@article{01JJWPGZNYHXTCMDRTWQKRPXA3,
  abstract     = {{The topic of the present paper is the morphosyntax of a Vedic Sanskrit verb attested in meteorological expressions, śīyate. The present tense formation with the suffix -ya- and middle inflection, śīyate derived from the root śī, exhibits a particular meaning ‘fall (congealing)’, said of precipitations, such as snow or hail. It will be argued that, on the one hand, śī́yáte shares some features with such root-accented -ya-presents as pádyate ‘falls’, fitting into the semantic class of verbs of spontaneous motion. On the other hand, its variable accentuation (on the root or suffix) points to the tendency to be grouped with the middle -ya-presents with fluctuating accentuation (ˊ yá-presents). The type of accentuation serves as a salient formal feature of a semantically homogenous class of verbs referring to spontaneous events, typically resulting in decay and/or destruction (or, put more generally, to entropy increase). The phonologically, morphologically and semantically homogenous group of middle ˊ-yá-presents, such as kṣī́yáte ‘disappear’ or mī́yáte ‘perish’, could favour the assimilation of śī́yáte to other members of this class (verbs of destruction or decay), thus eventually giving rise to fluctuating accentuation – in contrast to other verbs of motion/falling, such as pádyate. This also implies that the atmospheric phenomena, such as precipitations (snow, rain), were conceptualized in the Vedic lexicon as coming about spontaneously and as contributing to the overall increase of entropy.}},
  author       = {{Kulikov, Leonid}},
  issn         = {{0165-4004}},
  journal      = {{FOLIA LINGUISTICA}},
  keywords     = {{meteorological expression,intransitivity,anticausative,Vedic,spontaneous events,increase of entropy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{15}},
  title        = {{Vedic śīyate ‘falls’ : an atmospheric verb among the verbs of spontaneous events}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}