SOME OBSERVATIONS ON SUMERIAN COMPOUND VERBS <SUP>1</SUP>

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  • SOME OBSERVATIONS ON SUMERIAN COMPOUND VERBS 1

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Description

This paper focuses on the lexico-semantic and morphosyntactic aspects of Sumerian compound verbs, namely, the verbs that consist of a noun and a verb stem. They are very frequent in Sumerian, and the majority have a noun designating a part of the body as their nominal constituent, indicating the body-part's involvement in a given expression. I consider Sumerian compound verbs as a type of noun incorporation called lexical compounding whose constituents are formally discontinuous. The nominal constituent is semantically incorporated but, unlike typical cases of noun incorporation in other languages, it holds its syntactic status occupying the absolutive position. Therefore, it can regain its semantic independence in some constructions, thus allowing its referentiality to be manipulable. I believe that this study of the compound verbs, using a functional-typological approach, contributes to our understanding of some aspects of the Sumerian verbal system and to the typology of noun incorporation.

Journal

  • Orient

    Orient 39 96-110, 2004

    THE SOCIETY FOR NEAR EASTERN STUDIES IN JAPAN

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Details 詳細情報について

  • CRID
    1390282680331596544
  • NII Article ID
    130003750769
  • DOI
    10.5356/orient1960.39.96
  • ISSN
    18841392
    04733851
  • Text Lang
    en
  • Data Source
    • JaLC
    • Crossref
    • CiNii Articles
  • Abstract License Flag
    Disallowed

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