The purpose of this article is to give detailed description to all possible semantic and morphological features of Germanic preterite-present verbs. Some research has dealt with the problem of preterite-present present verbs; however, semantic and morphological functions of these verbs were studied only by singling out verb characteristics, peculiarities, potential possibilities in different Germanic languages without any alignment of the obtained results. There is little information available on preterite-present verbs within the west Germanic and North Germanic (Scandinavian) subgroups. Semantic aspect of these verbs was analysed by some scholars, but it is still unknown how these verbs were formed in other Indo-European languages (Baltic, Slavonic, Romantic). The contradicting point of the available research is how those verbs are reflected in Latin and Greek. In spite of the fact that preterite-present verbs were studied in detail in terms of phonological characteristics, their morphological and semantic peculiarities were not taken into account and compared. Special attention should be given to the functioning and correlation of phonological and morphological peculiarities of those verbs. This paper offers the results of a detailed and consistent analysis of phonological and morphological peculiarities of preterite-present verbs. The paper aims at determining the morphological characteristics of preterite-present verbs, which were formed under the influence of phonological processes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the connection of Germanic preterite-present verbs with possible sources in other Indo-European languages. The authors define a set of characteristics peculiar of preterite-present verbs semantics. The functions of these verbs are analysed in detail. The authors attempt to analyse the nature of these verbs. The attention is paid to the functions of preterite- present verbs not only in the Germanic languages, but in other Indo-European languages, too. The comparative historical method is used here as the main one. The authors see this valid way of investigation as reliable and appropriate for the preterite-present verb analysis.
The purpose of this article is to separate grammatical structures that demonstrate the development of the future tense forms in the Germanic languages. The first step of research includes the identification of word forms for temporal description. Gradual identification of primitive analytical forms gives the possibility of tracing the gradual analytisation of the corresponding word combinations and their further transformation into stable analytical verb structures. Finding out latent features helps to recognize differentiated grammatical forms that are used to create and build the set of the formal Germanic future tense structures. The subject of the research is the components used to form temporal verb forms that project the action into the future. The Gothic language, which is understood as the initial, primary stage for the research, used forms of the present tense to describe the future action involving a phrase or an upper phrase context. Within the present tense forms a prefixal word-formation model was found. The Gothic optative was involved to render the future tense. The weak models of Gothic analytisation are connected with the infinitive phrase and auxiliary verb haban. Combination of auxiliary verbs with verbals (infinitive or participle I) were found in the North and West Germanic languages. These verb combinations involved a very restricted set of notional verbs used in two verbal forms. The first element of the phrase that falls under the process of future grammaticalization was preterite-present verbs, inchoative and some durative verbs. Stability of primary analytical temporal forms was created by using only two variants of verbals (infinitive or participle I). The first component of analytical temporal forms gradually lost its primary lexical meaning through its transformation into the auxiliary element. In the process of further differentiation of the Germanic languages some peculiarities were traced. The German language did not develop individual analytical forms with preterite-present (modal) verbs. Other West Germanic and Scandinavian languages used preterite-present (modal) verbs as a leading mechanism for temporal analytisation. Creation of analytical temporal forms happened within twofold formats.
The stages that encompass the future tense development are singled out as discrete phenomena within the process of the Germanic language development. The Gothic verb system can serve as the background for the investigation of the tense transformations in question. The difficulties of tense examination in the Old Germanic languages were connected with some conceptions about the Indo-Iranian and Greek languages that used to dominate in the scientific circles for a long time. Those conceptions were based on Latin and Greek patterns and postulated the use of present, past and future tenses in all Indo-European languages. The above conceptions were ruined when the study of Tokharian and Hittite demonstrated the use of the present tense for the description of future actions. The idea of losing “the protolanguage inheritance” was proved wrong, and it was incorrect to transfer the complex tense system of Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin to other Proto-Indo-European languages. The examination of the tense differentiation in Gothic (as the main source of the Old Germanic language) demonstrates that the Gothic infinitive functioned as a no-particular-time unit, while personal verb forms were involved in performing tense functions. The Gothic present tense verbs represented present and future tenses and no-particular-time phenomena. Some periphrastic forms containing preterite-present verbs with the infinitive occurred sporadically. The periphrastic forms correlated with Greek and Latin patterns of the same future tense meaning. The periphrastic future forms in Gothic often contained some modal shades of meaning. The Gothic present tense functioned as a colony-forming archi-unit and a pluripotential (temporal) precursor. The periphrastic Gothic future forms are recognised as a monopotential (temporal) precursor with some modal meaning. The key research method used in the present article is the comparative historical method. The authors viewed it as the most reliable and appropriate for the study of tense forms.
The purpose of this article is to give the model, which demonstrates the development of the Future tense forms in the Gothic language. The initial stage of modelling the Future tense development includes the description of components according to their constituent features. It gives the possibility of tracing the gradual analytisation of corresponding grammatical form, and finding out latent features, which are characteristic for differentiated grammatical forms creating and building the set of Germanic future tense formal structures. The subject of the investigation are peculiarities of formation mechanism of temporal verb forms for projecting the action into the future. To describe the future action the Gothic language used forms of the Present tense involving phrase or upper phrase context. Within the Present tense forms a prefixal word formation model was found. The Greek future tense was translated involving prefixal and present forms in the Gothic language. The Gothic optative was involved to render the future tense. The present tense forms gain future meaning under the influence of aspect-tense specificity, which is recognized as futurelizing factor. Functions of the aspect-tense specificity may be performed with phrase or upper phrase context and syntactical structures with definitely represented semantics. Distinguished present tense constructions create the primary pivot, which is a basis for further development of the Gothic future tense forms. Gothic analytical structures with participle or infinitive were formed involving inchoative, strong, preterite present verbs. These structures are recognized as compound verbal predicates. Analytical structures cover the pivot creating coaxial cylinders. The whole model may be recognized as divergent-rotational because representing the Gothic future tense forms model itself "moves" along the temporal axis. Multilevel model structure demonstrates the fact that analytical forms are changeable in the gravitation. The comparison of divergent-rotational model components and peculiarities of their arrangement indicates and the caudal development of the Future tense forms in the Gothic language. Tendencies found and distinguished as initial, primary in the Gothic language happen in the process of development of the Old Germanic languages. These tendencies are reflected in the Modern Germanic languages, too.
The article addresses the Indo-European and common Germanic roots of the preterito-presentia verbs. The words of the ancient Indian, Greek, Latin, Old Slavonic, Lithuanian, Gothic, Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon, and Old English languages are analysed within the framework of the comparative-historical approach. The analysis is carried out on the phonological, morphological and semantic levels. The main attention is paid to the discovery of common latent archaic roots that were obscured in the process of historical development and the separation of the Germanic language group from the rest of the Indo-European language family.
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