On multiple prefixation in Bulgarian

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss instances of multiple prefixation in Bul- garian in the context of the aspectual properties of the Bulgarian verbal system. Up to seven prefixes can stack on a single verbal root in Bulgarian. All of them but the innermost one appear with a rel- atively stable meaning regardless of the meaning of the verbal stem they attach to. Importantly, prefixes will be shown to be able to at- tach to perfective as well as imperfective stems. The phenomenon is an argument against the common view that prefixes uniformly mark perfectivity in Bulgarian. On the bases of prefix co-occurrence and scope interaction, predictions will be made about the derivational hierarchy in case of stacking.