Journal Article

The presence and absence of subordinators in subjunctive substantive clauses in Plautus

Mazzanti, Alex

2025

Overview

Abstract Latin subjunctive complement clauses, particularly in Plautus’ Archaic Latin, can either be introduced by a conjunction or consist only of a subjunctive (fac ut uenias type and fac uenias type). This paper aims to explain the contexts in which these constructions are chosen and the reasons for those choices. To that end, all subjunctive complement clauses in Plautus were collected, annotated and analysed. The analysis was conducted in accordance with several criteria. The results of the analysis demonstrate that neither the register of a character’s speech and their social standing (sex, type and rank) nor the relative position of the main and subordinate verbs influences the choice of construction with or without a conjunction. That being said, two criteria are extremely significant: (1) the distance (in number of words) between the main and subordinate verbs (the longer the distances, the greater the probability of conjunction use), and (2) the use of a main verb with deontic (quasi-modal) semantics and well-defined pragmatic functions (“Imperatives”, “Desiderative verbs”, and “Evaluative expressions”). As a result, we can conclude that in Plautus the subjunctive complementation without a conjunction displays formal characteristics of proximity (the absence of the conjunction and the shorter distances between both verbs), which iconically reflect the cognitive and functional proximity between both verbs within the construction (quasi-modal semantic integration and functional specialization).

• Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG