It is commonly accepted that the
-(v)ši- resultatives in North Slavic are a
product of the areal diffusion of a similar resultative formation in
-vęs- (< *-ṷes-) from
Baltic. The author argues that the anterior grammaticalization of
the -(v)ši- resultative in North Slavic has been
largely an internally motivated process. The analysis is premised on
the distinction of spoken vs. written discourse which preconditions
the parallel use of finite and non-finite predication, including the
resultative structures, in the history and dialects of North Slavic.
The author argues that language contact was but one of several
factors influencing the convergent tendencies in the use of
resultatives in the Circum-Baltic zone and well beyond.