Bibliography
Paul
Widmer
Works authored
Widmer, Paul, and Anders Richardt Jørgensen [eds.], An buhez Sant Gwenôlé: Das Leben des heiligen Gwenole. Text, Übersetzung und Anmerkungen, Keltische Forschungen, Britannische Buchreihe, 1, Vienna: Praesens, 2011.
TITUS – Electronic text based on the edition: <link>
Works edited
Contributions to journals
Scherschel, Ricarda, Paul Widmer, and Erich Poppe, “Towards a multivariate classification of event noun constructions in Middle Welsh”, Journal of Celtic Linguistics 19 (2018): 31–68.
abstract:
This article proposes a classification of Middle Welsh constructions with event nouns, the only productive non-finite verbal category in this language. It is based on a catalogue of criteria which have been suggested in General Linguistics for a description of linked states of affairs, viz. variables that relate to the assertive profile, the semantic dependence, coordination, the syntactic level of attachment, the degree of deverbalization, the degree of nominalization, and negation operator scope. The survey shows that Middle Welsh event nominalizations on their own assume functions covered by different non-finite structures known from related Indo-European languages (e.g., participles, verbal nouns, supines, infinitives, compounds etc.). Furthermore, event nominalizations substantially contribute to the construction of narratives on a higher level of syntactic organization.
abstract:
This article proposes a classification of Middle Welsh constructions with event nouns, the only productive non-finite verbal category in this language. It is based on a catalogue of criteria which have been suggested in General Linguistics for a description of linked states of affairs, viz. variables that relate to the assertive profile, the semantic dependence, coordination, the syntactic level of attachment, the degree of deverbalization, the degree of nominalization, and negation operator scope. The survey shows that Middle Welsh event nominalizations on their own assume functions covered by different non-finite structures known from related Indo-European languages (e.g., participles, verbal nouns, supines, infinitives, compounds etc.). Furthermore, event nominalizations substantially contribute to the construction of narratives on a higher level of syntactic organization.
Dedio, Stefan, and Paul Widmer, “S, A, and P argument demotion with preverbal imm-(a-N) in Old and Middle Irish”, Études Celtiques 43 (2017): 187–206.
abstract:
[FR] Démotion du sujet et de l’objet direct avec imm-(a- N ) en irlandais médiéval.L’irlandais médiéval est susceptible d’intégrer dans son complexe verbal un morphème imm-(a- N ) avec des propriétés syntaxiques et sémantiques très particulières. Dans cet article, nous nous proposons de fournir une description de l’emploi d’imm-(a- N ), tout en tenant compte des différents changements que ce morphème induit sur la réalisation des arguments, et d’explorer la manière dont imm-(a- N ) modifie la sémantique du verbe. La chronologie des données à notre disposition suggère qu’à l’origine, les constructions comportant ce morphème imm-(a- N ) ont servi à désigner des événements réciproques et que, à partir de là, elles sont rapidement devenues un moyen pour exprimer des événements d’action collective simultanée (plusieurs participants effectuent la même action dans le même contexte temporel et local, mais pas réciproquement) ; du point de vue de la sémantique, ces constructions se comportent comme des verbes actifs. En ce qui concerne la réalisation des arguments, elles combinent à la fois des caractéristiques du passif (démotion du sujet) et de l’antipassif (démotion de l’objet).
[EN] The intricate preverbal complex of medieval Irish hosts a morpheme imm-(a- N ) with very peculiar constructional and semantic properties. In this article, we venture to give a description of imm-(a- N ) by taking into account the various changes it induces on argument representation, and explore how it modifies the semantics of the verb stem it combines with. The chronology of the data at our disposal suggests that it first denoted reciprocal states of affairs and quickly developed into a device expressing collective simultaneous action events (csa, i. e., multiple participants perform the same action in the same temporal and locational setting, but not on each other) and from the point of view of semantics are treated as active verbs. As far as argument representation is concerned, it develops into a construction which combines both features of the passive (subject demotion) and the antipassive (object demotion) diathesis.
[EN] The intricate preverbal complex of medieval Irish hosts a morpheme imm-(a- N ) with very peculiar constructional and semantic properties. In this article, we venture to give a description of imm-(a- N ) by taking into account the various changes it induces on argument representation, and explore how it modifies the semantics of the verb stem it combines with. The chronology of the data at our disposal suggests that it first denoted reciprocal states of affairs and quickly developed into a device expressing collective simultaneous action events (csa, i. e., multiple participants perform the same action in the same temporal and locational setting, but not on each other) and from the point of view of semantics are treated as active verbs. As far as argument representation is concerned, it develops into a construction which combines both features of the passive (subject demotion) and the antipassive (object demotion) diathesis.
Persée – Études Celtiques, vol. 43, 2017: <link>
abstract:
[FR] Démotion du sujet et de l’objet direct avec imm-(a- N ) en irlandais médiéval.L’irlandais médiéval est susceptible d’intégrer dans son complexe verbal un morphème imm-(a- N ) avec des propriétés syntaxiques et sémantiques très particulières. Dans cet article, nous nous proposons de fournir une description de l’emploi d’imm-(a- N ), tout en tenant compte des différents changements que ce morphème induit sur la réalisation des arguments, et d’explorer la manière dont imm-(a- N ) modifie la sémantique du verbe. La chronologie des données à notre disposition suggère qu’à l’origine, les constructions comportant ce morphème imm-(a- N ) ont servi à désigner des événements réciproques et que, à partir de là, elles sont rapidement devenues un moyen pour exprimer des événements d’action collective simultanée (plusieurs participants effectuent la même action dans le même contexte temporel et local, mais pas réciproquement) ; du point de vue de la sémantique, ces constructions se comportent comme des verbes actifs. En ce qui concerne la réalisation des arguments, elles combinent à la fois des caractéristiques du passif (démotion du sujet) et de l’antipassif (démotion de l’objet).
[EN] The intricate preverbal complex of medieval Irish hosts a morpheme imm-(a- N ) with very peculiar constructional and semantic properties. In this article, we venture to give a description of imm-(a- N ) by taking into account the various changes it induces on argument representation, and explore how it modifies the semantics of the verb stem it combines with. The chronology of the data at our disposal suggests that it first denoted reciprocal states of affairs and quickly developed into a device expressing collective simultaneous action events (csa, i. e., multiple participants perform the same action in the same temporal and locational setting, but not on each other) and from the point of view of semantics are treated as active verbs. As far as argument representation is concerned, it develops into a construction which combines both features of the passive (subject demotion) and the antipassive (object demotion) diathesis.
[EN] The intricate preverbal complex of medieval Irish hosts a morpheme imm-(a- N ) with very peculiar constructional and semantic properties. In this article, we venture to give a description of imm-(a- N ) by taking into account the various changes it induces on argument representation, and explore how it modifies the semantics of the verb stem it combines with. The chronology of the data at our disposal suggests that it first denoted reciprocal states of affairs and quickly developed into a device expressing collective simultaneous action events (csa, i. e., multiple participants perform the same action in the same temporal and locational setting, but not on each other) and from the point of view of semantics are treated as active verbs. As far as argument representation is concerned, it develops into a construction which combines both features of the passive (subject demotion) and the antipassive (object demotion) diathesis.
Contributions to edited collections or authored works
Widmer, Paul, “Adapting verse and language in Middle Breton metrical texts”, in: Axel Harlos, and Neele Harlos (eds), Adapting texts and styles in a Celtic context: interdisciplinary perspectives on processes of literary transfer in the middle ages: studies in honour of Erich Poppe, 13, Münster: Nodus Publikationen, 2016. 229–236.
