Scalarity in the Verbal Domain

Proposes a new analytical approach to the semantics of Russian verbal prefixes, using modern theoretical tools to explore wide-ranging data.

Olga Kagan presents a new unified analysis of Russian verbal prefixes which combines a formal semantic approach with detailed discussion of data. In doing so, she sheds light on an intricate and puzzling phenomenon which is of interest to linguists working across a wide range of fields.Verbal prefixes in Slavic languages remain an intricate and puzzling phenomenon, raising questions about whether their behavior is governed by a systematic pattern, and if their attachment is subject to any kind of uniform semantic system. Olga Kagan offers a new unified analysis of Russian verbal prefixes which combines a formal semantic approach with detailed discussion of data. The book addresses two vital issues, both of which play an important role in modern linguistic research: the role of scalarity in natural language and, more specifically, within the verbal domain; and Slavic verbal prefixation. Accessibly written and illustrated with numerous examples, Scalarity in the Verbal Domain is important reading for researchers and students of formal semantics, cognitive linguistics and Slavic languages.