Perfekt und Nebensätze im Altlettischen Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • This article analyzes the emergence of functional variation of language in the early stages of the old Baltic languages as a part of the ongoing research of functional variation of the DFG-funded project CRC 1412 “Register”. It will be described how language usage varies according to the communicative goals and function of a text and shown that texts with two different functions can be found in the postils that were used in the Christianization process of the Baltic countries in the 16th and 17th century. Using the Lang=gewünschte Lettische Postil of Georg Mancelius, it will be shown that functionally motivated variation in the usage of the perfect and in the usage of forms of the preteritit active participle without an auxiliary in subordinate sentences can be found in the Old Latvian language.

publication date

  • 2023