О узрочном значењу конструкције у + локатив

Abstract

Саusal meanings in Serbo-Croatian can be expressed by several prepositions, the main ones being zbog, usled, iz, od and za. Whereas the first two always (and only) have a causal meaning, causal interpretation of the others is a matter of context: they all require special types of verb and noun meanings. The causal meaning of the preposition u (with the locative case) is also susceptible to limi tations, but of a different kind: the noun and verb meanings are not relevant by themselves — it is their relation that is important. Since the causal relation can be more or less obvious, the causal meaning of the preposition и can be a matter of degree. Its causal interpretation can rely heavily on the word order: when preceding the verb, the construction u + L. is more likely to be interpreted in its causal meaning, when in the same context but after the verb, its meaning can be interpreted rather as manner. The difference between the causal meanings of the prepositions u and iz (in the same context of a verb denoting a volitional action and a noun denoting an inner state) turns out to be the following: when doing something in a state, an agent is overwhelmed by it, although the action denoted by the verb is typically volitional, in this context it is interpreted as spontaneous and irresistible. On the contrary, when he does something out of a state, he does it volitionally and purposefully. The difference between these abstract meanings of the prepositions и and iz is a direct result of the difference between their concrete, spatial meanings — the former being the result of the metaphorical mapping of the latter on the abstract domain of causality.

У раду се најпре разматрају услови под којима предлог у стиче узрочно значење, а затим се испитује разлика између узрочних значења предлога у и из.