Tense and Aspect

This work studies two related phenomena in human language: the ability of verbs and other lexical items to describe how a situation (event or state) develops or holds in time (sc LEXICAL ASPECT) and the view some verbal auxiliaries and affixes present of the development or result of situations at a given time (sc GRAMMATICAL ASPECT). Through this investigation I reveal a formal situation structure represented by aspectual phenomena, a structure to which other linguistic elements refer, particularly tense. I examine data in a variety of languages, taking particular care to distinguish between aspect semantics and cancellable pragmatic implicatures associated with aspect forms. The semantic-pragmatic distinction provides a tool for determining what properties need to be accounted for in the semantic representation and what may be adduced as evidence for these properties. In particular, I show that oppositions generally assumed to be semantically equipollent ($+/-$) are semantically privative ($+$/unmarked), with unmarked forms interpreted in accordance with pragmatic principles. Lexical aspect semantics is represented by the privative features ($+$telic), ($+$dynamic), and ($+$durative). These features define the Event Time (ET) as a situation structure consisting of a nucleus and a coda. Grammatical aspect oppositions, also represented privatively, crucially interact with this structure: ($+$imperfective) views situations intersecting a Reference Time (RT) at the nucleus, and ($+$perfective) views them at the coda. The conception of grammatical aspect as a view of the ET-RT intersection allows the representation of tense to be limited to a relation between a RT and the deictic center (C). Complex temporal phenomena--perfect and extended tenses--are shown to be interactions between grammatical aspect and tense. The privative analysis allows aspect semantics to be built up monotonically--from the lexical aspect ET features, the grammatical aspect view of the ET, and tense. The semantics restricts pragmatic interpretation in principled ways, based on marked and unmarked features. Chapter 1 introduces theoretical issues and assumptions. Chapters 2-4 outline the semantic structure of lexical aspect, grammatical aspect, and tense, respectively. Chapters 5-6 apply the analysis to the aspect and tense systems of English and New Testament Koine Greek.

Poetry as a discourse is arranged by grammatical and lexical aspects. Therefore, to know what grammatical and lexical aspects are used by the author in writing the poem Papua, this study uses a method called the descriptive method. The grammatical aspects contained in the poem Papua, namely referential (reference) consist of (1) reference persona (first person singular, first person singular bound form, second person singular, and second person singular bound form), (2) demonstrative reference and (3) comparative reference and coupling (conjunctions) and conjunctions (conjunctions) consist of addition conjunctions (additives) and causal conjunctions. The lexical aspects contained in the poem Papua, namely repetition consist of epizeuksis repetitions and anaphora repetitions, synonym phrases with phrases, and absolute antonymy. Both of these aspects, grammatical and lexical aspects, are used by poets to compose word by word to produce a cohesive and coherent poetic text.

Este trabalho se propõe a refletir sobre a representação linguística de aspecto a partir de um estudo de caso duplo, com dados de aquisição da linguagem sobre a associação entre aspecto lexical e aspecto gramatical. Seu objetivo principal é avaliar a hipótese da primazia do aspecto, segundo a qual a marcação de tempo-aspecto seria limitada pelo aspecto lexical dos verbos. Para tanto, coloca-se à prova a hipótese de que, no processo de aquisição de aspecto, a associação entre aspecto lexical e aspecto gramatical se baseia na relação entre telicidade e perfectividade. A partir da análise dos dados, a hipótese da primazia do aspecto não pôde ser refutada completamente. Todavia, abarcando diferentes propostas teóricas sobre as propriedades semânticas do VP (sintagma verbal), refuta-se a hipótese de que a primazia do aspecto estaria ancorada na relação entre telicidade e perfectividade. Demonstra-se, ainda, a compatibilidade dos dados com a proposta de telicidade dizer respeito à sintaxe interna ao VP. Por fim, argumenta-se que não haveria leitura composicional de aspecto nas etapas iniciais de aquisição.

