The construction of viewpoint aspect: the imperfective revisited

This paper argues for a constructionist approach to viewpoint Aspect by exploring the idea that it does not exert any altering force on the situation-aspect properties of predicates. The proposal is developed by analyzing the syntax and semantics of the imperfective, which has been attributed a coercer role in the literature as a de-telicizer and de-stativizer in the progressive, and as a de-eventivizer in the so-called ability (or attitudinal) and habitual readings. This paper proposes a unified semantics for the imperfective, preserving the properties of eventualities throughout the derivation. The paper argues that the semantics of viewpoint aspect is encoded in a series of functional heads containing interval-ordering predicates and quantifiers. This richer structure allows us to account for a greater amount of phenomena, such as the perfective nature of the individual instantiations of the event within a habitual construction or the nonculminating reading of perfective accomplishments in Spanish. This paper hypothesizes that nonculminating accomplishments have an underlying structure corresponding to the perfective progressive. As a consequence, the progressive becomes disentangled from imperfectivity and is given a novel analysis. The proposed syntax is argued to have a corresponding explicit morphology in languages such as Spanish and a nondifferentiating one in languages such as English; however, the syntax-semantics underlying both of these languages is argued to be the same

The notion of completion in Modern Greek: An analysis of aspectively adversative sentences

Wydział NeofilologiiTematem niniejszej dysertacji jest koncepcja dokonaności oraz sposoby jej językowego wyrażania w języku nowogreckim (współczesnym języku greckim). W pracy przebadano zdania aspektywnie adwersatywne a na podstawie otrzymanych wyników zaproponowano szereg postulatów opisujących fragment nowogreckiej rzeczywistości aspektywnej. Otrzymana teoria została następnie zweryfikowana przy pomocy dedukcyjnego modelu wyjaśniający Hempla i Openheima (1948). Praca jest pierwszą na gruncie językoznawstwa nowogreckiego wykorzystującą metodę postulatywną i dedukcyjny model wyjaśniający w odniesieniu do kategorii aspektu. W pracy poczyniono m.in. następujące założenia: 1) dokonaność jest znaczeniem złożonym łączącym w sposób obligatoryjny znaczenie terminacji i holiczności (całościowości), 2) w języku nowogreckim znaczenie terminacji może być niesione leksykalnie lub semicznie a znaczenie holiczności wyłącznie leksykalnie, 3) czasowniki momentalne leksyfikują jednocześnie terminację i holiczność. W oparciu o powyższe założenia wyodrębniono trzy grupy nowogreckich form czasownikowych: 1) autosygnifikatorów dokonaności, czyli wystarczających wykładników tego znaczenia, 2) kosygnifikatorów dokonaności, które niosą znaczenie dokonaności wspólnie z leksyfikatorem holiczności oraz 3) leksyfikatorów dokonaności, które wyrażają obligatoryjnie dokonaność podzdarzeń, lecz niekoniecznie całego zdarzenia.The present dissertation concerns the notion of completion and how it is lingually expressed in Modern Greek. Within the framework of the research, aspectively adversative sentences were analysed. Based on the results, a set of postulates describing the Modern Greek aspective reality was proposed. Then, Hampel and Oppenheim’s (1948) deductive model of explanation has been employed, in order to verify the adequacy of the proposed theory. It is the first work in Modern Greek aspectology that employs the postulational method and the deductive model of explanation. Among the assumptions made in the dissertation are: 1) completion is a complex meaning involving obligatorily the meaning of termination and holicity (the property of being whole), 2) in Modern Greek the meaning of termination may be lexified (conveyed by lexical morphs) or semified (conveyed by affixes) whereas the meaning of holicity may be solely lexified, and 3) forms of momentary verbs lexify simultaneously termination and holicity. In the light of the above assumptions, the following three groups of Modern Greek verb forms were distinguished: 1) autosignificators of completion, that is sufficient significators (markers) of completion, 2) cosignificators of completion, which convey completion jointly with lexificators of holicity, and 3) lexificators of completion, which refer to events composed of completed subevents

