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Derived Lexical Reciprocal Verbs in Czech

Publication at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics |
2020

Abstract

In Czech (similarly as in other Slavic languages), the clitic reflexives serve - among others - as a derivational means deriving lexical reciprocal verbs, i.e., those verbs that encode mutuality directly in their lexical meaning. Here I draw a line between those lexical reciprocal verbs with which the reflexives introduce mutuality (nenávidět se 'to hate each other' LEFTWARDS ARROW nenávidět 'to hate sb' and slíbit si 'to promise sth to each other' LEFTWARDS ARROW slíbit 'to promise sth to sb') and those with which the reflexives have another function (oddělit se 'to separate from each other' LEFTWARDS ARROW oddělit 'to separate sb/sth from sb/sth').

I show that lexical reciprocal verbs of the former type uniformly form the so-called discontinuous constructions with the nominative subject and comitative indirect object (e.g., Petr si slíbil s Marií věrnost. 'Peter and Mary promised fidelity to each other.') and that they fall into several semantic classes, which, however, semantically overlap to a great extent with lexical reciprocal verbs of