Res Humanitariae

The article presents the analysis of onomasiological system of one group of infixed and sta-stem verbs attested in the old Lithuanian scripts, denominative verbs in particular, derived from adjectives and nouns. The analysed verbs belong to the type of fientive word formation: their derivational meaning is ‘to become or to acquire/experience something which is denoted by the primary word’. The primary words are specific and abstract adjectives and nouns which by the means of affixal nomination – paradigmation – are used to form fientives or, more rarely, stative verbs. What is more, in the process of verbalization, additional means of derivation, namely, the infix and affix sta, play a significant role in attributing the verb to the derivational model of fientives. The centre of fientive derivational type is comprised of deadjectives, while desubstantives stand in the periphery of this type. The semantics of the denominatives analyzed is determined explicitly (in rarer cases, implicitly) by semantics of primary adjectives and nouns. According to properties/objects denoted by the lexical motivator, seven motivational models of denominative verbs have been established: colourative, morphological, physiomorphological, psychomorphological, the model of possession and social relationship, gustatory, and thermal one.

The article focuses on the morphological structure of infixed and sta-stem verbs in two written sources in the north Samogitian dialect of Kretinga, in particular Ziwatas and Purpura. The verbs in question are analysed in terms of their morphological composition, by comparing them to those recorded in a dictionary of the Kretinga dialect, and highlighting the changes and innovations that took place in the verbal system. The data gathered is further compared to linguistic facts regarding two authors using the same Kretinga dialect, Motiejus Valančius and Simonas Daukantas, and also to data provided by the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language.

The article focuses on short-rooted infixal and sta stem verbs ending with sonants l, r, m, n, v, j which were attested in old Lithuanian scripts dating back to the 16–17st century and representing different written variants. The aforementioned verbs typically have a wide spectrum of constructional alternations. The morphological structure of verbs attested in the old scripts alternates similarly to those forms found in Lithuanian dialects, however, there are some notable differences as well, that is why the verbs found in old scripts are compared to those found in Lithuanian dialects and contemporary Lithuanian in order to determine the localization of alternating forms, their chronological and areal distribution as well as the tendencies and motives for their structural change.