The verbal prefix za- with sound verbs in Slovene

The article is based on the analysis of the aspectual derivation of sound verbs in the Slovene dialects of Rezija, Ter and Nadiža valleys by Rosanna Benacchio. In the dialect of Rezija there exist two means of perfectivation of these verbs: with the suffix -nu- and later by adding the prefix za- on one hand (za/blejnut) and by adding the prefix s-/z- (zblejat) on the other. The first verb has a semelfactive meaning and the second verb has the meaning of a short action. In the Ter and Nadiža valleys there exist only the derivatives in za- (bleati – zableati; blejat – zablejat), used in both contexts. The Rezija derivation of semelfactives in -nu- is according to Benacchio more archaic. In Slovene, the situation is roughly the same as in the Ter and Nadiža valleys: the perfective derivatives of sound verbs are typically formed by the prefix za-: kričati – zakričati. In the prefix za- there is a syncretism of the meanings of semelfactives, short duration and ingressivity, as well as just the totality of the action – depending on the context. In this respect, Slovene and its dialects again show that they belong to the western type of aspectual behaviour in the Slavic languages.