The Function of OI com, ad, ro and Similar Elements in Slavic
Folke Josephson
University of Gothenburg
Abstract
Bulgarian felt free to multiply superlexical prefixes practically in absurdum and there are similar tendencies in other South Slavic languages. The order of superlexical prefixes in stacking is quite regular in Bulgarian. There are some weaker tendencies to multiplication of prefixes in Greek, Latin and Germanic where lexical aspect is sometimes involved. Only Old Irish provides a parallel to extensive multiple prefixation. In position after a number of prefixes which refer to path, reciprocity and internal location OI shows a great number of directional or initially or finally limiting prefixes which are placed in a complicated internal order which allows for variation and repetition of a prefix to a higher extent than is allowed in Bulgarian. Completivity plays an important role in the positioning of prefixes at or towards the end of the OI chain of prefixes in a way that has no obvious parallel in Bulgarian, but clearly exists in the Anatolian Wackernagel chain of clitics.