Sobre el significado arcaico de las formas con prefijo l-: su uso en Lazarraga [On the erstwhile past-impferfective use of the l- prefixed irrealis forms of Basque]

Abstract

In this paper, I use the manuscript by the Alavese writer Joan Pérez de Lazarraga (Larrea, Alava, 16th century) in order to test the following hypothesis on the semantic value of the Basque verbal prefix l-: Originally, the Basque verbal forms with an l- prefix used to express a past imperfective. Later on, they developed secondary modal meanings in the sphere of irrealis. By the 16th century, these forms had almost entirely lost their original imperfective meaning, ousted by other forms, and were thus confined to their modal function. How - ever, we can already find in 16th century texts some l-prefixed forms which convey past imperfective meaning in conservative contexts; that is, in subordinate clauses. The goal of this article is to examine what specific values the l-prefixed forms express in Lazarraga’s manuscript, and in what contexts. This way, we will be able to test the plausibility of the hypothesis presented above. As we will see, the conclusion from this testing is that, although of course the hypothesis can never be demonstrated, Lazarraga’s use of the l-prefixed forms make it a very plausible one.