Kai kurie intarpinių ir sta-kamienių veiksmažodžių semantinės raidos bruožai

LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI XL (1998) Dalia PAKALNIŠKIENĖ Klaipėda University SOME FEATURES OF THE SEMANTIC DEVELOPMENT OF INFIXAL AND sta-STEM VERBS Lithuanian infixed and sta-stem verbs are characterized by distinctive semantics, morphological structure, and morphophonological root features. A large group of these verbs (according to data from various sources, there are more than 1,000) developed in certain stages, acquiring new features while retaining archaic properties (Pakalniškienė 1996). This article surveys some aspects of the semantic development of the verbs under discussion: semantic. 1. Infixed and sta-stem verbs in the East Baltic languages have specific functions; thus, there is no doubt that categorical semantics sta played a particularly important role in the formation of East Baltic infixed and categorical semantics. Therefore, it is worth briefly summarizing the stages in the development of abstract semantics. 1.1. In the opinion of many researchers (Kuiper 1937: 202–203; Kölln 1969: 26; Kazlauskas 1968: 333), one of the ancient meanings of the infix was terminative. Indo-European verbs denoted an action of defined duration and differed from other verbs in one aspect of categorical semantics—the nature of the action. Another aspect of categorical semantics—the agent’s activity and the relation to the object—was irrelevant at this stage: infixed verbs could denote either an active or an intransitive action. 1.2. In the East Baltic languages, the infix, like the formant sta, acquired a new—mutative—meaning, whose emergence is connected with the formation of pairs of verbs in diathetic opposition. In J. Stepanov’s view (Stepanov 1976), diathesis was not significant in other Indo-European languages; the nature of the action was much more important. In the East Baltic languages, some roots with vowel alternation became differentiated with respect to diathesis, for example: turn / turn oneself, bend / bend oneself, strike / break, drive in / sink in, and so on. A categorical semantic opposition causativa / resultativa. emerged between the members of the opposition. 1.3. On the basis of this opposition, a new semantic derivational opposition in Lithuanian also developed, durativa / terminativa, whose members’ categorical semantics differentiated according to the nature of the action (verbs of indefinite and definite duration), for example: šaukia / -šunka, kvėpia / kvimpa, žiba / žimba, and so on. 55 2. Along with the categorical meaning, a distinctive concrete semantics of the verbs under discussion also developed. The members of the causativa / resultativa opposition are characterized by the meaning of altering / undergoing a change in structure, usually destruction, demolition, bending / breaking down, collapsing, bending (other meanings—movement, physiological or mental processes, possessive relations—are rare). Such lexical semantics was highly conducive to the branching of roots with vowel alternation: the categorical meanings of the verbs became strictly differentiated with respect to diathesis, cf.: smeigia ‘to drive in, pierce’ (impact, active action, usually mechanical) / sminga ‘to sink, go in’ (result, spontaneous action). Some infixed and sta-stem verbs denoting a change in structure tend to acquire new meanings. Oppositional verb pairs begin to differ in their lexical-semantic groups. It seems that the observed semantic changes are not accidental; a certain pattern, a set of tendencies, can be discerned. 2.1. The semantic structure of verbs of structural change is often supplemented with meanings denoting mental or physiological processes (about 10 percent of the results examined exhibit this feature). Typically, ia-stem causatives denote a destructive mechanical action, whereas infixed or sta-stem resultatives denote breaking down, collapsing, bending. Alongside these, however, the aforementioned meanings of mental or physiological processes also occur; cf.: 1 riėkti, riėkia, riėkė ‘to cut a slice of bread or cake from a loaf; to break virgin soil; to plow for the first time…’ / 2 rikti, rińka, riko ‘to become disordered; to fall apart; to err; to get confused; to do something incorrectly’, 3 rikti, riksta, riko ‘to become bad, bitter, rancid, or sour’ (Latvian riekt, riecu, riecu ‘to slice’ / rikt, rikst, rika ‘to err, make a mistake’); svėgti, svėgia, svėgė ‘to throw; to strike; to kill’ / svįgti, svįnga, svįgo ‘to take an interest, to desire intensely, to become infatuated’; spriėgti, spriėgia, spriėgė ‘to flick someone; to throw; to hurl’ / sprýgti, sprýgsta, sprýgo ‘to weep’; miėšti, miėšia, miėšė ‘to make a mixture; to mix; to dilute; to muddy…’ / mišti, myšta || mińša || mińšta, mišo ‘to join together, mix; to become disordered, fall apart…’; griežti, griežia, griežė ‘to cut, slice, score’ / 1 grįžti, grįžta, grįžo ‘to quarrel, have a falling-out; to fall in love’; rėižti, rėižia, rėižė ‘to tense the muscles of an extended or bent body part’ / rýžtis, rýžtasi, rýžosi ‘to firmly decide to do something; to resolve’; stiėpti, stiėpia, stiėpė ‘to raise upward; to extend, pull’ / stįpti, stįmpa || stįpsta || stēm pa || stīm psta || ⁰stypsta, stipo ‘to cease living; to die; to suffer hunger, starvation, cold; to become stiff, harden’ (Latvian stiept, stie pju, stiepu ‘to extend, pull, stretch’ / stipt, stipstu || stīpu, stipu ‘to become erect, harden’); trėkti, trėkia, trėkė ‘to spoil, destroy; to soil, smear’ / trikti, trin ka, triko ‘to fall apart, slip, go wrong; to become confused, go wild’; rėmti, rėmia, rėmė ‘to put up a support, kick; to hold; to build’ / 1 rìmti, rìmsta, rìmo ‘to be or become calm; to stop moving or making noise’, 2 rìmti, rìmsta, rìmo ‘to lean’ (Latvian *remt, remju, rėmu ‘to lean’ / rimt, rimstu, rimu ‘to become calm, quiet’); trėmti, trėmia, trėmė ‘to drive away, push, remove; to restrain…’ / trìmti, trìmsta, trìmo ‘to calm down; to stop, cease…’ (Latvian tremt, tremju, trēmu ‘to stamp one’s feet; to push, rub, trample’ / trimt, trimstu, trimu ‘to tremble’); dérgti, dérgia, dérgė ‘to soil, defile; to destroy, spoil’ / 1 dirgti, dirgsta, dirgo ‘to be soiled, get wet, lose weight, diminish;…to become corrupt, spoil, grow wild, become pampered’; 2 smėl gti, smėl gia, smėl gė ‘to be stunned, numb’ / 1 smilg-ti, smilgsta, smilgo ‘to feel a desire’, 2 smilgti, smilgsta, smilgo ‘to ache, throb’; 56 vėngti, vėngia, vėngė ‘to try to get out of something, to be afraid’ / -vingti, -vingsta, -vingo ‘to become unruly, spoiled’ (cf. vingis ‘bend, curvature’, so the original meaning of vėngti must have been ‘to bend’ < Proto-Indo-European *u̯engh- ‘to bend’); praūsti, praūšia, praūšė ‘to cleanse, wash, bathe with water (the face)…’ / prūšti, prūšta || prūnša, prūšo ‘to thrive; to develop, grow stronger; to become wiser, enlightened; to become spoiled’ (Latvian praūšties, praušūos, praušuõs ‘to become thicker, larger, stronger’); bláūsti, bláūsia, bláūšė ‘to become overcast, fade’ / blūsti, blūšta || blūsa, blūso ‘to doze; for the eyes to close’; 1 blūsti, blūsta, blūso ‘same’; 1 knóbti, knóbia, knó-bė ‘to peck, eat’ / 2 knóbti, knóbsta, knóbo ‘to become dejected, hang one’s head’; 1 krópti, krópia, krópe ‘to do something with difficulty and great effort (*to rummage)’ / 2 krópti, krópsta, krópo ‘to disappear, diminish’; 1 skróbti, skróbia, skróbė ‘to hollow out’ / 2 skróbti, skróbsta, skróbo ‘to dry out, diminish, grow thin’ (Latvian skrabt, skrābju, skrābu; skrabt, skrabstu || skrabu, skrabu ‘to hollow out, scrape’); 1 krūšti, krūša, krūšo ‘to pound grain in a mortar; to beat, trample’ / krūšti, krūšta, krūšo ‘to lose weight, deteriorate; to fall apart, decline’, 2 kriūšti, kriunša || ⁰kriūšta, kriūšo ‘to age, decline, weaken, grow thin’; 1 kàpti, kàpa, kà-pe ‘to chop bit by bit’ / 2 kàpti, kãmpa, kãpo ‘to tire, become exhausted; to grow dull, blunt’; skàbti, skàbia, skàbė ‘to pluck’ / skàbti, skãmba, skàbo ‘to become bald, fall into poverty’. 2.2. Less often, verbs of structural change acquire meanings denoting chemical and biological processes—f e r m e n t i n g, r i p e n i n g. The relations between opposites are usually ‘g n a w i n g, c u t t i n g, t e a r i n g’ / ‘s o u r i n g’; cf.: giežti, giežia, giežė ‘to eat, gnaw, tickle (in the throat)…’ / gižti, gýžta || giñža, gižo ‘to begin to sour’; 1 kìrsti, kerta, kirto / 2 kìrsti, kìrsta, kirto ‘to begin to turn bitter; to coagulate, thicken, sour, curdle’; 1 kìrpti, kèrpa, kirpo / 2 kìurpti, kìursta, kìurpo ‘to begin to sour, curdle’; 1 skóbti, skó-bia, skóbe ‘to carve, hollow out; to pick, gather’ / 2 skóbti, skóbsta, skóbo ‘to sour, curdle’ (Latvian skābt, skābstu, skābu ‘to sour’), or ‘c u t t i n g, s c r a p i n g, s h u c k i n g’ / ‘r i p e n i n g, m a t u r i n g, u n f o l d i n g’: gvėlsti, gvėldžia, gvėldė ‘to scrape, take, seize, steal’ / gvìlsti, gvìlsta, gvìldo ‘to ripen, mature; to become hot’; gvėlbtì, gvėlbia, gvėlbe ‘to scrape, seize, steal’ / gvìlbti, gvìlbsta, gvìlbo ‘to ripen, mature’; 1 rėžti (|| rėžti), rėžia, rėžė ‘to cut with something sharp’ / 2 rýžti, rýžta, rýžo ‘to burst (of buds); to swell, grow’. 