Actionality and aspect in Hittite

The Hittite reflexive construction has perfective-like functions like Spanish and Italian reflexives. We will consider if they express ‘inner’ aspect. Most present tense forms in narrative tense-switching belong to verbs with a -ske/a-suffix. These verbs can be seen as +INTRA items with actional and aspectual features. -kan and -san are frequently found in the last slot of Wackernagel clitics. -san is allative-directional, -kan locational. -kan indicates initial and final limitation and is similar to Latin con- and Gothic ga-. Lexical (inner) aspect is an important element in modern analysis of Russian perfectivity. An aspectual ‘pair’ system of the Russian kind with an interplay between telicity and quantification as expressed by preverbs and imperfectivity expressed by suffixation did not arise in Hittite though -kan and -ske/a- which could have allowed a similar development were present as were con- and -sco in Latin. Hittite preverbs did not play the same role for aspectuality as preverbs did in many other IE languages but -kan and -san were involved in the VP and affected verb semantics and aspectuality. The discussion will be focused on the function of clitics and verbal suffixation.