Semantic analysis

This article is part of forthcoming research on the history of Bulgarian relative pronouns. The question of their nature, origin, and evolution is inextricably bound up with the repeatedly discussed problem of the so-called replacement of their initial anaphoric stem by an ‘interrogative’ one. The relativization is a process of transformation of mutually dependent sentences (interrogative: who will…?; conditional: if someone…) into relative clauses, through changing their initial meaning, and transforming the noun, or the pronoun, which unifies them semantically, into a relative conjunction, which, usually has gender, number, and case. The acquirement of relative function by the *kw- stem is a result of a choice between several alternatives (*Ч-, *t- и *kw- root). Several possible causes and ways for the course of this process, mentioned in this article, can be supposed. The process of replacement of the old stem was catalyzed by several factors, which acted with different force, with different types of generated relative clauses, and with different relative pronouns. Probably, the relative *kw- stem was established lastly in the developing (commenting, procentential) clauses, under the influence of other relative clauses.

In the article the typology of the genitive is analyzed in the Old-Bulgarian language through the characterization of two word classes – nouns and verbs. Studied are the binary oppositions in the use of the genitive – active nouns (denoting names of people and animals) and inactive nouns (denoting natural sites, phenomena, children and little animals, products of the human activity, etc.) and, respectively – active and inactive verbs. The conclusions are based on the thesis that predicative centers are the nouns of a certain type which have their own internal and external activity - a subject, or those which only have their own internal activity – a pseudo-subject. The formation of the semantic concepts is based on the image of a) activity (external or internal active action or state), b) inactivity (only internal action or state), c) separable-inseparable belonging and d) discretion-indiscretion. Under a detailed analysis are the grammatical determiners of the genitive and their variants. The connection between the semantics of the nouns and the respective forms of the genitive is studied. The verb control of the genitive of proved, as the cases of a genitive with different semantic groups of verbs (which mean deprivation; which mean emotional or psychic state of the subject; verbs with the negative particle –ne; transitive verbs; verbs formed are supin, etc.) are examined. The conclusion is that the genitive is a grammatical expression of pseudo-subjects and inseparably connected with them pseudo-objects.