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Two ways to get out : radial Category Profiling and the Russian Prefixes vy- and iz-

Abstract We undertake a detailed analysis of the two closely related Russian aspectual prefixes vy- and iz. The meanings of these prefixes are analyzed in terms of networks of related subcategories, termed radial categories. This method facilitates precise comparison of submeanings and statistical analysis. Our analysis sharpens the traditional insight that elements of Church Slavic origin like iz- have a more abstract meaning than historically East Slavic elements like vy-. Furthermore, the distribution of meanings attested gives support to the hypothesis that the meanings of base verbs and prefixes overlap in the formation of prefixed aspectual partner verbs, contra the tradition of the so-called “empty prefix”.

The value of Cognitive Grammar in typological studies : The case of Norwegian and Russian passive, middle and reflexive

This paper shows that Cognitive Grammar is valuable for typological studies. The Norwegian and Russian reflexive-middle-passive systems are analysed comprehensively and compared. Whereas Cognitive Grammar is compatible with the typological tradition (represented by Kemmer), it needs amendment in certain important respects. The main theoretical contribution of the paper is that the Cognitive Grammar notions of instantiation, prototype, entrenchment and extension are useful; without these notions, interesting generalizations about the Norwegian and Russian systems are inexpressible. The main empirical contribution of the paper is that a full-fledged analysis of the Russian system is presented. In addition, Kemmers analysis of Norwegian is improved upon, partly because findings from the generative tradition are incorporated

Capturing correlational structure in Russian paradigms: A case study in logistic mixed-effects modeling

Abstract This study addresses the statistical analysis of a phenomenon in Russian verbal paradigms, a suffix shift that is spreading through the paradigm and making it more regular. A problem that arises in the analysis of data collected from the Russian National Corpus is that counts documenting this phenomenon are based on repeated observations of the same verbs and, moreover, on counts for different parts of the paradigms of these same verbs. Unsurprisingly, individual verbs display consistent (although variable) behavior with respect to the suffix shift. The non-independence of the elementary observations in our data has to be taken into account in the statistical evaluation of the patterns in the data. We show how mixed-effects modeling can be used to do this in a principled way, and that it is also necessary to do so in order to avoid anti-conservative evaluation of significance.

Paradigm structure: Evidence from Russian suffix shift

Abstract In this article we apply one of the key concepts in cognitive linguistics, the radial category, to inflectional morphology. We advance the Paradigm Structure Hypothesis, arguing that inflectional paradigms are radial categories with internal structure primarily motivated by semantic relationships of markedness and prototypicality. It is possible to construct an expected structure for a verbal paradigm, facilitating an empirical test for our hypothesis. Data tracking an on-going morphological change in Russian documents the distribution of conservative vs. innovative forms across the cells of the verbal paradigm. A logistic regression model that takes into account the sources of variation (the frequencies of individual verbs and paradigm slots, and individual verb preferences) shows that the language change is implemented differently across the paradigm forms, confirming the expected structure. In addition to markedness and prototypicality, we investigate the impact of frequency and show that there is a good, albeit not perfect match between the expected hierarchy and frequency. We conclude that the diachronic change analyzed in this article gives evidence for the structure of paradigms modeled on the radial category.

Russian purely aspectual prefixes: Not so empty after all?

Abstract Nearly two thousand perfective verbs in Russian are formed via the addition of so-called “empty prefixes” (čistovidovye pristavki) to imperfective base verbs. The traditional assumption that prefixes are semantically “empty” when used to form aspectual pairs is problematic because the same prefixes are clearly “non-empty” when combined with other base verbs. Though some scholars have suspected that the prefixes are not empty but instead have meanings that overlap with the meanings of the base verbs, proof of this hypothesis has eluded researchers. With the advent of corpora and electronic resources it is possible to explore this question on the basis of large quantities of data. This article presents a new methodology, called “radial category profiling”, in which the semantic network of a prefix is established on the basis of its “non-empty” uses and then compared, node by node, with the semantic network of base verbs that use the same prefix as an “empty” perfectivizing morpheme. This methodology facilitates a comprehensive analysis of ten prefixes, comparing their meanings in “non-empty” and “empty” uses and showing precisely how in the latter case overlap produces the illusion of emptiness. We are able to fully specify the semantic network of each prefix, and discover that for some prefixes there is overlap throughout the network, while for others overlap is restricted to a contiguous subsection of the network. We investigate the dynamic interactions among prefixes, and identify what meanings are incompatible with the “purely aspectual” function of the so-called “empty” prefixes. The results of our analyses, including complete lists of verbs, are publicly available at: http://emptyprefixes.uit.no/ and http://emptyprefixes.uit.no/methodology_eng.htm.

