Intensity, reduplication, and pluractionality in Ancient Greek

Abstract

This paper deals with the manifestation of intensity in the verbal system of Ancient Greek, where both the present and the perfect include marginal and recessive groups of ‘intensive’ verbs marked by reduplication. These forms involve unresolved questions concerning their origin, the semantics of intensification and the linguistic devices used to convey this notion. The investigation focuses on a peculiar set of Homeric verbs that, although they are classified as perfects, describe ongoing processes and differ from the presents only in the intensity that characterizes the events. The discussion highlights the inadequacy of the label ‘intensive perfect’ and proposes an analysis based on the connections between intensification, reduplication and pluractionality. It will be argued that intensity can be addressed as pertaining to event plurality, and that a number of examples with ‘abnormal’ perfects can find a unifying explanation when interpreted as encoding different types of pluractional meanings. The semantic maps illustrating the intersections between the diachronic paths of reduplication and the domain of event plurality will clarify the functions and the evolution of the Homeric perfects.

Keywords

• pluractionality
• reduplication
• intensity
• perfect
• ancient Greek