Rolandas Mikulskas. Possible source constructions of the copular construction with the verb darytis / pasidaryti
Rolandas Mikulskas. Possible source constructions of the copular construction with the verb darytis / pasidaryti
Study. Vilnius: Institute of the Lithuanian Language, 2020. ISBN 978-609-411-260-7, https://doi.org/10.35321/e-pub.5.galimos-konstrukciju-istakos
In modern Lithuanian, constructions of the copula darytis/pasidaryti undoubtedly have their own place amidst other constructions of aspect copulas, such as copula constructions (CC) with the verbs tapti and virsti. However, in the early days of our writing constructions of the copula darytis/pasidaryti were just taking their first steps. The main goal of this study is to reveal the origins of CC with this verb. To that end, data from the translation of Jonas Bretkūnas Bible (BB) – eleven books of the Old Testament available in the Database of Old Scripts of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language, to be more specific – were used. A relevant approach was taken to other major sources of scripts of Lithuania Minor and Major as well.
There is reason to believe that the constructions of origin of CC with darytis/pasidaryti that have a medial meaning were represented amply in the subject material by the resultant culminating causation constructions (RCCC) with the verb (pa)daryti. Their common meaning can be described as ‘something or someone turns something or someone into something or someone or in some way or another’; alternatively, semantic decomposition can be employed to produce an even more general definition: ‘something or someone affects something or someone in a way to turn it or them into something or someone or some way or another’. We could describe such constructions even more broadly as constructions of a change event, its outcome registered by the (substantival or verbal) complementative of the verb (pa)daryti. RCCC with (pa)daryti became a platform on which medial-meaning constructions with the verbal forms of darytis/pasidaryti were built by way of anti-causative derivation (using the formant of reflexive particle) to convey a spontaneous change event. In terms of their meaning, the derivatives in question, which were used in the BB translation only sporadically, were still very close to true reflexive constructions where the subject affect itself/oneself. While we can already attach a medial meaning to such anti-causative constructions, their subjective referents were but agents, intentional individuals, and the constructions as such could not have designated change events where the actors were inanimate, inert, manipulated objects (that could be held responsible for the change that was taking place only implicitly). For anti-causative constructions with darytis/pasidaryti to become full-fledged CC, their verb had to lose its semantics to such an extent that it would no longer presuppose a mere subjective individual acting as an agent.
In this regard, one important contribution to the development of CC with darytis/pasidaryti was made by existential constructions involving this verb, which soon emerged in parallel. As Metai (The Year), the poem by Kristijonas Donelaitis shows, existential constructions with darytis/pasidaryti were commonplace in the 18th century language of Prussian Lithuanians. The fact that these constructions co-existed with the relevant CC was important in the way that the alternation of the subject’s expression, a typical attribute of both types of constructions, could be used as a conduit for including inanimate subjective referents in copula constructions, cf. Ar kad, kepdams ką gardžiai, pas kaminą sėdi, / Tai tav iš drūtų minkšti pasidaro kąsniai (~ drūti kąsniai pasidaro minkšti – R. M.) K. Donel (see 214–215).
The evolution of the CC with darytis/pasidaryti might have possibly been retarded by the competition from other aspect-related CC with the verbs tapti, stotis/pastoti, and pavirsti. One can predict that when the BB translator/editors needed some equivalents of anti-causative RCCC with (pa)daryti, constructions of said copulas were always close at hand. To validate this prediction, the study places a significant focus on revealing the productivity of the constructions of the copulas tapti, stotis/pastoti, and pavirsti and their syntactic partners – existential and periphrastic constructions – that were found in the sample of the CC covered by the analysis.
