Aspect    

•  the  func,onal  domain  of  the  verb  =  inflec,on  •  inflec,on  =  an  umbrella  term  for  Tense,  Agreement,  Aspect,  Mood,  Voice  

 

John  read  a  book.  John  was  reading  a  book.    -­‐same  tense,  different  aspect  

Tense  

•  deic,c  category:  oriented  towards  the  ,me  of  the  speaker,  it  relates  situa,ons  to  Speech  Time  and  orders  them  by  the  rela,ons  of:  

simultaneity,  anteriority,  posteriority  •  represents  the  chronological  order  of  events  in  ,me  as  perceived  by  the  speaker  

Aspect    

•  not  a  deic,c  category  •  informs  about  the  size  of  the  situa,on,  about  its  internal  stages,  about  the  quality  of  the  situa,on  

John  sat  behind  a  desk  all  aHernoon.  John  found  a  treasure.  John  ate  a  bar  of  chocolate.  John  remembered  something.      -­‐>  same  Tense,  same  Aspect?  what  is  the  difference?    

John  walked  to  the  park.  John  walked  in  the  park.    John  learned  French  for  two  years.  John  learned  French  in  two  years.    

•  The  Principle  of  Composi,onality:  (Frege’s  Principle)  =  The  meaning  of  a  complex  expression  is  fully  determined  by  the  meaning  of  its  cons,tuents  and  by  its  structure:  that  is  the  rules  we  used  to  combine  the  cons,tuents.      +  the  lexical  conceptual  structure  of  the  verb,  that  is  the  verb  together  with  its  arguments    +  the  func,onal  categories  on  the  verb  +  ,me  adverbials    

Aspect    

•  perfec,ve  –  imperfec,ve  

•  viewpoint  aspect  (Smith  1991)  /  gramma,cal  aspect  (de  Swart  1998)  

•  situa,on-­‐type  aspect  /  lexical  aspect  (Smith  1991)  

•  states  •  ac,vi,es  •  accomplishments  •  achievements    •  semelfac,ves  

a.  John  loves  chocolate.  b.  John  strolled  in  the  park.  c.  John  made  a  chocolate  cake.  d.  John  remembered  something.  e.  John  coughed.  

STATIVE   DURATIVE   TELIC  STATES   +   +   -­‐  ACTIVITIES   -­‐   +   -­‐  ACCOMPLISHMENTS   -­‐   +   +  ACHIEVEMENTS   -­‐   -­‐   +  SEMELFACTIVES   -­‐   -­‐   -­‐  

•  viewpoint  aspect:  gramma,cal  morphemes  –  overt  category  

be-­‐ing  have-­‐en  •  situa?on-­‐type  aspect:  a  constella,on  of  lexical  morphemes  –  the  verb  and  its  arguments  –  covert  category  (lacks  explicit  morphological  markers)  

•  aspectual  meaning  holds  for  sentences  rather  than  verbs:  

a.  John  never  eats  chocolate.      b.  John  ate  chocolate  noisily  throughout  the  

lesson.  c.  John  ate  a  bar  of  chocolate.  d.  John  walked  in  the  park.  e.  John  walked  to  the  park.    f.  A  famous  movie  star  discovered  that  liXle  spa.  g.  Famous  movie  stars  have  been  discovering  that  

liXle  spa  for  years.      

•  similarity:  uncountable  things  (mass  nouns,  bare  plurals)  –  atelic  events:  

 some  chocolate  =  chocolate  some  water  ≠  a  lake    John  walked.  vs.  John  walked  to  school.          

States  

•  e.g.  believe  in  ghosts,  know  the  answer,  be  tall,    own    

•  unbounded    •  abstract  atemporal  quality    •  homogeneous    •  true  at  all  subintervals    

Sta,vity  tests:  Incompa,ble  with:  •  impera,ves    •  Ag-­‐oriented  Av  willingly,  deliberately    •  ‘force’  and    ‘persuade’  •  *What  she  did  was  ….  •  progressive  •  temporal  and  spa,al  coordinates  (*When  and  where…?)  

•  uncountable  ,  mass  proper,es  (*He  knew  Greek  three  ,mes)  •  nominaliza?ons  of  state  predicates  (hatred,  love,  knowledge,  

etc.)  :  uncountable  (There  was  li:le  love  lost  among  themselves).    

