Verbs of Greek origin (vàpsam, lipsàm type) in the Bulgarian lexicon

Abstract

The article analyzes Greek verbal borrowings of the type vàpsam and lìpsam in Bulgarian and their place within Balkan linguistic processes. The purpose of the study is to explain the mechanisms through which Greek verbs entered the Bulgarian linguistic system and to identify the phonetic and morphological regularities accompanying this process. The author employs a historical-comparative linguistic method, taking into account evidence from Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Romanian, and Albanian. The study demonstrates that the verbs under discussion entered the Balkan languages through the Greek sigmatic aorist, whose element -sa- was transformed into a productive derivational suffix. The author discusses competing hypotheses concerning the origin of these forms, particularly the debate between scholars who derive them from the Greek indicative aorist and those who trace them to the aorist subjunctive. Particular attention is devoted to the problem of verbal aspect and to the adaptation of Greek endings within the Bulgarian grammatical system. According to the author, these borrowings constitute an important example of Greek influence on the Balkan languages and at the same time illustrate the specific character of the development of the Bulgarian verbal system.