The present study focuses on Russian-English language interference in the context of strengthening English as the global language of online communication. The relevance of the research stems from the demand in scientific research on the dynamics of language contact between Russian and English in online-communication, as well as on linguistic tendencies in the system of modern Russian language. The research aims to identify and analyze lexical and grammatical aspects in Russian-English language interference in online-communication. The research methods were chosen in accordance with the aim, tasks and nature of the study: continuous sampling, complex analysis of extralinguistic factors of language interference, comparative analysis. The study shows that text-messages and posts in online-communication tend to resemble spoken language, which indicates that Internet users are seeking to close the gap between online and offline communication. It demonstrates that internet users implement foreign language units to dissociate from emotionally loaded utterances as well as to express a specific grammatical or lexical semantic unit not found in their native language. To facilitate sentences one also uses syntax models which are foreign for the native language. The consequences of language interference are rather specific. The studied material shows that interference units are used repeatedly to a large extent. This implies that such language units, on the one hand, tend to be part of the speaker’s individual vocabulary and, on the other hand, they may become linguistic norm. The research argues that Russian has a tendency to move towards more analytic language paradigms, predominantly through involuntary reduction of the case system in the spoken language.

The aspect hypothesis (Andersen & Shirai, 1994) proposes that language learners are initially influenced by the inherent semantic aspect in the acquisition of tense and aspect (TA) morphology. Perfective past emerges earlier with accomplishments and achievements and progressive with activities. Although this hypothesis has been extensively studied, there have been no analyses of the frequency, form, and function of relevant types and tokens in the input. This article reports the results of 2 corpus‐based studies investigating how various features of the input—frequency distributions, reliabilities of form–function mapping, and prototypicality of lexical aspect—affect TA morphology. Study I determined the relative frequency profiles of exemplars of English TA and employed various statistics to determine the associations between particular verb–aspect combinations. Study II expanded the aspect hypothesis, examining whether native speakers judge the most frequent forms in isolation to be more prototypical in lexical aspect. Analyses were then matched against acquisition data for different TA patterns by adult learners of English (Bardovi‐Harlig, 2000) to determine whether the verbs' acquisition order is determined by their frequency, form, and function in the input. Rather than testifying to the effect of 1 factor alone, the results suggest that frequency, distinctiveness, and prototypicality jointly drive acquisition.

This paper stems from a broader research project entitled Analog-based Modelling of Meaning Representations in English (Skrzypczak 2006), and aims to present grammatical aspect and lexical aspect as two modes of encoding the temporal profiles within the conceptualisation of processes (terminologically, in Langackerian sense, imperfective and perfective processes, otherwise, variously labelled as stative and dynamic verbs, i. e. states vs. discrete ‘unitary’ events and nondiscrete ‘unbounded’ processes). It is assumed that aspect in both cases – as a process-profiling category – is analogous to the profiling of things and atemporal relations (in the sense of Langacker 1987, 1990, 2000), given the maximisation of the temporal domain in the characterisation of processes (perfective and imperfective, hence: dynamic and stative), and minimalisation of the temporal domain during the conceptualisation of things (conceptually independent entities) and atemporal relations (conceptually dependent atemporal configurations). The analogy between nouns and verbs in terms of ‘granularity’ has been so far variously addressed by Langacker (1990), Jackendoff (1991) and Talmy (2001), and also constitutes the core assumption in my research on topological modelling.

Opinion discourse that contained in a rubric of mass media can become an alternative media of bahasa Indonesia learning in schools, especially in opinion discourse material . One of the elements which need to be researched in opinion discourse is cohesion aspect. Cohesive subject of discourse can be determined by grammatical and lexical aspect. Grammatical cohesion aspect is characterized by the conjunction, ellipsis, substitution, and the reference. Lexical cohesion among other aspects of the reiteration and collocation. In order to get maximum results, these studies only focuses on one of grammatical cohesion aspect, i.e. conjunction aspect. Based on the analysis of the data that has been carried out, from 16 opinion discourse, there is 48 paragraph of samples with 95 pairs of adjacent obtained the result that 10 pairs were using grammatical cohesion in the form of the conjunction is around 10.5% and 85 pairs of adjacent sentences that not use the cohesion in the form of the conjunction is about 89,4%. However, it doesn’t mean that the adjecent pair is not cohesive in grammatical basis, considering there were still 3 other factors grammatical cohesion forming beside the conjunction, i.e., reference, substitution and ellipsis.

chapter discusses some key issues in Chinese syntax. It first provides an overview of word order in the history of Chinese, also illustrating the variation attested in modern Sinitic languages. It then deals with the issues of topichood and subjecthood, showing the close correlation between information structure and word order in Sinitic languages. It then moves to a discussion of serial verb constructions and their role in processes of grammaticalization; it also discusses the categories of tense and (grammatical and lexical) aspect, focussing on how temporal reference is established in Chinese, and argument strucure, especially in resultative compounds. The chapter concludes with an overview on word classes, highlighting some of the many controversies on this topic.

