Íslenskt mál og almenn málfræði - 13.07.1981, Page 48

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M. P. Barnes
In the phrase fyrí borð and in certain fixed expressions like falla fyri
bj0rg the adverb of motion is omitted. It may also be dispensed with in
poetic style. Eg:
(20) teir duttu ofta fyri borð
(21) Nú ferðast fólk fyri nesini
og sigla inn undir Eið
Sometimes it may be difficult to decide whether fyri in the sequence:
verb phrase + adverb phrase of motion + fyri + acc. has Motion or
Path function since the interpretation is to a large extent dependent on
the context. I have always understood expressions like hyggja niður fyri
seg ‘stare down at the ground’ (in embarrassment etc.) to mean literally
‘look down past oneself’, and native speakers seem generally to accept
this interpretation. Consider, however:
(22) tí grót er rutt niður fyri munnan
(23) so tók hann hondina upp fyri bróstið
In these examples it is not clear to me whether we are to conceive only
of the stones’ or the hand’s moving to a position in front of the entrance
or the breast, or whether what is also, and perhaps primarily, denoted
is movement across or over the entrance or the breast to cover it. Very
occasionally Path phrases are used figuratively. Eg:
(24) hann . .. rópaði . .. so hart, at tey hoyrdu hann skiluliga fram
firi kvpdnina á Heygun í Vestmanna
(25) hann sá smá og virðileys ting fram fyri virðismikil
In these examples the meaning of fram fyri is close to or identical with
that of Danish fremfor ‘above’, ‘beyond’, ‘in preference to’, where the
basic Path sense ‘past’ can still be clearly seen. A degree of Danish
influence may perhaps be suspected in this use of fram fyri, at least in
(25), cf.:
(26) títt fosturland, sum tú fram fyri alt eigur at hava kærleika til
where the influence is clear.
3.3 Substitutive
A great many accusative fyri phrases carry as their central notion the
concept of substitution. A normally, but not exclusively animate subject
acts in place of, on behalf of, as the representative or employee of some-
one or something else. Occasionally we also find an object construction