TITLE:

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA FROM NERTHUS: THE OLD ENGLISH PREFIX GE-

Author:

Javier Martín Arista - Roberto Torre Alonso

Institution:

Universidad de La Rioja

E-mail:

javier.martin@dfm.unirioja.es  

This paper engages in the ge- morphological alternation in Old English. Quantitative and qualitative evidence is offered and three conclusions are drawn: ge- is the most frequent and less restricted affix in Old English, considering, respectively, the number and category of predicates to which it is prefixed; ge- contributes meaning and some derivative patterns are identifiable, particularly noun-adjective and adjective-noun; and ge- contributes two types of meaning: lexical and grammatical, including, at least, aspect, telicity and number.