Resumen de Expression of (Non-)Permanent Qualities and Coding of the Praedicativumin Latin
Among the problems that affect the function of the Praedicativum (P), especially when it appears with stative verbs, is how to explain the combination of the expression of non-permanent qualities that is usually attributed to P and the co-occurrence of this with verbs that most commonly convey notions of (greater or lesser) permanence; on occasion it has been noted that some poets may show greater freedom here. This paper seeks to identify and quantify, using a corpus of prose texts, the density of occurrence of Subject (S)-oriented Praedicativa that express a quality of permanence and, especially, to explore the conditions in which this density occurs. By applying a methodology that includes various analytical criteria, this study will reveal how the link that potentially exists between verbal semantics, the specific type P, the encoding of the P itself (adjective, participle, or Noun Phrase (NP) in agreement or not with the S), and the (extra-)linguistic context is manifested. It will also be shown that the expression of permanent qualities is not restricted to P with meanings related to age or socio-economic position - semantic notions that almost inherently denote permanence - but can also occur when the P conveys other semantic notions, such as non-transitory physical states, or those of evaluative content.