Vidska uporaba u kontekstima ponavljanih radnji u hrvatskome, srpskome i ruskome

The article deals with the interaction of temporal quantifiers (adverbs of quantification) with aspect choice in Croatian, and some comparisons with Serbian, Russian and some other Slavic languages are given. The analysis is given for rijetko \u27seldom\u27, ponekad \u27sometimes\u27, često \u27often\u27, uvijek \u27always\u27, svake godine \u27every year\u27; dva puta / dvaput \u27twice\u27, tri puta / triput \u27thrice\u27, nekoliko puta \u27few times\u27, više puta \u27several times\u27, puno / mnogo puta / nebrojeno puta \u27many times / innumerable times\u27, and their counterparts in languages mentioned.Predmet je ovoga rada izbor glagolskoga vida u kontekstima s vremenskim kvantifikatorima u hrvatskome, srpskome i ruskome. Kvantifikacija događaja inherentna je u odnosu svršenih i nesvršenih glagola ako se opreka između jedne pojavnice događaja i višestrukih pojavnica događaja uzme kao jedan od čimbenika njihove semantičke različitosti. Nakon uvodnih napomena, u drugome dijelu rada razmatraju se neka opća pitanja vremenske kvantifikacije, odnosno kvantifikacije događaja. Da bi se ispitala međuuvjetovanost vremenskih kvatifikatora i izbora vida u hrvatskome, promatraju se dvije skupine priložnih izraza koje upućuju na ponavljane radnje: prva skupina (\u27rijetko\u27, \u27ponekad\u27, \u27često\u27, \u27uvijek\u27) upućuje na relativnu kvantitetu, a druga (\u27dva puta\u27 / \u27dvaput\u27, \u27tri puta\u27 / \u27triput\u27, \u27nekoliko puta\u27, \u27više puta\u27, \u27puno\u27/\u27mnoga puta\u27 / \u27nebrojeno puta\u27) na apsolutnu kvantitetu. U trećem dijelu iznosi se brojčana analiza primjera s tim izrazima (primjeri su izdvojeni iz Tridesetmilijunskoga korprusa hrvatskoga jezika). Analiza pokazuje da viši postotak pojave nesvršenoga vida nije automatski povezan s priložnim izrazima koji upućuju na redovitije ponavljanje radnje, odnosno da porast redovitosti ponavljanja nužno ne prati porast uporabe nesvršenoga vida (primjerice, postotak nesvršenih glagola u prezentu u kontekstima s \u27uvijek\u27 niži je od postotka za \u27rijetko\u27 i \u27često\u27). U četvrtome dijelu uspoređuje se kvantifikacija događaja i vid u ruskome i hrvatskome, a u petome se analizira vidska uporaba u kontekstima ponavljanih radnji u hrvatskome i srpskome. Analizu su potaknuli primjeri iz korpusa te neki zaključci M.lvić (1985) i S. M. Dickeya (2000) o toj problematici. Posebna se pozomost posvećuje kontekstnim čimbenicima koji utječu na uporabu svršenoga vida u kontekstima ponavljanih radnji. Neke naznake iz Dickeyove analize da bi se hrvatski i srpski mogli razlikovati u odnosu na prihvatljivost svršenoga vida u kontekstima ponavljanih radnji, tj. u odnosu na prototipno značenje svršenoga vida, potvrđuju se: u standardnome hrvatskome svršeni je vid prihvatljiv u mnogim kontekstima s ponavljanim radnjama u kojima je nesvršeni vid puno prihvatljivija ili jedina mogućnost u standardnome srpskome

Differences between Russian and Czech in the Use of Aspect in Narrative Discourse and Factual Contexts

