DATIVE SUBJECTS IN LITHUANIAN AND ICELANDIC

SLE 2012Baltic languages in the European context: Theoretical, comparative and typological perspectives. 45th Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea29 August-01 September 2012Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

Valgerður BjarnadóttirDepartment of Baltic Languages, Finnish and German Stockholm Universityvalgerdur.bjarnadottir@balt.su.se

DATIVE SUBJECT CONSTRUCTIONSMan (yra) šalta LITHme:DAT is:3pres cold:ADJ.NEUT

Mér er kalt ICELme:DAT is:3pres cold:ADJ.NEUT

‘I’m cold/ I’m freezing’

OUTLINEIntroductionCase and argument structureSemantics (domains of occurrence of DS

constructions)Few tests for ´subjecthood´Circum-Baltic parallelsDifferent historical developmentConclusion

: Case and argument structure in:

ACC DAT

ACC-# DAT-#

ACC-NOM DAT-NOM

ACC-ACC (DAT-ACC)

ACC-GEN DAT-GEN

ACC-PP DAT-PP

ACC-S DAT-S

ACC DATACC-# DAT-#

†ACC-NOM DAT-NOM

ACC-ACC (DAT-ACC)

†ACC-GEN †DAT-GEN

ACC-PP DAT-PP

ACC-S DAT-S

Lithuanian Icelandic

DATIVE SUBJECTS IN LITHUANIANKaip tau sekasi? DAT #How you:DAT do :3PRES ‘How do you feel/do? ’

Man patinka pavasaris DAT NOMI:DAT like: 3PRES spring:NOM ‘ I like spring’

Man reikia pagalbos DAT GENI:DAT need:3PRES help:GEN ‘I need help’

Man reikia eiti DAT INFI:DAT need:3PRES go:INF ‘I need to go’

DATIVE SUBJECTS ICELANDICHenni leiðist DAT #She:DAT bore:3PRES She is bored

Henni líkaði bókin DAT NOMShe:DAT like:3PAST book:NOM She liked the book

†Þuríði batnaði sóttarinnar (oldIcel) DATGENTurid:DAT recovered illness:GEN Turid recovered from her illness

Henni virðist líða vel DAT INFShe:DAT seems to feel:INF well She seems to feel fine

DATIVE +ADJ/NOUN/ADVLITHUANIAN

Man šaltaDAT ADJI:DAT cold:ADJ NEUT

Man gėda dėl mamos DAT NOUNI:DAT shame because mother:GEN‘ I am ashamed of my mother’

Man gaila tavęs DAT ADVI:DAT sorry:ADV you:GEN‘ I feel sorry for you’

DATIVE +ADJ/NOUN/ADVICELANDIC

Mér er kalt DAT ADJI:DAT is:3PRES cold:NEUT

Mér er vorkunn DAT NOUNI:DAT is pity‘One should feel sorry for me’

Mér er sama DAT ADVI:DAT is same ‘I don´t care ’

Lithuanian DAT Subj Cxns

Valgerður Bjarnadóttir

Dat-[XP]-

Experiencer

PossessionObligation/necessity

Happenstance:

SuccessFailure/mistake

Gainverb verb verb adj

+ExperiencerEmotions

AttitutesCognitionPerception

Bodily states/change

sverb verb verb adj

DATIVE SUBJECTS SEMANTICS

HateLove

Disgust hope-wish

Suit/becomeBe sufficient/suffice

Occur to one´s mindBe

pleased/like/dislikeSucceed/benefit/

getBodily state/change

Have fear /agonySeem/appear

Be surprisedObligation

PossessionBe of concernBe difficultSorrow ShameLack/need

Be in dangerFind strength

in Speaking

Expect

Valgerður Bjarnadóttir

Lith

Icel

SUBJECTHOOD (Initial position preferred +) Control of reflexive pronouns + (Control of converbs -) Raising to subjects + Control of infinitive – (Coreferential deletion –/+) (Source of diathetic change –) Double Dat cxns ?

Control of reflexivesKatrei reikėjo savo/*jos draugėsKatrė:DAT need:3PST her:_+refl/-refl friendGEN‘Katrė needed her friend ’

Katrės reikėjo *savo/jos draugeiKatrė:GEN need:3PST her friend:DAT‘The friend needed Katrė’

(Christen, 1995, 23)

Control of reflexivesOld Lithuanian

koġ berêikia mumus ape ſawé rûpintiś?

what:GEN need us:DAT about us:REFL care:INF

‘what do we need to care about ourselves’ (DP. 81.21, 1590)

Raising to subjectMan pradėjo skaudėti galvą (Mod Lith)I:DAT began:3PST hurt:INF

head:ACC‘My head began to hurt ’

Iegu kad pradeſti mumis neſkaneti Pana dewa ßadis

If that begin we:DAT not like lord God´s word:NOM

‘If we begin to dislike God´s word ’(WP 209,r19, 1573)

Control of PRO Infinitive*Jis tikisi [PRO] patikti ši knyga

(Lith)He:NOM hopes like:INF this book:NOM

Hann vonast til að líka þessi bók(Icel)

He:NOM hopes like:INF this book:NOM

Intended meaning: ‘He hopes to like this book’

Striking parallelisms across Eastern Circum-Baltic area

Seržants (2012) :DAT subj pred. in West Finnic, Baltic and Russian show structural parallelisms in lexical, morphological and syntactic levels