3. The lexical semantics of verbs forming a derivational opposition durativa / terminativa differs considerably from that of the members of the causativa / resultativa opposition. Most verbs of this type denote sounds, physiological or mental processes, and more rarely movement or structural change. Changes in lexical meaning are very rare and somewhat different in nature: alongside chemical meanings, mental meanings arise, or alongside meanings of movement, meanings denoting chemical or mental processes occur; cf.: dvókti, dvókia, dvókė ‘to stink; to reek, rot’ / dvókti, dvóksta, dvóko ‘to spoil, rot, emit a foul smell, stink; to become dizzy, delirious’, dvàkti, dvànka, dvàko ‘to grow foolish, become delirious’; 1 dvañkti, dvañkia, dvañkė ‘to stink’ / 2 dvañkti, dvañksta, dvañko ‘to grow foolish’; 1 kirbėti, kirba, kirbėjo ‘to move, stir, tremble; to swarm’ / 1 kìrbti, kìrbsta, kìrbo ‘to curdle, begin to sour’, 3 kìrbti, kìrbsta, kìrbo ‘to become a concern’. Thus, semantic-structure changes are not characteristic of the semantics of verbs in the durativa / terminativa opposition: the opposites usually belong to the same lexical-semantic group and differ only in their categorical meaning. 57 4. The most recent layer of infix and sta-stem verbs—imitatives—has inherited the characteristic features of the categorical and lexical semantics of the chronologically older verbs derived from apophonic roots. All of them denote a change in structure, usually d e s t r u c t i o n (the archisemes ‘shrink, contract, disappear, perish’ or ‘swell, inflate’), often extending into the sphere of mental or physiological processes, for example: kiùsti, kiùǹta, kiùto ‘become blunt, dry out; die; come to’; plė́pti, plèm̀pa, plė́po ‘bend, broaden; go mad’, pliõpti, pliõpsta, pliõpo ‘ditto’; čìpti, čìmpa, čìpo ‘become chipped; languish, become feeble, deteriorate’, etc. Often the very morphonological structure of the root determines the lexical meaning of these verbs. For instance, verbs whose roots begin with the consonant clusters kn, gn denote b e n d i n g, t i l t i n g d o w n w a r d, s a g g i n g (knàpti, knàbti, 0kniobti, knėbti, kniùbti, 0gne bti, gniùbti, knýkti, knùsti, kniùžti, gniùšti); kv, gv denote g a s p i n g, g i d d i n e s s, b e c o m i n g m a d (kvàipti, kvaìsti, kvė́kti, kvàikti, kvė́kti, kvàkti, gvaibti, sveibti, grėbti). From a synchronic perspective, infix and sta-stem verbs form a fairly uniform group of lexemes in form and content, but the semantic features discussed indicate that they developed not all at once, but in certain stages. Therefore, analysis of the categorical and lexical semantics of verbs is important both for etymological research and for establishing the relationships among Lithuanian words and trends in the coexistence and development of meanings. Received 1997 12 30 LITERATŪRA K a z l a u s k a s J. 1968: Lietuvių kalbos istorinė gramatika, Vilnius: Mintis. K ö l l n H. 1969: Oppositions of voice in Greek, Slavic and Baltic. – Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab Historisk – filosofiske Meddelelser 43 (4), Köbenhavn. K u i p e r F. B. J. 1937: Die Indogermanischen Nasalpräsentia, Amsterdam. P a k a l n i š k i e n ė D. 1996: Lietuvių kalbos intarpinių ir sta-kamienių veiksmažodžių diachroniniai sluoksniai. – Lietuvių kalbotyros klausimai 36, Vilnius, 83–86. S t e p a n o v J. S. 1976–1978: Vid, zalog, perechodnost’ (Balto-slovjanskaja problema). – Izvestija AN SSSR. Ser. Lit. i jazyka 35 (5), 408–420; 36 (2), 135–152. SOME SEMANTICAL FEATURES OF THE INFIX AND sta-STEM VERBS Summary Infix and sta-stem verbs have specific functions in the Baltic languages, so categorical and lexical semantics played an important role in the formation of these verbs. Simultaneously with the cathegorical semantics (i.e. the new meaning of spontaneous passive action etc.), lexical semantics was changing. The verbs of different diachronical layers (causativa / resultativa, durativa / terminativa, imitatitives) have specific lexical meanings. 58