The aims of the paper are twofold. First, it provides a systematic qualitative corpus study into differences between Russian and Czech in the use of aspect in chains of single, episodic events, as well as in habitual contexts, which takes into account the role of verb class, aspectual affixes, discourse relations, and other factors contributing to the overall aspectual interpretation in a given sentence. The findings suggest that while Russian makes narrative progression and habituality visible already on the verb forms, by employing exclusively perfective and imperfective verb forms, respectively, Czech relies more heavily on the context itself and uses (im)perfective verb forms mostly to signal duration vs. change of state. The second part of the paper addresses differences in aspect use between the two languages in so-called general-factual contexts (presuppositional and existential). Against the background of the empirical findings of the corpus study, I argue against the received view that Czech makes use of imperfective verb forms to mark existential readings. The presuppositional reading of imperfective forms, which I assume to be related to the process/durative reading of imperfectives, is argued to exist in both languages

Pluractional Perfects: Anatomy of a Construction in Eonavian Spanish

This dissertation presents an empirical and theoretical examination of Pluractional Perfects, i.e. analytic participle constructions with the semantics of a Perfect that at the same time incorporate some form of plurality at the level of the event described. This is the first study that aims at unifying through a common set of syntactic and semantic properties a group of constructions that were previously thought of as heterogeneous, and which includes the Portuguese Perfect Tense or the Galician Perfective Periphrases. The empirical weight of the dissertation comes from a particular variety of Northwestern Spanish that I call Eonavian. In Pluractional Perfects we see a convergence of two apparently independent domains: one is the functional domain of the Perfect and its associated formal accounts; the other one is the lexical domain of pluractionality, understood as an Aktionsart-changing device. In this dissertation I argue that such convergence is actually telling us something important about the nature of the Perfect and its relation to event repeatability (or the potential for it). The connection between the two falls naturally from an analysis in which the Perfect builds up derived states. On the syntactic side, I show that Pluractional Perfects are monoclausal structures that nevertheless do not qualify as prototypical auxiliary constructions, and neither do they qualify as light verb constructions in the sense of Butt (2010). This poses a problem to theories of complex predication that assume a clear-cut division between functional and lexical verbs. I argue for a more flexible analysis following Svenonius (2008), where the different verbs share one configurational space, only constrained by the Functional Sequence (after Starke 2001)

