Verbs of Motion with Directional Prepositions and Prefixes in Xenophon's Anabasis

Abstract

The thesis compares different prepositions and verbal prefixes denoting direction in Ancient Greek. The corpus covers passages in Xenophon’s Anabasis where such directional elements are used. In this work, it has been examined how the usage of prepositions differs from that of prefixes when they denote a concrete motion in space, what reasons lie behind their usage, and how various directional elements of source, path and goal differ from each other.

At the outset, the study begins by an inventory of base verbs of motion, which are divided into three groups: verbs of source, path, and goal, depending on whether they describe the beginning of a motion, motion along a path, or focus on the destination. Subsequently, it is examined with what kind of prefixes these verbs are combined, and with which prepositional phrases they co-occur. The three main chapters make a further subdivision based on which prepositions or prefixes are used with different landmarks.

According to our initial assumptions, the choice of a directional element is above all determined by how a trajectory leads with respect to a landmark, as well as by characteristics of the landmark itself. In addition to these factors, the present study investigates other considerations that may have an influence on the choice of a directional element. With regard to the differences between prefixes and prepositions, the study confirms the hypothesis that prefixes are more likely than prepositions to retain their original meaning. This can be seen by a comparison of the types of landmarks the various prefixes and prepositions co-occur with, and by the lexical meanings that are found in prefixes and prepositions of the same lexeme. Additionally, results indicate that certain semantic functions are only performed by prefixes, but not by prepositions. With regard to the three types of directional relations in the Anabasis, it appears that, compared to source and path, goal is more often expressed by help of prepositional phrases than by prefixes. As a result, a more detailed picture of the motion event is given, since the noun within the prepositional phrase overtly indicates the landmark in relation to which the trajectory of the moving entity is described. Moreover, the fact that emphasis lies on the goal is shown, not only by the explicit mention of a landmark, but also by the higher overall frequency of directional elements of goal.

Abstract (Swedish)

Popular Abstract in English

The present thesis investigates ways in which motion is described in Xenophon’s Anabasis, written in the 2nd part of the third century BC. The Anabasis tells the story of the Ten Thousand – the Greek soldiers who marched from Sardis to Babylon, and from there back to the Greek coast of the Black Sea – covering a great variety of motion events. The study examines passages which contain verbs of motion prefixed with directional prefixes and/or governing directional prepositional phrases.

One peculiarity of Greek is that both verb prefixes and prepositions may be used to express in which direction the movement takes place. The Ancient Greek prefixes and prepositions can be divided into three groups, depending on what kind of trajectory is described. The beginning of a trajectory is here categorised as source, while the motion along a path and the final stage are seen as path and goal, respectively.

Three main questions are answered in this study: (i) what factors influence the usage of directional prefixes and prepositions; (ii) what differences can be found between the prefixes and the prepositions in directional expressions, and finally, (iii) which directional relation – source, path or goal – receives most emphasis in Xenophon’s description. The frequency and number of different prefixes and prepositions is investigated. Since both prefixes and prepositions have a close relationship with the verb, certain issues concerning the synonymy of base verbs of motion are also examined.

Results indicate that the choice of a directional element is above all influenced by how a trajectory leads with respect to a landmark – that is, the place relative to which the movement takes place – as well as by the characteristics of this landmark. With regard to the question of how prefixes differ from prepositions, it has been found that prefixes are more likely than prepositions to retain their original meaning. The analysis also shows that the goal receives most emphasis in the narration. This is not only seen in the number of directional prefixes and prepositions of goal, but also by their frequency compared to source and path.

These findings are not only of interest for the study of Ancient Greek and our understanding of the historical events narrated in the Anabasis, but may also inspire new ways of describing motion in modern languages which involve similar forms of directional elements.

• author: Balode, Sanita
• supervisor: Karin Blomqvist
• opponent: Professor Rūmniece, Ilze, Latvijas Universitāte, Riga, Lettland
• organization: Greek (Ancient and Byzantine)
• publishing date: 2011
• type: Thesis
• publication status: published
• subject: Languages and Literature
• keywords: Xenophon, Anabasis, prefixes, prepositional phrases, verbs of motion, surface elements, semantic elements, motion event, moving entity, landmark, source, path, goal, space, direction, trajectory, synonymy
• in: Studia Graeca et Latina Lundensia
• volume: 17
• pages: 220 pages
• defense location: Sal L201, Språk- och litteraturcentrum, Helgonabacken 12, Lund
• defense date: 2011-09-30 10:15:00
• ISSN: 1100-7931
• ISBN: 978-91-7473-161-3
• language: English
• LU publication?: yes
• id: ffbb5575-66c6-4b8e-9228-6085ac6dec33 (old id 2150004)
• date added to LUP: 2016-04-04 09:05:36
• date last changed: 2019-05-23 17:37:59