Subject control of PRO in infinitival complements

* Nenoriu būti šalta LITHUANIAN

not.want:PRS.1SG be:INF cold:ADV

*Negrību būt auksti LATVIAN

not.want:PRS.1SG be:INF cold:ADV

*Ne xoču byt’ xolodno RUSSIAN

not want:PRS.1SG be:INF cold:ADV

*Ei taha olla külm. ESTONIAN

not want be:INF cold:ADV

‘I don’t want to be cold’ (Seržants 2012)

Double dative cxns Mergaitei buvo baisuvienai eiti per

mišką.Girl:DAT be afraid:3PRS alone:DAT go:INF

through forest

‘The girl was afraid to go alone through the forest’

Nepakanka būti geramnot enough be:INF good:DAT

‘It is not enough to be good/kind’

Double dative cxns in old LithNeger jra szmogui wienam buti not good is man:DAT alone:DAT be:INF‘It is not good for a man to be alone’ (VE 50

14, 1579)

Prisieinas jam búti nuògamNeed he:DAT be:INF naked:DAT‘he needs to be naked’

(Fraenkel, 1928, 120)

Double DativeVytautas paprašė tėvo [PRO ateiti vienam]Vytautas asked father:GEN PRO:DAT to come

alone:DAT ‘Vytautas asked father to come alone’ (Lavine, 2000, 76)

Honum leiðist einum (Icel)He:DAT is bored alone:DATHonum leiðist að vera einn/?einumHe:DAT is bored to be alone:NOM/DAT

DAT-INF LITHUANIANMumus wissiems mirti (Old Lith)weDAT allDAT dieINF ‘we all must die’ (BrB II Moz

12,33)  Nesa iam buwa sawa Walnistes mieste pasilikti,

ikki smertiesBecause himDAT was his free cityLOC stay till

death ‘because he has to stay in his refuge city till death’

(BrB II Moz 35,28)

DAT-INF in other languagesTev nebūs zagt! (Latv)you:DAT not to:FUT steal:INF ‘You shall not steal’ (ME I 359)

Mi budetь nynĕ poĕxati (Old Russ)I:DAT be:3sg now leave:INF ‘I have to leave’ (Ambrazas, 2006,339)

Me ys to erigenne (Old English)I:DAT is:3Pr to plough:INF ‘I have to plough’ (Bauer, 2000,212)

DAT with participles and absolute DATGeresnia butu tam Szmogui ne gimmusiam Better be:3COND this man:DAT not born:DAT‘It would have been better for this man not to be born’

(BrB Mrk 14, 21, 1590)

Mumus iautantemus preg graba staghis est didis We:DAT waking:DAT at grave suddenly is big drebeijamas szemesshaking:NOM earth:GEN ‘while we are waking by the grave there was suddenly a

violent earthquake’ (WP 157. 1)

DAT. SUBJ. WITH NEUT. ADJ.LITHUANIAN

Jis šaltas ‘he is cold’ vs. Jam šalta ‘he is freezing, he feels cold’

Jis sunkus ‘he is heavy’ vs. Jam sunku ‘it is difficult for him’

Jis nuobodus ‘he is boring’ vs. jam nuobodu ‘he is bored’

Jis baisus ‘he is terrifying’ vs. Jam baisu ‘he is afraid’

Jis juokingas ‘he is funny’ vs. Jam juokinga ‘he thinks it is funny’

DAT. SUBJ. WITH NEUT. ADJ.ICELANDIC

Hann er kaldur vs. Honum er kalt (cold-freezing)

Hann er heitur vs. Honum er heitt (hot)Hann er ljúfur vs Honum er ljúft

(sweet/pleasing) Hann er illur ‘he is evil/mean’ vs. Honum er

illt ‘He is hurting/feels sick’Honum er óglatt ‘He is nauseated’Honum er bumbult ‘He is nauseated’

DAT. SUBJ. WITH REFLEXIVE VERBSLITHUANIAN

Aš matau mišką ‘I see the forest’– Man matosi miškas ‘To me the forest is seen’ or ‘I can see the forest / man girdisi muzika ‘I can hear music”

 Jis čia gerai miega -Jam čia gerai miegasi‘He sleeps here well’ heDAT well sleep3Pr.Rfl

Jis (intensyviai) dirba - Jam (*intensyviai) dirbasi‘he (strenuously) works ’ heDAT (*strenuously)

works

DAT. SUBJ. WITH REFLEXIVE VERBSICELANDIC

Ég heyri ‘I hear’ vs. mér heyrðist ‘ I:DAT thought I heard’ /mér misheyrðist ‘I misheard’

‘*mér heyrðist tónlist’

Ég finn ‘I find’ vs. mér finnst ‘ It seems to me’

Ég sé ‘I see” vs. mér sést yfir ‘it escapes my notice’

Ég mæli ‘I speak’ vs. Mér mælist vel (*af ástettu ráði) I:DAT

delivered a good speech (*deliberately)

CONCLUSIONSimilarities:

◦ Argument structure : however more variation in Lith◦ Main semantic groups

Differences:◦ Certain semantic differences(possession, speaking,

sorrow/shame, lack/need)◦ Subjecthood ◦ Circum-Baltic parallels◦ Less semantically restricted in an be assigned in

almost all instances -non-finite- regardless of the lexical semantics of the verb

Tack! Takk! Thank You! Ačiū!