UDC

811.11-112:81-24

DOI

10.17238/issn2227-6564.2019.2.31

Authors

Sergey V. Mukhin
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation;
prosp. Vernadskogo 76, Moscow, 119454, Russian Federation;
e-mail: s.muhin@inno.mgimo.ru

Abstract

This article presents a comparative study of the Gothic Participle I and Latin Participium præsentis activi functioning as subjective predicative attribute. Relevance of the research is conditioned by the necessity to reveal the functions of the syntactic system of Indo-European languages at their early stages. Morphological, semantic and functional-syntactic properties of the verbal forms in question were studied in specific contexts featuring the occurrence of the participles in the corresponding Gothic and Latin versions of the Gospel According to Matthew. The research found considerable similarity between the Gothic and Latin participles on the morphological level. The comparison of the corresponding biblical contexts revealed an analogy of the syntactic meanings and functions inherent in both forms. The participles act as attributes or adverbial modifiers and demonstrate certain capacity for establishing all the types of syntactic subordination in a participial phrase. The participial construction itself can feature a large degree of extension and conveys the following meanings: parallel action, manner, temporality, cause, and characteristic of the subject. Moreover, the Gothic Participle I and Latin Participium præsentis activi have similar lexical semantics in the attributive-predicative function. In the analogous contexts, these participles are derived from the verbs falling into three lexico-semantic groups: verbs of motion, verbs of speaking, and verbs of sense perception. In addition, miscellaneous verbs were singled out failing to fit into any of the semantic groups. Although the sentence structure in both texts of the Gospel is extremely similar, in one in three cases the Latin text has no participle, which is explained by the peculiarities of the Latin syntax.

Keywords

Gospel According to Matthew, Gothic language, Participle I, Latin language, Participium præsentis activi, subjective predicative attribute

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