ON PREFIX LIKE ADVERBS IN MODERN GREEK

Abstract

This paper analyses first constituents of complex morphological structures with a vague status. More specifically, using data from Standard Modern Greek and its dialectal variation, we investigate the phonological, semantic and structural properties of so- / sjo-, sa-, kso-, kalo-, kako-, kutso-, poli-, miso- and olo- and the role of these properties in the change of the elements’ status. We argue that the characteristics under investigation can form a hierarchy of restrictions that could indicate the morphological status of each element within the morphological continuum (cf. Bybee 1985, Ralli 2005). Among these, phonological change is a contributive factor, however not the one that could solely determine this change, while semantic shift is the one that activates transition from compounding to prefixation. Crucially, the transition from a less towards a more grammatical status seems to be determined on the basis of the structural relations established between the morphological elements of a formation.