| The aim of this dissertation is to examine the development of the Latin present system from Proto-Indo-European to Classical Latin, focusing on those changes which were instrumental in the elimination of the PIE division between thematic and athematic present types, and the creation of the Classical Latin system of four conjugations.;Chapter I and Appendix A present a synchronic analysis of the Classical Latin present system (regular and irregular verbs); the relationships evident in this analysis are the end point of the historical developments examined in the later chapters.;An overview and critique of the standard scholarship on the Latin present system is presented in Chapters II and III. The standard literature rarely relates changes in individual forms and formation types to the larger morphological system. Moreover, recent works on the Indo-European verb (e.g. those of Watkins and Jasanoff) offer insights directly applicable to the Latin present system.;Chapter IV contains a reconsideration of the origin of 3rd-io and primary 4th conjugation verbs, fluctuations between 3rd-io and 4th conjugation forms (with specific citations in Appendix B), and the alignment of the 3rd-io with the 3rd conjugation. In Chapter V, the present indicative and imperative paradigms for other types of Latin verbs are examined; stages in the development of the Latin conjugational system are outlined.;Chapter VI contains a consideration of the origins of the Latin future and imperfect formations, and the distribution of future, imperfect, and subjunctive formations among the Latin conjugations and irregular verbs. Chapter VII deals with the place of the present participle and gerund/gerundive in the Latin present system. Changes in the vowel occurring before the -nt- and -nd- suffixes are explained in terms of changing perceptions of the boundaries between stems, suffixes, and endings in Latin present system forms.;The Conclusion summarizes the results of the investigations in Chapters IV-VII and presents a tentative chronology for the changes in the Latin present system. |
