P RÓRROGA DEL PLAZO PARA LA EJECUCIÓN DE LA OBRA

Verbs may have the suffix -sk following all other suffixes (cf. 3.7.4). Although the origin is a reflexive pronoun, the verb form in -sk (hence called reflexive form) may have several different semantic and syntactic functions synchron- ically in Old Norse. First, a distinction must be made between lexicalized and productive forms. The lexicalized forms are either forms that do not have a cor- responding verb without -sk, such as grœnask ‘become green’ (grœnn ‘green’), or forms that have no synchronic semantic connection with the non-reflexive counterpart, such as andask ‘die’ (anda ‘breathe’). There are many such verbs in Old Norse, but they have a purely lexical or morphological interest, and will not be treated further here.

The productive reflexive forms, however, enter the syntax of the language in two different ways. On the one hand the suffix -sk may be an anaphor, a part of the argument structure of the verb; on the other hand it may function as a marker of the medio-passive.

8.2.1

Anaphor

The suffix may be an anaphor, referring to the subject of the clause. In other words, the verb assigns (at least) two different semantic roles, one to the subject

and one to the reflexive suffix. There are two kinds of anaphors represented by the suffix -sk, reflexive (‘-self ’) and reciprocal (‘each other’).

The suffix serves as a reflexive anaphor in the examples in (5). In (5a) the verb búa ‘prepare’ (preterite bjó) is a transitive verb that takes its object in the accusative, as in búa skip í for ‘prepare a ship for voyage’. The reflexive suffix on the verb represents the accusative object. This is very common in accusative with infinitive constructions (cf. 8.4.4) when the subject of the embedded infinitive is coreferential with the subject of the matrix verb, as in (5b). The suffix -sk is also used when the verb in question takes its object in the dative, as, for example, the verb hlífa ‘spare, protect’ (5c). As a consequence, the suffix may be used as an indirect object; cf. (5d). Finally, the reflexive suffix on the verb may even correspond to the complement of a preposition, as in (5e).1

(5) a. bjósk hann þá til hólmgongu prepared.rfl he then to duel.g ‘He then got ready for the duel’ (Eg 235.21) b. austmaðrinn kvezk þat víst vilja east-man.n-the said.rfl it.a surely want

‘The man from the East said that he would indeed like to’ (Gunnl 3.7)

c. hann hlífðisk þá við engan mann he protected.rfl then with no man.a ‘He did not spare any man’ (Nj 41.6)

d. Sveinn […] beiddisk ríkis af Haraldi konungi Svein.n asked.rfl kingdom.g of Harald.d king

‘Svein asked King Harald for a kingdom for himself ’ (Hkr I.318.10) e. sjásk heldr fyrir

see.imp.rfl rather before ‘Watch out for yourself ’ (Eg 272.4)

The full form of the pronoun is also used instead of the suffix. The sentences in (5) can be compared with those in (6).

(6) a. Flosi bjó sik austan

Flosi.n prepared himself.a from-east ‘Flosi prepared himself to go west’ (Nj 294.10) b. Svasi […] kvað sik vera þann Finninn

Svasi.n said himself.a be that Finn.a-the ‘Svasi said that he himself was that Finn’ (Hkr I.133.6)

1 _{In the examples, -sk is glossed as RFL regardless of semantic or syntactic function. (Lexicalized}

c. menn Hákonar hlífðu sér lítt

men.n Hakon.g protected.3p themselves.d little.neu.a ‘Hakon’s men did not protect themselves much’ (Hkr III.444.24) d. þá beiddi Þorgeirr sér hljóðs

then asked Thorgeir.n himself.d attention.g ‘Then Thorgeir asked for attention’ (Nj 246.10) e. þeir sjá nú skipin fyrir sér

they.m see.3p now ships.a-the before themselves.d ‘They now see the ships in front of them’ (Nj 66.6)

The relative frequency and presumed stylistic markedness of the two alternat- ive forms – suffix or independent pronoun – seem to differ among the various construction types. The type in (5a) with a reflexive form of the verb, and the construction in (6a) which has an independent pronoun, both seem to be quite common. The independent dative pronouns in (6c) and (6d) are more common than the reflexive suffixes; in fact, the suffix representing the indirect object, as in (5d), seems to be limited to a small set of verbs. Likewise, com- plements of prepositions represented by -sk, as in (5e), seem to be limited to certain fixed expressions. The independent form as in (6e) is much more com- mon. On the other hand, in accusative with infinitive constructions, the suffix, as in (5b), is far more common than the independent pronoun. The use of the independent pronoun in (6b) is probably due to emphasis.

