This paper offers a text-based, quantitative analysis of the quality modifier construction (i.e. the “adjective”) in Hittite. A sample of texts is selected, from which we gather all quality modifiers (131 types for 922 tokens); we analyse their morphemic structure and divide them into 7 different construction types (i.e., simple adjectives, prepositional adjectives, denomina- tive adjectives, deverbal adjectives, participles, prefixed adjectives and compound adjectives); and the frequency of each construction type is established, distinguishing type and token frequency. From our analysis, it emerges that simple and deverbal adjectives in a broader sense (i.e. deverbal adjectives proper and participles) show a similar frequency in Hittite (re- spectively 48.5% and 42.0%). The paper concludes with some reflections on the significance of the Hittite data for the reconstruction of the adjective class in PIE.

The Hittite adjective from a comparative perspective / Alfieri, Luca; Pozza, Marianna. - In: ARCHIVIO GLOTTOLOGICO ITALIANO. - ISSN 0004-0207. - CIX:2(2024), pp. 137-198. [10.1400/299457]

The Hittite adjective from a comparative perspective

Pozza, Marianna
2024

Abstract

This paper offers a text-based, quantitative analysis of the quality modifier construction (i.e. the “adjective”) in Hittite. A sample of texts is selected, from which we gather all quality modifiers (131 types for 922 tokens); we analyse their morphemic structure and divide them into 7 different construction types (i.e., simple adjectives, prepositional adjectives, denomina- tive adjectives, deverbal adjectives, participles, prefixed adjectives and compound adjectives); and the frequency of each construction type is established, distinguishing type and token frequency. From our analysis, it emerges that simple and deverbal adjectives in a broader sense (i.e. deverbal adjectives proper and participles) show a similar frequency in Hittite (re- spectively 48.5% and 42.0%). The paper concludes with some reflections on the significance of the Hittite data for the reconstruction of the adjective class in PIE.
2024
Hittite; Indo-European linguistics; parts of speech systems; adjectival typology; diachronic typology
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
The Hittite adjective from a comparative perspective / Alfieri, Luca; Pozza, Marianna. - In: ARCHIVIO GLOTTOLOGICO ITALIANO. - ISSN 0004-0207. - CIX:2(2024), pp. 137-198. [10.1400/299457]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1730973
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