Semantyka duńskich formacji słowotwórczych z przyimkami mellem, over i under w świetle lingwistyki kulturowej

Abstract

Semantics of Danish word formations with the prepositions mellem, over and under

The subject of the analysis in this article are Danish word formations with the prepositions mellem ‘between’, over ‘above’ and under ‘under’, considered from the point of view of cultural linguistics. The forms studied represent a productive word formation model, therefore they include numerous semantic categories, and prepositions which constitute an element defining compounds show more semantic functions than the prepositional phrases generated by them. Semantic characteristics have allowed the following facts to be established. There are differences in the way and scope of perceiving reality and in its linguistic expression between the Danish and the Polish languages: compounds with mellem refer to those fragments of reality which are not linguistically expressed by the Polish language. Tokens with the prepositions over and under clearly show an anthropocentric nature, which is confirmed additionally by the deictic nature of some forms. Compounds with all prepositions perform transposition of spatial relations into abstract relations thanks to which they acquire a new function, that of assessing and evaluating exponents. The word formations discussed summa summarum result in a different, more detailed image of reality than in the Polish language.