The reflexive suffix is also used with the verb þykkja ‘seem’, which takes the experiencer in the dative. With this verb the subject of the embedded clause is raised into the subject position of the matrix verb (cf. 9.3.2), as in (7a). If this subject is coreferential with the dative experiencer, the latter is represented as the reflexive suffix, as in (7b).

(7) a. þótti honum hon vel hafa gert seemed him.d she well have done

‘She seemed to him to have done well’ (Hkr III.391.18)

b. hann þóttisk þar sjá sæti oll gorr af gulli he seemed.rfl there see seats.a all made.p.neu.a of gold.d ‘He thought he saw seats there all made from gold’ (Barl 151.8) In such cases, the suffixed form seems to be obligatory; no alternative with an independent sér coreferent with the nominative subject has been found.

The suffix -sk may also have a reciprocal meaning, with the same functions and cases as the reflexive variant. Thus in (8a) the suffix corresponds to the accusative object of sjá ‘see’, in (8b) to the dative object of mœta ‘meet’, in (8c) to the dative (indirect object) of selja ‘give’, and in (8d) the suffix corresponds to the dative complement of the preposition hjá ‘at, by’.

(8) a. sásk þeir þá ávalt Gautar ok Norðmenn saw.3p.rfl they.m then always Gauts.n and Norwegians.n ‘Gauts and Norwegians then saw each other continuously’ (Hkr III.253.18)

b. en er þeir mœttusk but when they.m met.3p.rfl ‘but when they met’ (Hkr III.334.3) c. síðan seldusk konungarnir gíslar

since gave.3p.rfl kings.n-the hostages.a

‘Afterwards the kings exchanged hostages’ (Hkr III.178.4) d. þá rendusk hjá skipin (N156d) 270.3

then ran.3p.rfl at ships.n-the

‘Then the ships came close to each other’ (Hkr II.270.3)

The independent pronoun is not used in a reciprocal sense, except in a few prepositional phrases.

(9) þeir rœddu með sér

they.m spoke.3p with themselves.d

‘They talked among themselves’ (Hkr III.181.2)

The common way of expressing reciprocal reference is by means of the combination of hvárr ‘each’ and annarr ‘other’, cf. 4.3.2.

8.2.2

Medio-passive

Since the subject and the -sk suffix have the same referent, one of the two semantic roles could eventually be suppressed, with the result that the reflexive verb form would have one semantic role less than the corresponding verb without the suffix. If the suppressed role is the agent, the subject expresses the same role as the object. The result is the passive voice. This development started to take place in Old Norse. However, it is not always quite clear whether a sentence with a reflexive verb form really is agentless; the passive use of the reflexive verb is in any case very limited compared to the much more common periphrastic passive (see 9.3.4). For these reasons, the term medio-passive may be more adequate, even though in some cases the sentences may be rendered as passive sentences in modern Norwegian or English.

(10) a. Óláfr […] fœddisk upp með Sigurði sýr Olaf.n reared.rfl up with Sigurd.d sýr ‘Olaf was brought up with Sigurd Syr’ (Hkr II.3.2)

b. hann lét leita, ef lyngormr nokkurr fynnisk í he let search if heather-snake.n some found.sub.rfl in

eyjunni; en er hann fannsk, þá fœrðu þeir island.d and when he found.rfl then brought.3p they.m konungi

king.d

‘He made them search for a snake in the heather on the island, and when one was found, they brought it to the king’ (Hkr III.154.2) The reflexive form of gera ‘do, make’ is generally used to render the notion of ‘become’, as in (11a), or ‘happen’, as in (11b). In either case it may be interpreted as a reflexive or as a medio-passive use.

(11) a. gerðisk hann svá harðr ok frekr made.rfl he so hard.m.n and strict.m.n ‘He became so hard and strict’ (Hkr II.52.10)

b. þat, er gorzk hafði

that.a which done.rfl had ‘what had happened’ (Hkr II.86.23)

With experiencer verbs, the experiencer may be added in the dative:

(12) eigi mun þér skilizk hafa

not may you.d understood.rfl have ‘You may have misunderstood’ (Laxd 203.1)