Augment
In linguistics , an augment ( Latin augmentum , the enlarged one ) is a prefix that is placed in front of a verb in some Indo-European languages to form past tenses such as the past perfect , the imperfect or the aorist . The augment is used in this function in Greek , Armenian , Phrygian and Indo-Iranian languages such as Sanskrit . Within Indo-European studies , it is controversial whether the augment only developed within these branches of Indo-European or whether it already existed in the Indo-European original language, but was later lost in all but the mentioned successor languages.
The augment is not used consistently in all language levels to mark past tenses. In Greek it comes e.g. B. Homer not consistently present, the exact reasons are discussed to this day.
Examples
The formation of the past tense and aorist forms in modern Greek requires an emphasis on the third from last syllable. For example, the verb πληρώνω ( pliróno ) “I (be) paying” forms the imperfect tense πλήρωνα ( plírona ) “I (be) paid” [linear past: always, always and continuously], or the aorist πλήρωσα ( plírosa ) “I (paid) "[selective past: short-term, one-time and closed].
Verbs that only consist of two syllables, however, are preceded by an augment, which replaces the third from last syllable that is not contained in the word stem. For example, the verb λέγω ( légo ) “I speak” forms the past tense form έλεγα ( élega , ancient Greek ἔλεγον élegon ) “I spoke”. The leading ε represents the so-called syllable augment. Vowel-like verbs, on the other hand, have the so-called stretch augment. In this case, the initial vowel is stretched. This is how the aorist of ἀκούω ( akoúō ) ἤκουσα ( ḗkousa ), formed with augment, reads in ancient Greek . In today's Greek, however, the augment is omitted in the aorist: άκουσα ( ákousa ).
The augment is formed in a similar way in Sanskrit: Here the syllable augment is अ a . So to भवति bhavati “he is” the past tense reads अभवत् abhavat “he was”. In verbs with initial vowels, the initial vowel appears in the expansion stage ( vṛddhi ): The past tense of इच्छति icchati "he wants" is ऐच्छत् aicchat "he wanted."
In Armenian , the augment only occurs in word forms that would otherwise be monosyllabic in order to strengthen their phonetic content. It is therefore not used to mark the past: aorist 1st person Sg. Beri "I wore" without augment, but 3rd person Sg. E-ber "he wore" with augment.
Inner augment
For some words in Greek that contain a prefix, the augment is not inserted at the beginning of the word, but between the prefix and the word stem. One then speaks of an inner augment . If the verb stem begins with a vowel, there is also an augmentation here. It should be noted that an inner augment can also transform the (possibly assimilated) prefix back into its basic form (συμ… → συν + ε +…).
- Examples (in each case present and Aorist): εισπράττω - εισ .epsilon. πραξα, συμπίπτω - συν .epsilon. πεσα, αναγγέλλω - αν .eta γγειλα, εμπεριέχω - εμπερι εί χα.
In Modern Greek there are many verbs for which the inner augment is optional and is used or not depending on the speaking situation or the speaker's level of education.
- Examples: μεταφράζω - μετάφρασα or μετ έ φρασα, αναθέτω - ανάθεσα or αν έ θεσα, παραγγέλνω - παράγγειλα or παρ ή .γγειλα or παρ ή.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Meier-Brügger : Indo-European Linguistics. 8th, revised and expanded edition of the earlier presentation by Hans Krahe . Walter de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2002, ISBN 3-11-017243-7 , pp. 183f.