Paradigme, syntagme et changement morphologique. A propos de formes casuelles analogiques dans les langues classiques

Abstract

In the thematic inflection of classical languages, the plural of nouns includes analogical forms: nominative in Greek and Latin, and genitive in Latin. Their history is more complex than usually acknowledged. Although the nominative pl. is modelled after the pronominal type – as commonly believed –, the analogical process doesn't take place directly from the pronoun to the noun: rather, it is mediated by the adjective. In the same way, the adjective acts as a go-between in the "pronominalization" of the nominal genitive pl. ending. This intermediate stage can be inferred from internal indices and from the comparison with Germanic languages. A third analogical case-ending is occasionally found in the dative-ablative pl. of Latin ā-stems. While it is not totally unknown in the pronominal and adjectival declension, this innovation primarily concerns a substantive class and can only be explained in a particular context.