Evaluative Semantics as a Factor Contributing to Gaps in the Paradigm: The Case of Behaviour Verbs

This study analyses a group of Bulgarian activity verbs whose semantics includes an evaluative component, e.g. важнича, маниернича, подмилквам се, театралнича, etc. The verbs denote a set of similar actions performed by person X while also conveying an evaluation of these actions from the speaker’s perspective. Due to their evaluative semantic component, such verbs exhibit paradigmatic restrictions, as well as limitations in the realisation of their forms. Based on a corpus sample comprising usage examples of 25 verbs extracted from the Bulgarian National Corpus, this study examines restrictions on the grammatical forms (specifically in terms of person and number), the specific uses of verb tenses and the formation of synthetic imperative forms. The data on the usage of evaluative verbs are compared with statistical data on the usage of behaviour verbs that lack an evaluative component. Our observations enable us to determine the place of behaviour verbs within the semantic typology of predicates. This group of verbs is typically assigned an intermediate, special status. Our findings indicate that behaviour verbs share characteristics with the semantic class of activity verbs. While their semantics (particularly the evaluative component and the fact that the subject of the activity and the subject of the evaluation are different) may impose certain restrictions on their realisation, based on the analysed data, none of the proper-ties under discussion fully prevent the realisation of their grammatical forms.