issues on Bulgarian verbal morphology

[Ralph Cleminson]

> 1.      I would like to know the origin of the present endings 1st p.
> sg. -a(m) and 3rd p. pl. -at. These morphemes were -oN(t) in OCS. How
> did the nasal vowel become [a]? Or where does this -a ending come
> from?
This is the regular development of the back nasal (goljam jus) in
Bulgarian (and not only in verbal endings).  The -m in the 1sg. is
generalised from the athematic conjugation (as in other Slavonic
languages).

>
> 2.      The thematic vowel for 1st (pletem) and 2nd (letim)
> conjugation surfaces in all the other persons, except in front of this
> -a(t) ending. If it were there in the underlying representation when
> the ending was added, then it would have triggered some processes such
> as palatalization for verbs which stem ends by a velar: I would expect
> outputs such as *pecha 'I bake' (instead of peka). Why the thematic
> vowel does not affect in any way 1st p sg and 3rd p pl in the
> conjugation?
Because it was never there.
>
> 3.      Another puzzling situation is the fact that velars in
> secondary imperfectives palatalize in front of ending -am, thus
> shifting into 3rd conjugation: teka / izteka / izticham 'to leak'. In
> order to understand this unexpected palatalization process, I am
> wondering again if there is not some historical explanation about the
> origin of this ending. As far as I know, Bulgarian 3rd conjugation has
> developed from the endings of the athematic verbs in OCS: jesmj,
> njesmj, jamj and damj. Is there some evidence for a floating [-back]
> feature that triggers the palatalization without surfacing? Before
> positing a floating feature in modern Bulgarian, I would like to check
> the possible evidence for such feature in the historical development
> of the language.
k-ja > cha.  Suffix -ja-ti frequent inderived imperfectives.

>
> 4.      In OCS, looking at verbs with final velar consonant, I realize
> that the infinitive form had undergone 1st palatalization: moshti /
> mogoN, reshti /rekoN. This is not a typical context for 1st
> palatalization that normally occurs before a front vowel, not before a
> consonant. Do you know if there is an underlying /[-back vowel]/ in
> the infinitive that does not surface?
Nothing to do with 1st palatalisation.  kt or gt regularly gives sht in
Bulgarian (e.g. nosht, night).

Surprised you need to ask.  All this information in any decent historical
grammar.

R.M.Cleminson,
Professor of Slavonic Studies,
University of Portsmouth,
Park Building,
King Henry I Street,
Portsmouth PO1 2DZ
tel. +44 23 92 846143, fax: +44 23 92 846040

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