Double accusative cases in old Persian constructions
2025, Alzahra University
https://doi.org/10.22051/JLR.2024.46657.2418Abstract
Introduction The Old Persian language comprises of seven cases, one of which is the accusative case. This case is used in intransitive, transitive, and ditransitive verbs. Depending on the meaning and context of a sentence, it can perform different functions and express various semantic roles. In transitive constructions, the accusative case marks the semantic role of the theme or patient. 1) adam auramazdām ayadaiy nom.1sg. (pers.pron.) I acc.sg.m (sb.) Ahuramazda pret.1sg.mid praised I praised Ahuramazda (DSf 18). In Avestan and Old Persian ditransitive constructions, one of the objects in the accusative case indicates the semantic role of the theme or patient, while the other, in the dative-genitive case, marks the semantic role of recipient. 2) aita=maiy yānam Auramazdā dadātuv acc.sg.n – dat.1sg. (dem.) - (pers.pron.) this - I acc.sg.n (sb.) reward (nom.sg.m) (sb.) Ahuramazda imp.3sg.act gives Ahuramazda gives this reward to me (DPd 23). 3) tat̰ mōi dāidī acc.sg.n (dem.) that dat.sg.m (dem.) me imp.2sg.act give Give that (strength) to me (Y.51,18). However, some sentences feature verbs that take two accusative cases. The primary focus of this article is to investigate which verbs in Old Persian are used with two accusative cases and the semantic roles these cases imply. Materials and methods While previous studies have mentioned the existence of structures with double accusative cases in ancient Iranian languages, their semantic function and characteristics have not been fully explored. This article aims to classify there structures by extracting all instances of double accusative constructions from Old Persian texts. The inscriptions were sourced from Kent (1953) and Schmidt (2009). Additionally, similar verbs in Avestan were extracted from Yasn, Gahan, Haft, Yash, and Vendidad, based on Bartholomew's Dictionary (1961). Results and discussion Verbs derived from the root aiš (to rush) combined with the preverb fra (to send) are used in structures requiring two accusative cases. In this case, the first accusative case represents the theme/patient, whereas the second case marks the destination. When the destination is animate, it is often accompanied by an additional letter abiy. 4) adam kāram frāišayam Bābirum nom.1sg. (pres.pron) I acc.sg.m (sb.) army pret.1sg.act sent acc.sg.m (sb.) Babylon I sent the army to Babylon (DB 3, 84). Verbs from the root bar, both with and without preverbs like pairi and ā, also occure in double accusative constructions. In these structures, the second accusative case may or may not come with an adposition. In both Avestan (including verbs without preverbs) and Old Persian (verbs without preverbs and preverbs with pairi), the accusative case without an adposition is co-rooted with the sentence's root and acts like a verbal adverb. It emphasizes the meaning of the verb, showing “the way in which an activity is done, or the way in which a change of state takes place,” also known as manner (Blake, 2004, p.68). The second state of an object is often referred to as an absolute object or cognate object. Verbs that follow this state act similarly to intransitive or transitive verbs. In the text below, the root bar does not retain its original meaning, but instead refers to secondary or metaphorical senses. It is important to note that either the root in these contexts co-occurs with this type of object state, or the coexistence of the absolute object and the root produces this meaning, which can be further investigated. 5) avam ubartam abaram acc.sg.m (dem.) that acc.sg.m (adj.) well-born pret.1sg.act bore I respected him well (DB1, 22). The root kar means to make. Sentences containing verbs derived from this root are among the structures of double accusative cases. According to the available evidence in both languages, the second passive case appears mostly in the semantic role of object complement. As an obligatory complement of the verb, it appears as a noun group, an adjective group, or an adpositional group in the sentence. It is somehow equivalent to the direct complement or object of the sentence (Tbibzadeh, 2014, pp.115- 116). 6) drauga nom.sg.m (sb.) lie diš acc.3pl.m. (pers.pron) them hamiçiyā acc.pl.m (adj.) rebel akunauš pret.3sg.act made Lie made them rebels (DB 4, 34). The root 2dī (Av. zyā) in Old Persian means “to take”, and in Avestan, it means to harm and steal. The sentences with verbs derived from this root are associated with double accusative cases in both languages. The second object appears in the semantic role of source-maleficiary. 7) xšaçam=šim adam adīnam acc.sg.n – acc.3sg. (sb.) - (pers.pron.) king - him nom.1sg. (pres.pron) I pret.1sg.act took I took a king from him (DB 1, 59). Conclusion In Old Persian, certain verbs are associated with double accusative cases. These verbs include: aiš (Av. aēš), bar (Av. 1bar), 2dī (Av. zyā), fraϑ (Av. fras), jad (Av. gad), kar (Av. 1kar), 1man (Av. man), 1var (Av. 2var), and vain (Av. vaēna). When using verbs with two accusative cases, one of the object states must be in the semantic role of theme/patient. The second object state must have one of the following semantic roles in order: destination (for verbs derived from the root aiš with the preverb fra); object complement (for verbs derived from the roots kar, 1var, vain, and 1man in the middle mood); manner (for verbs derived from the root fraϑ and bar without a preverb, as well as with the preverbs ā and pairi); source-maleficiary (for verbs derived from the roots 2dī and jad). Passive constructions with double accusatives are rare in Old Persian, limiting detailed analysis. However, it may be proposed that verbs related to asking, requesting, and the maleficiary ditransitive structures can be included among the structures of double accusative, and both accusative cases have the same characteristics. The result shows that the analogs of the studied verbs in the Avesta language are not necessarily associated with double accusative cases with the same semantic roles. Keywords accusative case ditransitive verb Old Persian patient semantic role
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