THE MEANINGS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PERFECTIVIZING SUFFIX NU- IN THE RESIAN DIALECT (IN COMPARISON WITH RUSSIAN)

 The article deals with the use of the perfectivizing suffix nu- in the Slovene dialect of Resia, which is spoken by a Slavic linguistic minority in North-Eastern Italy, at the border with Slovenia. In recent years, various scholars have written about this suffix in Russian (especially in the colloquial register), emphasizing its complex semantics, which reflects both the semelfactive and purely perfective meanings. We found similar features also in the Resian dialect. Here, too, the suffix nu- displays a complex semantics, designating both semelfactive (e.g. pjüwat/pjüwnut ʻto spit,ʼ kapat/käpnut ʻto dripʼ) and purely resultative meanings, especially in combination with the prefix za- (e.g. garmët/zagyrmnut ʻto rattle,ʼ lajat/zalajnut ʻto barkʼ). Nevertheless, in the Resian dialect the suffix nu- is not spreading as a simple perfectivizing morpheme as it has in Russian, and its semelfactive function is more preserved. Under this analysis, the Resian dialect confirms once again its archaic character and its importance for the reconstruction of the process of grammaticalization of the Slavic verbal aspect.