Reviewed by: Lessons on the English Verb: No Expression without Representation John Hewson (bio) Walter Hirtle . Lessons on the English Verb: No Expression without Representation. McGill-Queen's University Press. 2007. x, 346. $85.00 Long years ago I taught English as a Second Language, as a graduate student, to francophone students at Université Laval. Although I had trained as a language teacher and had taught Latin, Greek, and French, [End Page 410] the students knew more about English grammar than I did - a situation that is quite common with native speakers, who, unless they have a vocation as a grammarian, remain largely unaware of the grammatical subtleties of the language they speak. Walter Hirtle taught a course on the grammar of the English verb to francophones at Laval for some thirty years, during which he researched modern linguistic works on questions of tense, aspect, mood, and voice, became thoroughly familiar with all the modern grammarians of English, and constantly collected examples, in both his listening and his reading, to teach students the variety of nuances each form of the verb can express. An early book (1967) was published from sections of his doctoral thesis and is still one of the best expositions of the difference between the simple and progressive forms of the English verb; he was one of the first to take into account the relationship of Aktionsart (lexical aspect) and grammatical aspect. The difference between simple and progressive (spoke, was speaking), is often difficult enough for non-native speakers: he shoots, he scores! but not He is shooting, he is scoring! The usage of these forms is complicated by the lexical sense of the verb: in He is talking on the phone right now, the simple form cannot be used in ordinary conversation, but the progressive form of a verb like know is equally unacceptable - I am knowing the answer - and a simple form must be used: I know the answer. A later book (1975) dealt with the use of the have-perfect forms of English, and now, in this latest volume, we have a book based on the long years of teaching the finer points of the grammar of the English verb to those who had already learned to speak the language, but were non-native speakers, and were seldom secure with the usage of the progressive (e.g. Every time I am seeing him he is telling me . . .) or the perfect (I am here since ten minutes, which should of course be I have been here ten minutes). Hirtle's subtle analyses, and endless examples of usage from real life, both spoken and written, are a massive contribution to appreciating and explaining the way the English verb functions. This book will be of immense value not only to those who speak English as a second language, but also to native speakers, especially those engaged in the task of teaching English as a second language. There are eighteen 'Lessons' (the teaching background!) covering the usual verbal categories, and also zeroing in on usage special to English. Readers will undoubtedly enjoy Lesson 10, 'What Does Do Do?,' and its extension, Lesson 11, 'Compounding with Do,' which examines the usage of the do auxiliary that became grammaticalized in the eighteenth century, being used in the negative and interrogative of the simple forms: I know; do you know? He doesn't know which replaced earlier Know you? and He knows not. The theoretical background used for these analyses is the Psychomechanics of the French linguist Gustave Guillaume. This is a [End Page 411] word-based, meaning-based theory that is ideal for examining usage and meaning of grammatical forms. Its basic premise is from Saussure: every morpheme has a sememe, a permanent underlying meaning, which produces allosemes in discourse in much the same way that a phoneme produces allophones in different contexts. The work is therefore of value to linguists, since it includes theories of aspect, mood, and tense, and hitherto unpublished theories of voice and of the auxiliaries do, be, and have. Both anglophones and francophones will find in this work a masterful parade of insights into the workings of the English verb. John Hewson John Hewson, Department...

This study reports three experiments on how children learning Mandarin Chinese comprehend and use aspect markers. These experiments examine the role of lexical aspect in children's acquisition of grammatical aspect. Results provide converging evidence for children's early sensitivity to (1) the association between atelic verbs and the imperfective aspect markers zai, -zhe, and -ne, and (2) the association between telic verbs and the perfective aspect marker -le. Children did not show a sensitivity in their use or understanding of aspect markers to the difference between stative and activity verbs or between semelfactive and activity verbs. These results are consistent with Slobin's (1985) basic child grammar hypothesis that the contrast between process and result is important in children's early acquisition of temporal morphology. In contrast, they are inconsistent with Bickerton's (1981, 1984) language bioprogram hypothesis that the distinctions between state and process and between punctual and nonpunctual are preprogrammed into language learners. We suggest new ways of looking at the results in the light of recent probabilistic hypotheses that emphasize the role of input, prototypes and connectionist representations.

