The aspectual status of the verbal prefix des- in European Portuguese
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21814/diacritica.5118Keywords:
Prefix des-, Derivational Morphology, Aspect, SemanticsAbstract
Some studies on the aspectual and morphosyntactic status of prefixes suggest that their
contribution to the verbal predicate is aspectual in nature. In her adjunct theory of preverbs, Di
Sciullo (1997, 2003, 2005) argues that prefixes are projected as adjuncts at the Morphological
Form (MF) interface of verbal derivations and can be defined as either external or internal
prefixes, depending on their projection with respect to the VP. In this approach, prefixes conform
to the Adjunct Identification Principle (AIP), according to which they display specific
configurational properties in the structure. In Portuguese, the prefix des- deserves particular
attention. This prefix is theoretically defined as an external prefix and convey aspectual and nonaspectual
information, which is external to the verbal projection. It can also impart internal
aspectual information in certain senses. In the present study, the adjunct approach is reviewed and
applied to the prefix des- in Portuguese. A primary analysis shows that des- imposes some
selectional restrictions on the verbal base to which it adjoins. When the semantic value of the
prefix is inverse, it tends to select inherently telic verbs, and when it is negative, it usually selects
atelic verbs. In its extractive value, it is argued that des- holds the status of an internal prefix, identifying a terminative feature [+T] in the verbal derivation. A corpus analysis was laid out, which supports the formulated hypotheses.
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