This paper focuses on the Old Persian genitive case as a syncretism of the Indo-European dative and genitive. Indeed, a detailed examination of Old Persian textual data reveals that the genitive expresses a variety of syntactic functions and semantic roles, cross-linguistically typical not only of the genitive, but also of the dative. This scenario can be accounted for by considering the Old Persian genitive case as a polysemic radial category, the expression of the Possessor being the core function and other attested functions being metaphorical extensions. Evidence from a cross-linguistic perspective suggests that the semantic or functional overlapping of the genitive and dative cases was the main cause for such syncretism, particularly considering the tendency of languages to eliminate synonymous grammatical forms over time.
Il sincretismo di genitivo e dativo in persiano antico / Benvenuto, Maria Carmela; Pompeo, Flavia. - In: VICINO ORIENTE. - ISSN 2532-5159. - STAMPA. - XVI:(2012), pp. 151-165.
Il sincretismo di genitivo e dativo in persiano antico
BENVENUTO, Maria Carmela;POMPEO, Flavia
2012
Abstract
This paper focuses on the Old Persian genitive case as a syncretism of the Indo-European dative and genitive. Indeed, a detailed examination of Old Persian textual data reveals that the genitive expresses a variety of syntactic functions and semantic roles, cross-linguistically typical not only of the genitive, but also of the dative. This scenario can be accounted for by considering the Old Persian genitive case as a polysemic radial category, the expression of the Possessor being the core function and other attested functions being metaphorical extensions. Evidence from a cross-linguistic perspective suggests that the semantic or functional overlapping of the genitive and dative cases was the main cause for such syncretism, particularly considering the tendency of languages to eliminate synonymous grammatical forms over time.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.