The Semantics and distribution of Latvian reflexive verbs

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Beasmeniai sangrąžiniai veiksmažodžiai; Latvių kalba; Modalinės reikšmės; Modalumo kategorija; Objekto sangrąžinis veiksmažodis; Sangrąžiniai veiksmažodžiai; Sangrąžiniai žymekliai; Subjekto sangrąžinis veiksmažodis; Veikslo kategorija; Veiksmažodžiai; Aspectual meanings; Impersonal reflexive verbs; Latvian language; Modal meanings; Object reflexive verbs; Reflexive markers; Reflexive verbs; Subject reflexive verbs; Verbs.

ENThe article presents an analysis of Latvian reflexive verbs based on their argumentative structure and syntactic functions. The contribution of the current paper is the following new classification schema of Latvian reflexive verbs: subject reflexive verbs, object reflexive verbs and impersonal reflexive verbs. Latvian subject reflexive verbs present the widest and most diverse group of reflexive verbs. It could be assumed that the core of these subject reflexive verbs is made up of grooming and autocausative verbs, in which the agent and patient are co-referential. Object and impersonal reflexive verbs differ more markedly from the meanings of subject reflexive verbs due to differences in the syntactic environment. In both these groups the modal and aspectual meanings dominate and a link is shown between decausative and passive meanings in object reflexive verbs. In Latvian the semantic invariant of reflexive verbs could be associated with the meaning ‘by oneself (itself) independently’. This meaning is present in all reflexive verbs irrespective of their semantic roles and syntactic configuration. [From the publication]