Compositionality of Czech Aspect
Compositionality of Czech Aspect

Summary/Abstract: I will discuss constraints on the double prefixation of Czech verbs. Filip (2003) argues that some combinations of external and internal prefixes are ungrammatical: Lod po-od-plula z přístavu X *Lod po-při-plula do přístavu. Filip assumes that this can be explained by the hypothesis that only the prefixes with the goal meaning (při-plout, do-táhnout) contribute boundedness of the denoted event, but the prefixes with the source meaning denote unbounded events (od-plout, od-skočit, od-táhnout). Some external prefixes (like po-) are according to Filip compatible only with unbounded events (*po-při-plout, *po-při-skočit, *po-do-táh- -nout). Filip’s solution is wrong (according to all up to date theories of meaning of prepositions and prefixes – see Zwarts 2005). I will show how the data can be described without Filip’s assumption and I will also describe syntax and semantics of Czech verbs of motion.

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