의미-화용 접합면에서 영어 진행형 문장의 의미

학위논문(석사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 인문대학 영어영문학과, 2023. 2. 이정미.Sentences containing the English progressive (be + V-ing) have been argued to yield a variety of readings that do not necessarily align with the basic meaning of expressing a situation in progress (Comrie, 1976; Quirk et al., 1985; Biber et al., 1999; Huddleston & Pullum, 2002; Kranich 2010, 2013; among others). The aim of this thesis is to account for these diverse readings by first, determining the conventional meaning of the progressive, and second, considering how additional meanings are derived when the form interacts with other linguistic elements in context. Following the analyses of Dowty (1977, 1979), Portner (1998), De Wit and Brisard (2014), and other researchers who assume a modal meaning for the progressive, the semantics of the progressive will be shown to constitute both a temporal and modal meaning. The aspectual usages of the progressive, namely rendering a situation as ongoing, incomplete, and having duration, will be explained in relation to its temporal semantics. The modal component, on the other hand, will be shown to allow other observed functions, such as yielding a future time reading, evoking politeness, and enabling the speaker to express a subjective interpretation towards a described event. Aside from these, there are other readings of progressive sentences that will be accounted for by considering the progressives interaction with tense, Aktionsart, and adverbials. It will be argued that the English present tense is responsible for the habitual reading of certain progressive sentences, as well as a necessary element for progressive sentences to bear a future time reading. Iterative and temporary readings will be discussed in terms of the Aktionsart of the verb phrase occurring with the progressive, and finally, attached adverbials will be shown to influence the interpretation of progressive sentences, in which the progressive has been argued to act as a device for emotional coloring.영어 진행형(be + V-ing)이 포함된 문장은 진행 중인 상황을 표현하는 기본적인 의미 외에 다양한 의미를 가질 수 있다는 것이 주장되었다 (Comrie, 1976; Quirk et al., 1985; Biber et al., 1999; Huddleston & Pullum, 2002; Kranich 2010, 2013; etc.). 본 논문의 목적은 첫째, 영어 진행형의 기본적인 의미를 밝히고, 둘째, 영어 진행형 형식이 문맥상 다른 언어적 요소와 상호작용할 때 부가적 의미가 어떤 방식으로 나타나는지를 살펴 보는 것이다. 영어 진행형에 대한 양상(modal) 의미를 가정하는 Dowty (1977, 1979), Portner (1998), De Wit and Brisard (2014) 및 기타 연구자의 분석에 따라 본 논문은 영어 진행형의 의미론이 시간적 의미와 양상 의미를 구성하는 것으로 주장한다. 진행형의 상적 사용(aspectual usages), 즉 상황을 진행 중이고 불완전하며 지속 시간을 갖는 것으로 표현하는 것은 시간적 의미론 측면에서 설명된다. 반면, 영어 진행형의 양상 의미는 미래 시간 해석(future time reading), 공손(politeness)을 유발하고 화자가 설명된 상황에 대한 주관적 해석(speakers subjective interpretation)을 표현할 수 있도록 하는 것과 같은 다른 기능도 가진다. 이것들 외에도, 영어 진행형 문장의 다른 해석은 시제(tense), 어휘상(Aktionsart), 부사(adverbials)와의 상호작용을 고려함으로써 설명된다. 진행형 문장이 습관 해석(habitual reading)과 미래의 시간 해석을 하기 위해 영어 현재 시제는 필요한 요소라는 주장이 제기된다. 반복적 해석(iterative reading)과 일시적인 해석(temporary reading)은 진행형과 발생하는 동사구의 유형의 관점에서 논의되고, 마지막으로 첨부된 부사는 진행형이 감정적 색채(emotional coloring)를 위한 장치로 작용한다고 주장한다.1. Introduction 1 1.1 Aim and Scope of the Study 1 1.2 Theoretical Background 5 1.3 Organization of the Study 8 2. Observed Meanings of Progressive Sentences 9 2.1 Aspectual Usages 9 2.1.1 Ongoingness 11 2.1.2 Duration 12 2.1.3 Incompletion 14 2.1.4 Temporariness 16 2.1.5 Dynamicity 18 2.1.6 Habituality 19 2.1.7 Repetition 22 2.2 Subjective Usages 23 2.2.1 Futurate Progressive 24 2.2.2 Politeness 26 2.2.3 Subject to Change 27 2.2.4 Emotional Coloring 28 2.2.5 Subjective Interpretation 29 3. Previous Analyses of the Progressive 31 3.1 Dowtys Modal-Temporal Analysis 31 3.2 Huddleston and Pullums Account 39 3.3 De Wit and Brisards Cognitive Semantics Analysis 44 3.4 Summary 47 4. Proposed Analysis 50 4.1 Conventional Meaning of the English Progressive 50 4.1.1 Temporal Component 51 4.1.2 Modal Component 55 4.2 Effects of Various Elements in Progressive Sentences 61 4.2.1 Aktionsart 62 4.2.1.1 Temporariness 62 4.2.1.2 Dynamicity 64 4.2.1.3 Repetition 66 4.2.2 Tense 68 4.2.2.1 Habituality 69 4.2.2.2 Futurate Progressive 71 4.2.3 Adverbials 73 4.2.3.1 Emotional Coloring 73 4.2.4 Other Pragmatic Inferences 75 4.2.4.1 Subject to Change and Politeness 75 4.2.4.2 Subjective Interpretation 78 4.3 Summary 79 5. Conclusion 83 References 86 국문초록 93석

Unbounded repetition, habituality, and aspect from a comparative perspective

Descriptive and Comparative Linguistic