Bērtin bēru valodiņu 'My language flows like a river' : On one Latvian verbal construction from the perspective of corpus linguistics
Abstract
In our paper we describe a specific, Latvian two-word construction consisting of a verb preceded by an adverb derived from the same verb by the suffix -in-/-tin- (e.g. bērtin bērt). We are interested in how a given language element, apparently archaic and typical of Latvian folk songs (dainas), is used in today's language.
Some research questions are articulated, including one that goes beyond the specific realm of the Latvian language (how can these constructions be translated into other languages?). We search for the construction in the available Latvian corpora (LVK2018, lvTenTen14, InterCorp lv v11, Rainis and SENIE) and compare the resulting occurrences with a description in the current Latvian linguistic sources: both grammars and dictionaries.
Deviations from the norm are treated descriptively in this article, as the speakers' aim is to achieve a communication goal rather than their mistakes, as well as the creative development of this construction up to the present. The article is supplemented with an appendix: alphabetic lists of analysed lemmas along with their frequency.