Issues on word formation: The case of Latin circum

Abstract

This paper focuses on the characteristics of circum's prefixation in Latin taking into account the properties of this item in different syntactic contexts and its combination with transitive and intransitive base verbs. The analysis follows a non-lexicalist framework -Distributed Morphology (Halle, Morris & Alec Marantz. 1993. Distributed morphology and the pieces of inflection. In K. Hale & S. Keyser (eds.), The view from building 20, 111-176. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press), specifically Acedo-Matellán's (Acedo-Matellán, Víctor. 2016. The morphosyntax of transitions. A case study in Latin and other languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press) approach-, which is particularly relevant to relate the prefix to its homophonic preposition and adverb. Thus, we assume that this prefix is a Root related to Place in the main structure, not a preposition or an adverb incorporated to a verbal configuration. In fact, we argue that the distinction among the prefix, the preposition and the adverb derives from the merger of the same Root √CIRCUM in different structures. Along this discussion, it is shown that circum's prefixation has different consequences for the argument structure depending on the location of √CIRCUM in the structure: when it adds the nuance of manner, its presence does not trigger the addition of new arguments; nevertheless, when it is interpreted with reference to final location, unexpected accusative objects frequently appear with the prefixed verb. We argue that these unexpected objects do not end up showing accusative case because of circum's case assignment, but because of the DP position in the main structure. For that reason, the DPs involved in the structure of the prefixed verb behave like any other argumental DP and they are subject to the same syntactic operations (ellipsis, demotion, and so on).