathiot (1960).
References
Auburger, Leopold. 1999. Die kroatische Sprache und der Serbokroatismus. Ulm/Donau.
Garvin, Paul L. & Madeleine Mathiot. 1960. The urbanization of the Guaraní language: A problem in language and culture. In: Men and cultures: Selected papers of the Fifth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Philadelphia, September 1 9 1956. Ed. Anthony F. C. Wallace. Philadelphia. 783 790. [Reprinted in: Readings in the sociology of language. Ed. Joshua A. Fishman. The Hague, Paris 1968. 365 374.]
Katičić, Radoslav. 1997. Undoing a “unified language”: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian. In: Undoing and redoing corpus planning. Ed. Michael Clyne. Berlin, New York. 165 191.
Gröschel, Bernhard. 2009. Das Serbokroatische zwischen Linguistik und Politik. Mit einer Bibliographie zum postjugoslavischen Sprachenstreit. München.
Kordić, Snježana. 2004. Pro und kontra: „Serbokroatisch“ heute. In: Slavistische Linguistik 2002: Referate des XXVIII. Konstanzer Slavistischen Arbeitstreffens, Bochum, 10. 9.−12. 9. 2002. Ed. Marion Krause, Christian Sappok. München. 97 148.
Rehder, Peter (ed.). ³1998. Einführung in die slavischen Sprachen (mit einer Einführung in die Balkan¬philo-logie). Darmstadt.
Thomas, Paul-Louis. 1994. Serbo-croate, serbe, croate…, bosniaque, monténégrin: Une, deux…, trois, quatre langues? Revue des études slaves 66:1. 237 259.
Standard Serbo-Croatian is a pitch-accent system with distinctive vowel length. Every prosodic word is characterised by a single tonal accent headed by the single stressed syllable of the word. Classical descriptions distinguish between... more
Standard Serbo-Croatian is a pitch-accent system with distinctive vowel length. Every prosodic
word is characterised by a single tonal accent headed by the single stressed syllable of the word.
Classical descriptions distinguish between falling and rising tonal accents. In the falling accents,
stress and high tone co-occur on the same syllable, which is typically the first syllable of the
word. Depending on syllable length, there are long falling and short falling accents (lAAđa
‘boat’ and krAđa ‘stealth’, respectively). The short falling accent is assumed to be the post-
lexical accent, assigned when the lexical accent is erased or not present. Rising accents are tonal
spans with stress on the first syllable and high tone on the second syllable. Rising accents can
also be long or short, depending on the length of the stressed syllable (as in vEEnA ‘vein’ and
žEnA ‘woman’, respectively).
Serbo-Croatian suffixes display different behaviour with respect to prosody. For instance, the
suffixes in (1) behave as accent-bearing, accent-attracting, accent-neutral and accent-erasing,
respectively. Note that in the fourth example, the accent-erasing suffix leads to post-lexical
prosody i.e. initial short falling accent.
(1)
Base šEćEr rAnjIv rAnjIv pOkUš-a-ti
‘sugar’ ‘vulnerable’ ‘vulnerable’ ‘try.INF’
Derivation šećer-AnA ranjIv-Iji rAnjIv-oost pOkuš-aaj
‘sugar factory’ ‘more vulnerable’ ‘vulnerability’ ‘attempt’
In this paper we consider 3 suffixes which appear in different structural contexts and display
different prosodic behaviour in these contexts. The question guiding our analysis is
whether/how the syntactic position of the suffixes correlates with their prosodic behaviour.
The three suffixes which we analyse are -enA, -anA, and -VV.jeN (segmental content: je,
suprasegmental content: vowel length, which gets realised on the previous vowel). All three
suffixes appear in what would traditionally be classified as inflection, derivation and optionally
analysable lexicalised items.