States  

u individual-­‐level  predicates  –  object-­‐level  and  kind-­‐level  individuals  :  stable  proper,es  

u stage-­‐level  predicates  :  transitory  proper,es                                                                                                                (Carlson  1977)  John  is  a  prince.  John  is  in  the  garden.  John  is  scared.  

•  kind-­‐referring  expressions:  bare  plurals,  definite  singular  NPs,  mass  nouns  

Mammoths  are  woolly.  The  mammoth  is  woolly.  Wool  is  warm.  

What  about?    A  mammoth  is  woolly.  

     A  mammoth  is  woolly.    •  basic  stage  level  predicate  recategorized  as  individual  level  predicate  

•  describe  property  which  holds  for  most  members:  excep,ons!  

•  generalize  over  proper,es    

•  predicates  that  only  occur  with  kind-­‐level  subjects:  die  out,  be  widespread,  be  in  short  supply,  be  common,  be  indigenous  to,  come  in  all  sizes  

•  kind-­‐referring  expressions:  bare  plurals,  definite  singular  NPs,  mass  nouns  

Dinosaurs  are  ex,nct.  The  dinosaur  is  ex,nct.  *A  dinosaur  is  ex,nct.    

Basic  level  states  

•  abstract  and  concrete  proper,es  (be  altruis=c,  be  tall,  be  intelligent,  be  widespread,  be  ex=nct)    

•  belief  and  other  mental  states  (believe,  know,  think  (give  opinion),  hope,  fear)  

•  verbs  of  physical  percep,on  (see,  hear,  taste,  feel,  etc.      

•  emo,ve  predicates  (love,  hate,  like,  dislike,  rejoice,  despise,  want,  desire)  

LCS:  BE  (in  the  state  of)  

Derived  sta,ves  

Ø not  sta,ve  at  the  basic  level  of  classifica,on  •  generics:  Tigers  eat  meat.  •  habituals:  My  cat  eats  a  mouse  every  day.  Ø hold  of  classes,  kinds,  paXerns  of  events  Ø ascribe  a  property  to  the  class  

Verbs  of  posi,on  and  loca,on  (sit,  crouch,  lie,  perch,  sprawl)  •  interval  sta,ves:  their  truth  condi,on  requires  an  interval  longer  than  a  moment  

The  picture  hangs  on  the  wall.  The  picture  is  hanging  on  the  wall.  -­‐>resulta,ve,  temporary    The  socks  are  lying  /  *lie    under  the  bed.  New  Orleans  lies  /  *is  lying  on  the  Mississippi.  -­‐>  voli,onal  control,  moveable  object  

Mul,ple  classifica,on  

•  percep,on  verbs:  states  +  events  I  have  tasted  the  fish  and  it  tastes  funny.    

Stage-­‐level  interpreta,on  of  states  

•  dynamism,  temporary  quality:  I  was  being  a  nuisance.  The  cake  is  looking  done.  •  gradual  change:  These  examples  are  seeming  less  and  less  unacceptable.    •  basic-­‐level  states:  incompa,ble  with  progressive:  *He  is  owning  a  car.    

I’m  not  seeing  anything.  Are  you  hearing  me?    cf.  I  can’t  see  anything.  Can  you  hear  me?  

Ac,vi,es/Processes  

He  swam/ran/slept/strolled  in  the  park/ate  for  an  hour.  The  ball  rolled/moved.  It  rained  for  hours.  The  jewels  gliXered.  

•  dura,ve  •  dynamic  •  atelic  •  no  natural  final  point:  cessa,on  of  ac,vity  –  processes  ‘stop’,  do  not  ‘finish’  

•  interval  longer  than  a  moment  •  homogeneous  •  the  subinterval  property  •  period  adverbials:  for  x  ,me,  all  day,  spend  ,me  doing  

LCS:  DO    What  he  did  was  play  the  piano.  

 

mul,ple  event  processes:    eat  cherries,  write  leXers,  cough  for  five  minutes,  revolve  He  was  coughing.  He  found  sand  in  his  shoes  all  morning.  

Compare:  

read  the  book  vs.  read  at  the  book  paint  the  fence  vs.  paint  away  at  the  fence  

•  degree  predicates    They  were  widening  the  road.  The  soup  cooled.  •  super-­‐lexical  verbs:    Mary  con,nued  to  eat  peas.  

