Verb-based Functional Markers in Latin: Morphosyntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics at a Crossroads

The object of this paper is the pragmaticalization process undergone by some deverbal pragmatic markers in Latin, such as inquam, rogo, quaeso, and amabo. As is well known, verbs of knowing, perceiving, and saying tend to be recruited at the level of pragmatics to serve discourse-procedural functions in many languages and this holds also for Latin. This relates to some specifc traits implied in the semantics of the verbs involved (the cognitive dimension of intellectual efort and focused perception). Latin deverbal markers can be grouped into four main types, depending on their dialogic orientation (to the speaker or the addressee) and their corresponding functions. From a theoretical perspective, pragmaticalization can be considered a continuum of pragmatic saliency in which the interplay between morphosyntactic routinization in specifc contexts and invited semantic inferencing play a crucial role in determining the development of new functions at the discourse level.