Suffixes -enA and -anA (illustrated by the examples in 2 and 3, respectively) appear in fully
productive past participle formation (first column), relatively productive derivation of
adjectives from nominal bases (second column) and in a few adjectives derived from adjectival
bases (third column). The prosodic behaviour in (2) and (3) represents the typical (but certainly
not the only attested) pattern: the suffix is stress-neutral when used in the context of maximal
productivity, but accent-attracting when used in less productive contexts.
(2)
Base gAz-i-ti gUm-a mAAl-ii
trample.INF’ ‘rubber.N’ ‘small.DEF’
en-Derivation gAž-en gUm-En mAl-En
‘trample.pass.part’ ‘rubber.A’ ‘small’
(3)
Base glEd-a-ti plEh-a mlAAd-i
‘look.INF’ ‘tin.N.Gen.Sg’ ‘young.DEF’
an-Derivation glEd-a-an plEh-An mlAđ-An
‘look.pass.part’ ‘tin.A’ ‘young’
The suffix -VV.jeN is most frequently combined with past participles (illustrated in 4), whereby
the contribution of the suffix to the resulting prosodic pattern is predictable from the aspect of
the verb: the suffix is accent-neutral when combined with imperfective bases but accent-
Formal Description of Slavic Languages 12.5 University of Nova Gorica
December 2017
47
attracting when combined with perfective bases. Here again, the context where the suffix
appears as accent-attracting is characterised by limited productivity, whereas the context in
which the suffix is accent-neutral displays total productivity (see Simonović and Arsenijević
2014 for an analysis).
(4)
Base žRtvovaan pOžRtvovaan
sacrifice.IMP.pass.part’ ‘sacrifice.PERF.pass.part’’
VV.je-Derivation žRtvovaanje požrtvovAAnjE
‘sacrificing’ ‘sacrifice.N’
(5)
Related form(s) ImAAnje Očaajn-i pred sOboom
‘having’ ‘deperate.DEF’ ‘in front of the room’
VV.je-Derivation imAAnjE očajAAnje pREEdsOOblje
‘property’ ‘despair’ ‘antechambre’
A detailed study of the 3 suffixes has been conducted using a corpus, a modern reverse
dictionary and various available descriptions of Serbo-Croatian. Based on the outcomes, we
argue that Serbo-Croatian systematically allows for 3 types stem+suffix constellations: those in
which both elements can contribute to the resulting prosody, those in which only the syntactic
head can influence the resulting prosody, and those in which neither element can influence the
resulting prosody.
We observe that the choice between the possible constellations is restricted by the syntax, but
not entirely determined by it. This matches the fact that some of the combinations seem to have
switched classes (or belong to different classes in different varieties). For instance, for what we
quoted as mlAđ-An in (3), older sources (e.g. Stevanović 1979 and Babić 2002) only mention
mlAđ-an (with accent-erasing prosody).
Finally, Serbo-Croatian generalisations are pitted against recent theories of syntax-prosody
interface, most prominently Revithiadou (1999) and the necessary modifications to the theory
will be proposed.
References
Babić, Stjepan. 2002. Tvorba riječi u hrvatskome književnome jeziku. Zagreb: Nakladni zavod Globus (HAZU).
Revithiadou, Anthi. 1999. Headmost Accent Wins: Head Dominance and Ideal Prosodic Form in Lexical Accent Systems.
Ph.D. thesis, University of Leiden.
Simonović, Marko & Boban Arsenijević. 2014. Regular and honorary membership: On two kinds of deverbal nouns in Serbo-
Croatian. Lingue e Linguaggio.
Stevanovic, Mihailo. 1979. Savremeni srpskohrvatski jezik: Gramatički sistemi i književnojezička norma. Beograd: Naučna
knjiga.
word is characterised by a single tonal accent headed by the single stressed syllable of the word.
