Journal of Historical Linguistics - Volume 14, Issue 3, 2024

Abstract

The paper studies the development of several properties of the reflexive enclitic sě/se dependent on a finite verb in the Czech language. We focus on the word order position of the reflexive and on the influence which the length of the initial phrase has on the position. We also investigate the shift of the reflexive from an enclitic into a prosodically indifferent clitic. Nine Czech translations of the Gospel of Matthew from the 14th to the 21st century are used as language material.

Abstract

In this study, a construction marginally found in Ancient Greek is addressed, namely the participial clause, which is a clause whose main verb is a participle. This construction displays a considerable increase in frequency in Biblical Greek (mainly between the 2nd century bce and the 2nd century ce), which is the language found in Judaeo-Christian literature and which features, in various ways and to various degrees, the influence of Semitic languages. Since the participial clause is a very common construction in these tongues, wherein it even exhibits increasing productivity and frequency at the time at issue, I suggest that the frequency increase observed in Greek should be attributed to the influence of these Semitic languages, with a crucial role played by multilingualism. The issue is addressed from the perspective of language contact, which provides the theoretical and terminological frame by which the phenomenon is individuated and defined.

This article reviews Historical Continuity in the Emergence of Modern Hebrew