Additions to the similarities and differences between the Hungarian and German systems of aspects and verbal prefixes, with special regard to verbs with the el- prefix

Abstract

The study, on the one hand, discusses the shared attributes of expressing situational or lexical aspects in the Hungarian and German language, i.e. the fact that in both languages the verbal particles are tools for word formation and, simultaneously but to a different extent, for telic formation of accomplishment and achievement. On the other hand, it aims to explain the causes of divergence between el- and its German equivalents. The study establishes the schematic semantic field of el- as the primary factor in this difference, which enables its widerange attaching ability to verb stems with various meanings, while the meaning of distancing in German manifests itself in many different prefixes, depending on the modes of action and that of distancing itself. The study establishes that metaphorizing processes play a fundamental role in the differences of how the verbal particles/prefixes are used in these two languages. The paper also distinguishes two categories within these processes: unique metaphors and metaphors connected to the given verb stem on a systematic level.