Classical descriptions distinguish between falling and rising tonal accents. In the falling accents,
stress and high tone co-occur on the same syllable, which is typically the first syllable of the
word. Depending on syllable length, there are long falling and short falling accents (lAAđa
‘boat’ and krAđa ‘stealth’, respectively). The short falling accent is assumed to be the post-
lexical accent, assigned when the lexical accent is erased or not present. Rising accents are tonal
spans with stress on the first syllable and high tone on the second syllable. Rising accents can
also be long or short, depending on the length of the stressed syllable (as in vEEnA ‘vein’ and
žEnA ‘woman’, respectively).
Serbo-Croatian suffixes display different behaviour with respect to prosody. For instance, the
suffixes in (1) behave as accent-bearing, accent-attracting, accent-neutral and accent-erasing,
respectively. Note that in the fourth example, the accent-erasing suffix leads to post-lexical
prosody i.e. initial short falling accent.
(1)
Base šEćEr rAnjIv rAnjIv pOkUš-a-ti
‘sugar’ ‘vulnerable’ ‘vulnerable’ ‘try.INF’
Derivation šećer-AnA ranjIv-Iji rAnjIv-oost pOkuš-aaj
‘sugar factory’ ‘more vulnerable’ ‘vulnerability’ ‘attempt’
In this paper we consider 3 suffixes which appear in different structural contexts and display
different prosodic behaviour in these contexts. The question guiding our analysis is
whether/how the syntactic position of the suffixes correlates with their prosodic behaviour.
The three suffixes which we analyse are -enA, -anA, and -VV.jeN (segmental content: je,
suprasegmental content: vowel length, which gets realised on the previous vowel). All three
suffixes appear in what would traditionally be classified as inflection, derivation and optionally
analysable lexicalised items.
Suffixes -enA and -anA (illustrated by the examples in 2 and 3, respectively) appear in fully
productive past participle formation (first column), relatively productive derivation of
adjectives from nominal bases (second column) and in a few adjectives derived from adjectival
bases (third column). The prosodic behaviour in (2) and (3) represents the typical (but certainly
not the only attested) pattern: the suffix is stress-neutral when used in the context of maximal
productivity, but accent-attracting when used in less productive contexts.
(2)
Base gAz-i-ti gUm-a mAAl-ii
trample.INF’ ‘rubber.N’ ‘small.DEF’
en-Derivation gAž-en gUm-En mAl-En
‘trample.pass.part’ ‘rubber.A’ ‘small’
(3)
Base glEd-a-ti plEh-a mlAAd-i
‘look.INF’ ‘tin.N.Gen.Sg’ ‘young.DEF’
an-Derivation glEd-a-an plEh-An mlAđ-An
‘look.pass.part’ ‘tin.A’ ‘young’
The suffix -VV.jeN is most frequently combined with past participles (illustrated in 4), whereby
the contribution of the suffix to the resulting prosodic pattern is predictable from the aspect of
the verb: the suffix is accent-neutral when combined with imperfective bases but accent-
Formal Description of Slavic Languages 12.5 University of Nova Gorica
December 2017
47
attracting when combined with perfective bases. Here again, the context where the suffix
appears as accent-attracting is characterised by limited productivity, whereas the context in
which the suffix is accent-neutral displays total productivity (see Simonović and Arsenijević
2014 for an analysis).
(4)
Base žRtvovaan pOžRtvovaan
sacrifice.IMP.pass.part’ ‘sacrifice.PERF.pass.part’’
VV.je-Derivation žRtvovaanje požrtvovAAnjE
‘sacrificing’ ‘sacrifice.N’
(5)
Related form(s) ImAAnje Očaajn-i pred sOboom
‘having’ ‘deperate.DEF’ ‘in front of the room’
VV.je-Derivation imAAnjE očajAAnje pREEdsOOblje
‘property’ ‘despair’ ‘antechambre’
A detailed study of the 3 suffixes has been conducted using a corpus, a modern reverse
dictionary and various available descriptions of Serbo-Croatian. Based on the outcomes, we
argue that Serbo-Croatian systematically allows for 3 types stem+suffix constellations: those in
which both elements can contribute to the resulting prosody, those in which only the syntactic
head can influence the resulting prosody, and those in which neither element can influence the
resulting prosody.
We observe that the choice between the possible constellations is restricted by the syntax, but
not entirely determined by it. This matches the fact that some of the combinations seem to have
switched classes (or belong to different classes in different varieties). For instance, for what we
quoted as mlAđ-An in (3), older sources (e.g. Stevanović 1979 and Babić 2002) only mention
mlAđ-an (with accent-erasing prosody).
Finally, Serbo-Croatian generalisations are pitted against recent theories of syntax-prosody
interface, most prominently Revithiadou (1999) and the necessary modifications to the theory
will be proposed.
References
Babić, Stjepan. 2002. Tvorba riječi u hrvatskome književnome jeziku. Zagreb: Nakladni zavod Globus (HAZU).
Revithiadou, Anthi. 1999. Headmost Accent Wins: Head Dominance and Ideal Prosodic Form in Lexical Accent Systems.
Ph.D. thesis, University of Leiden.
Simonović, Marko & Boban Arsenijević. 2014. Regular and honorary membership: On two kinds of deverbal nouns in Serbo-
Croatian. Lingue e Linguaggio.
Stevanovic, Mihailo. 1979. Savremeni srpskohrvatski jezik: Gramatički sistemi i književnojezička norma. Beograd: Naučna
knjiga.
- by Marko Simonovic and +1
- •
- Speech Prosody, Serbian, Syntax, Prosody-Syntax
In this scholarly volume, each of the living Slavonic languages are analyzed and described in depth, together with the two extinct languages--Old Church Slavonic and Polabian. In addition, the various alphabets of the Slavonic... more
In this scholarly volume, each of the living Slavonic languages are analyzed and described in depth, together with the two extinct languages--Old Church Slavonic and Polabian. In addition, the various alphabets of the Slavonic languages--especially Roman, Cyrillic, and Glagolitic--are discussed, and the relationships of the Slavonic languages to other Indo-European languages and to one another, are explored. The last chapter provides an account of those Slavonic languages in exile such as Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, and Slovak in the US.
Each language chapter is written by an expert in the field, in a format designed for comparative study. Information on each language includes an introductory description of social context and development, a discussion of phonology, a detailed presentation of synchronic morphology, noting major historical developments, comprehensive treatment of syntactic properties, a discussion of vocabulary, an outline of main dialects, and an extensive bibliographylisting English and other sources.
Each language chapter is written by an expert in the field, in a format designed for comparative study. Information on each language includes an introductory description of social context and development, a discussion of phonology, a detailed presentation of synchronic morphology, noting major historical developments, comprehensive treatment of syntactic properties, a discussion of vocabulary, an outline of main dialects, and an extensive bibliographylisting English and other sources.
SerBoCroatian (henceforth SBC) displays a zero:a alternation within paradigms, which always has the effect of disrupting consonant clusters in certain forms of a word (e.g. in koverat~kovert-a ‘envelop NOMSG~GENSG’). This alternation is... more
SerBoCroatian (henceforth SBC) displays a zero:a alternation within paradigms, which always has the effect of disrupting consonant clusters in certain forms of a word (e.g. in koverat~kovert-a ‘envelop NOMSG~GENSG’). This alternation is traditionally termed nepostojano a ‘wobbly a’. We present an overview of the contexts in which the ‘wobbly a’ alternation is attested and argue for an OT-analysis which requires no special ‘wobbly’ segments, and distinguishes between an epenthetic and a metathetic wobbly a, which surface in different phonological contexts triggered by different morphemes. We further account for the observed underapplication of the two types of ‘wobbly a’ using a special type of Faithfulness indexed to loanwords (DEP(LOAN)) and Lexical Conservatism, respectively. We finally discuss dynamics of the present-day SBC lexicon, in which the class of words which allow wobbly a acts like a closed class and the traditionally inseparable ST clusters (which were originally treated as single segments) show different signs of reanalysis into regular clusters.
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