The verbal prefix na- in Croatian: A cognitive linguistic analysis

This paper examines the meaning of the Croatian verbal prefix na- 'onto' in a cognitive linguistic framework. Based on the analysis of a comprehensive inventory of contemporary verbs and corpora examples, the analysis identifies a few subgroups of na-verbs showing how seemingly distinct meanings relate to the central spatial image schema of the spatial particle na(-) and how individual meanings of the prefix na- relate to each other. Particular attention is paid to the relation of spatial meanings to those that seem less spatial or abstract, and to metaphorical transformations and abstractions that contribute to a coherent meaning network of na-. Based on the example of ruz-verbs, the analysis examines two hypotheses that have been intensively discussed in Slavic linguistics: the Empty Prefix Hypothesis and the Conceptual Overlap Hypothesis.