From dialectal to standard feature: the case of the Macedonian habere-perfect

Abstract

The  paper  deals  with  a  sweeping  language  change  that  is  underway  in  the  standard Macedonian  verbal  system:  functional  redistribution  of  the  two  perfect  constructions.  The contact-induced  and  dialectal  habere-perfect  is  spreading  into  the  functional  zone  of  the inherited  resultative  Slavic  esse-perfect,  freeing  the  latter  to  specialize  for  its  inferential, reportative, admirative and other non-factual meanings. Originally a marginal dialectal form, the habere-perfect has become the main exponent of resultative meanings in Macedonian. The authors find regular patterning behind the continuing expansion of the habere-perfect into the standard registers and examine the factors influencing this process. The comparison of the results  of  the  two  investigations  conducted  demonstrates  that  the  habere-perfect  is  gaining ground in the standard language along the established grammaticalization path.