From an Adverb to a Prefix: The Case of the Polish współ- Cover Image

Od przysłówka do przedrostka (na przykładzie polskiego współ-)
From an Adverb to a Prefix: The Case of the Polish współ-

Author(s): Aleksandra Janowska
Subject(s): Theoretical Linguistics, Western Slavic Languages, Philology
Published by: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: compound words; historical word formation; prefixal derivatives;

Summary/Abstract: In the modern Polish language, it is difficult to determine in an unambiguous manner the word-formative status of formations which feature the element współ-. Such elements are treated as compounds or, more frequently, as prefixal forms. Historically, these elements, along with the constructions spół-, społu, constituted a class of compounds which were synonymous. The first attestations of the structures which are discussed in this article date back to as early as the Old Polish period (cf. społupomoc, społudziedzic), although their expansion occurred only in the nineteenth century (e.g. współdryblas, współdziałać, współinteresowany). The development of this derivative group is clearly associated with the evolution of adverbs of the type społu, pospołu, wespół, współ, wspołek; it mainly consists in the expansion of the forms which feature współ on the one hand, and in the slow process of disassociation of the relationship in question on the other.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 54
  • Page Range: 1-13
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish