Predicate Semantics in Old English Chronicle and Medical Texts: a Comparative Analysis

Introduction. In non-fiction literary genres lexical and semantic arrangement of text units becomes a specific trait for defining a genre. Clustering text predicates into semantic groups allows to trace the semantic-grammatical homogeneity of rhemes in its informational structure (also referred to as its rhematic dominant). The present article compares the semantics of predicates in two Old English texts that belong to different genres of non-fiction literature.

Methodology and sources. The research material includes texts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Lacnunga, a historical records book and a collection of Anglo-Saxon medical texts and prayers, respectively. A combination of methods is applied, such as componential, contextual, and transformation analysis, as well as analysis of semantics and syntax.

Results and discussion. Predicates of physical action prevail in both texts, but a closer examination reveals that the chronicle entries predominantly feature predicates of motion, donative action, and activity. These are primarily expressed by full verbs in the past tense indicative mood or by an auxiliary verbs in the same form combined with participle I or adjective. The actants are primarily denoted by animate nouns. In the Lacnunga medical recipes there is a significant proportion of predicates denoting state, change of state, or causation. These are expressed through verb or verbal combination in the imperative mood (second person), with actants primarily being nouns denoting inanimate entities.

Conclusion. The chronicle text is characterized by narrativity, presenting a sequence of actions, whereas the medical recipe text has a prescriptive, instructive nature. These characteristics are shaped by the semantic structure of the predicates. While predicates of physical action predominate in both texts, the chronicle text exhibits a high number of predicates indicating motion, donative action, and activity, and the medical text shows an increased proportion of predicates denoting state, change of state, or causation. This semantic distribution shapes the rhematic dominant of the non-fiction text and, more broadly, its genre affiliation.

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