Author’s name:
Elena V. Razumnykh – Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Abstract:
The article presents the results of a study aimed at identifying the inventory and distinctive features of impersonal constructions in Old Saxon and comparing them with their Old English counterparts. The material analyzed comprises the Heliand and the surviving fragment of Genesis, which were examined for the presence of such constructions using the methods of exhaustive data collection and comparative-historical analysis. The study demonstrates that the inventory of impersonal constructions in Old Saxon is represented primarily by two structural models: one involving experiential verbs and another with a formal subject. The experiential model is realized by a relatively limited set of verbs, all of which have counterparts in Old English, and is characterized by the presence of a semantic subject in an oblique case. In addition, the study identifies a competing construction of the source–subject type, which contains a nominative subject but exhibits semantics traditionally regarded as impersonal. A distinct subcategory within the experiential model consists of constructions with verbs of broad existential and eventive semantics, which assume a formulaic character in the Heliand. The model with a formal subject likewise occurs with eventive verbs and may employ as its formal subject not only the neuter pronoun hit but also the semantically weakened demonstrative pronoun that. The differences in the realization of impersonal constructions in the two texts are primarily reflected in the frequency of individual verbs, the presence of conventional (epic) formulas, and the pragmatics of their use for narrative purposes. Overall, all of the constructions identified may be regarded as components of a unified system of impersonality in Old Saxon. The findings contribute to our understanding of the history and development of the Germanic languages through comparison with Old English, in which the range of verbs used impersonally is generally broader owing to the greater size and diversity of the surviving textual corpus. At the same time, the principal structural and semantic principles underlying impersonal constructions are essentially the same in both languages.
| Section | LANGUAGE AND CULTURE |
| DOI: | 10.47388/2072-3490/lunn2026-74-2-102-116 |
| Downloads | 7 |
| Key words | Old Saxon; Old English; impersonal constructions; impersonal verbs; impersonality; semantic subject |