How Russian Became Typologically Unusual: The History of Russian Temporal Adverbials with v ‘in(to)’

Abstract The present study investigates the relationship between historical linguistics and language typology in Russian temporal adverbials. It is argued that temporal adverbials with v ‘in(to)’ are typologically unusual, since they are at variance with Leonard Talmys generalization that the semantics of closed-class elements tend to be magnitude-neutral (“topological”), rather than magnitude-sensitive (“Euclidean”). The study lends support to Alice Harris’ idea that typologically unusual constructions emerge via the interaction of usual historical processes.

The History of the Russian Semelfactive: The Development of a Radial Category

This paper explores the history of suffixed semelfactive verbs in Russian, i.e., verbs like maxnut’ ‘wave once’ with the -nu- suffix. It is argued that the semelfactive aktionsart is best analyzed as a radial category organized around a prototype with four properties: uniformity, instantaneousness, non-resultativity, and single occurrence, which are defined and discussed in the article. This paper further demonstrates that there is a small group of verbs denoting bodily acts that meet these criteria in the Old Church Slavonic texts, thus suggesting the existence of an embryonic version of the semelfactive aktionsart in Common Slavic. Although the cue validity of -nu- as a marker of semelfactivity remains stable, in Old Russian -nu- with semelfactive meaning is shown to spread to auditory verbs, optical verbs, and verbs of physical movement, which are argued to constitute a radial category organized around prototypical bodily acts. This gradual expansion through the lexicon continues in Contemporary Standard Russian; in particular a number of semelfactive behavior verbs have emerged, although many of them are of low frequency.

Allomorphy in the usage-based model: The Russian past passive participle

Abstract Langackers usage-based model provides cognitive linguists with a useful tool for the study of allomorphy. In the present article the model is applied to a central problem in Russian conjugation, viz., the formation of the past passive participle. The analysis demonstrates the restrictiveness of the model, which precludes reference to arbitrary indices and underlying representations. Thus, the analyst is forced to look for surface-true generalizations including phonological, semantic, and symbolic structures and relationships holding between them. This reseach strategy proves fruitful for the Russian past passive participle. The choice of suffixes is shown to be predictable from the shape of the past-tense stem, facilitating the formation of simple generalizations about the distribution of the relevant suffixes.

Gender Assignment in Ukrainian: Language Specific Rules and Universal Principles

This article discusses the gender system of Ukrainian and proposes a set of semantic, morphological and morpho-semantic rules for the assignment of gender to Ukrainian nouns.

A FOOTnote to the Jers: The Russian Trochee-Iamb Shift and Cognitive Linguistics

Abstract: This article explores the fall and vocalization of the jers, making five claims. First, it is shown how the jer shift can be analyzed in terms of a trochaic pattern, whereby a jer fell unless it headed a foot. Second, the foot-based approach is argued to be superior to the traditional counting mechanism postulated for the jer shift in that the foot-based approach avoids ad hoc stipulations and facilitates crosslinguistic comparison. Third, the present study relates the fall of the jers to a trochee-iamb shift in Russian prosody; a few generations after the jer shift was completed, an iambic pattern was introduced through the emergence of akan’e. Fourth, it is proposed that Contemporary Standard Russian may be a “switch language,” i.e., a language in which productive processes are sensitive to both trochees and iambs. Last but not least, the present study analyzes prosodic change from the point of view of cognitive linguistics (the Usage-Based Model) and shows that this framework offers a straightforward account of the jer shift.