Perfectivizing prefixation in Late Common Slavic

This paper argues that the earliest stage of the Common Slavic aspectual system consisted to a significant degree of simplex–prefixed aspectual pairs, in which the base verb was a factitive suffixed in -i-. Deadjectival factitives represented accomplishment predicates, and prefixation imposed a synoptic construal on the predicate, including the end-state coded by the adjective, thus vysiti 'raise' includes reference to an end-state where something is higher, and u-vysiti asserts attainment of that end-state. Data for three prefixes are given: u-, o- and po-. All show tendencies to combine with factitives in -i-. Depending on the root, denominal and deverbal factitives in -i- could also represent telic predicates, if the root profiled some end-state, e.g., the presence of a wall or fence in denominal graditi (> ograditi) or an end-state in the verbal root in grabiti 'rob' (> pograbiti). Such pairs represent a very early, if not initial stage, that arguably predates pairs of derived imperfectives such as ugasati–ugasiti 'extinguish', obnavljati–obnoviti 'renew', and potapljati–potopiti 'submerge/flood'.