Ahmad Tohari’s short story entitled “Tinggal Matanya Berkedip-kedip” seen from social aspect depicts that authority and power of a leader supported by the power of “people live in poverty”. Without civilian’s support, a leader’s power is priceless. Cohesion in grammatical aspect such as referent, substitution, ellipsis, and conjunction also appeared in the short story. The function of grammatical aspect is mainly to make the story more interesting. Cohesion in lexical aspect in the form of repetition and synonym used in the short story functions to strengthen the author’s mind which delivered.

This study aims to investigate the acquisition of English verb morphology by learners of two typologically different L1s and the role of L1 transfer in the acquisition pattern, a cross-sectional study (n = 180) carried with Chinese and Mongolian college students learning English at two proficiency levels, using the cloze passage and composition. 120 cloze passages and 20 compositions were selected as data to be analyzed. Consistent with the Aspect Hypothesis, the results of MANOVA tests show a significant effect of lexical aspect on tense-aspect marking use: the perfective and past markings are strongly associated with Achievements/Accomplishments; the progressive marking is strongly associated with Activities; the present marking is strongly associated with States. Even though Mongolian and Chinese learners show virtually the same acquisition pattern, their performances in using the past, perfective, and progressive markings are different. Mongolian learners exhibiting superiority over Chinese learners in associating and correctly using the perfective and progressive markings, overuse of progressive markings by Mongolian learners, and overextending progressive markings to States by both L1 groups evidence L1 transfer. Contradictory findings-greater use and correct use of past markings with States than with Activities, overextending progressive markings to States, and learners' preference for using progressive markings with Achievements to Accomplishments suggest that the methodology, L1, sentence structures and input may somewhat affect the results of tense-aspect marking studies.

This book is a revised and updated version of the author's 1997 Cornell University dissertation, which investigated the acquisition of Spanish past-tense morphology by classroom learners whose L1 was English. Based on three main studies, the author argues against the Aspect Hypothesis (e.g., Bardovi-Harlig, 2000), the dominant view in SLA research, which predicts strong associations between lexical aspect and tense-aspect morphology at the early stages of acquisition.

The aim of this study is to compare the Aktionsarten expressed by morphological means in Hungarian and Italian. Similar to the rich Hungarian Aktionsart system is found in Slavic languages. It is no coincidence that the concept of Aktionsart appears for the first time in the context of a work dealing with the Polish language (Agrell, 1908) in the sense of the course of the action, process or event denoted by the verb. Before Agrell, aspect was used as an umbrella term including Aktionsart, which is now considered a separate category. Aspect and Aktionsart are closely related linguistic phenomena, they are both associated with the internal temporal constituency of situations. Actionsart is also called lexical aspect in the literature, as it refers to features already present in the meaning of the verb (e.g. continuity, durability, telicity) which are similar to those expressed by the grammatical aspect, but which, unlike the grammatical aspect, are not chosen by the speaker to express a specific, subjective point of view regarding an event included in a given utterance; they are the inherent, objective attributes of the verb. Actionsart is therefore a lexical category, while aspect is a grammatical category. We will see that in contrast to the system of Hungarian counting thirteen Aktionsarten expressed by preverbs and the suffix -gat/-get, in Italian we cannot speak of productive Aktionsart. It happens that certain Aktionsarten can be displayed, but this language category can be expressed mainly phrasally, because the appropriate morphological tools are not available, since inflecting languages are always poorer than agglutinating ones. In Italian, the morphologically marked Aktionsarten are also closely linked to the aspect, both in terms of their semantics and their formal expression.

Verbal and compositional lexical aspect provide the underlying temporal structure of events.Knowledge of lexical aspect, e.g., (a)telicity, is therefore required for interpreting event sequences in discourse (Dowty, 1986;Moens and Steedman, 1988;Passoneau, 1988), interfacing to temporal databases (Androutsopoulos, 1996), processing temporal modi ers (Antonisse, 1994), describing allowable alternations and their semantic e ects (Resnik, 1996;Tenny, 1994), and selecting tense and lexical items for natural language generation ((Dorr and Olsen, 1996;Klavans and Chodorow, 1992), cf.(Slobin and Bocaz, 1988)).We show that it is possible to represent lexical aspect|both verbal and compositional|on a large scale, using Lexical Conceptual Structure (LCS) representations of verbs in the classes cataloged by Levin (1993).We show how proper consideration of these universal pieces of verb meaning may be used to re ne lexical representations and derive a range of meanings from combinations of LCS representations.A single algorithm may therefore be used to determine lexical aspect classes and features at both verbal and sentence levels.Finally, we illustrate how knowledge of lexical aspect facilitates the interpretation of events in NLP applications.