Accomplishments  and  Achievements  

•  telic  •  change  of  state  •  bounded  interval  •  temporally  complex:  do  not  have  the  subinterval  property  

•  false  at  all  subintervals  •  heterogeneous  •  adverbials  of  comple,on:  in  x  ,me,  take  x  ,me  to  

Accomplishments  

•  dura,ve  •  complex  events  

           

Si                  ac,vity                      Sf    

LCS:      (DO    (CAUSE  (  BECOME)))  

•  outcome  entails  process:  John  built  a  house.  =>  John  was  building  a  house.  John  was  building  a  house  ≠>  John  built  a  house.  cf.  John  was  walking.  =>  John  walked.  

•  complex  events:  bipar,te  nature  

a.  John  almost  opened  the  door.    

•  complex  events:  bipar,te  nature  

a.  John  almost  opened  the  door.  almost  (John  opened  the  door)  John  DO  (BECOME  (door  almost  open))    b.  John  built  a  kite  for  two  hours.  c.  John  finished  building  a  kite.  d.  John  stopped  building  a  kite.  

The  sheriff  of  Nolngham  jailed  Robin  Hood  for  four  years.    

The  sheriff  of  Nolngham  jailed  Robin  Hood  for  four  years.  1.  mul,ple  event  process  DO  Av  (Robin  Hood  go  to  jail)    2.  DO  (Robin  Hood  go  to  jail  Av)  

The  walked  to  school  at  noon.    •  ingressive  

•  resulta,ves:  The  sheriff  shot  the  man  dead.  The  wind  shaped  the  hills  into  cones.  The  maid  swept  the  floor  clean.  The  elevator  wheezed  to  the  seventh  floor.  *The  frogs  croaked  to  the  pond.  throw  away,  aside,  down,  up  monomorphemic:  drown,  electrocute,  strangle,  hang,  poison  

a.  Jane  walked  down  the  beach.  b.  Jane  walked  down  the  beach.  She  stopped  to  

pick  up  a  starfish.  c.  Every  aHernoon  Jane  walked  down  the  

beach.    

Achievements  

•  change  of  state  •  instantaneous  •  process  (cause)  omiXed  or  backgrounded  LCS:  BECOME  die,  reach  the  top,  win  the  race,  arrive,  leave,  recognize,  no=ce,  find  a  penny,  miss  the  target,  lose  the  watch,  remember      

•  preliminary  stages:  conceptually  detached  from  the  event  as  such  

He  died.  ≠>  He  was  dying.  He  was  winning  the  race.  ≠>  He  won  the  race.  •  existence  of  preliminary  stages  accounts  for  ability  to  occur  in  progressive  

The  plane  was  landing  when  the  storm  started.  •  ‘lucky  achievements’  John  found  a  penny  (*deliberately).    vs.  :  John  deliberately  missed  the  target.  *John  was  finding  a  penny.  

•  ingressive  interpreta,on  with  comple,ve  Av:  We  reached  the  top  in  5  minutes.  The  bomb  exploded  in  a  minute.  *The  bomb  finished  exploding.    •  incompa,ble  with  period  Av:  *The  bomb  exploded  for  five  minutes.  The  firecracker  exploded  for  five  minutes.    

•  degree  predicates  John  melted  the  ice  for/in  an  hour.  The  ice  melted  for/in  an  hour.  The  balloon  rose  to  the  ceiling.  The  book  fell  down.  Mary  dried  the  cocoa  beans  dry.  cool,  warm,  widen,  harden,  rise,  fall,  descend,  roll,  cool,  melt,  dry,  etc.    

Semelfac,ves  •  atelic    •  instantaneous  knock,  cough,  hit  flap,  hiccup,  slam,  bang,  kick  •  no  preliminary  or  resultant  stages  •  with  period  Av,  progressive:  itera,ve  John  coughed  for  five  minutes.  John  was  coughing.  •  ingressive:  Mary  slowly  knocked.  John  coughed  quickly.  

•  the  contribu,on  of  arguments  and  adjuncts  to  aspectual  recategoriza,on  

She  combed  her  hair  for/in  five  minutes.  John  ran  a  mile.  John  ran  to  the  park.  John  ate  popcorn  *in/for  an  hour.  John  discovered  fleas  on  his  dog  *in/for  2  days.  Tourists/*John  discovered  that  village  for  years.  

Viewpoint  Aspect:  perfec,ve  •  unmarked  in  English  •  closed  situa,on  •  endpoints  included    •  not  concerned  with  length  –  seen  as  punctual  •  typically  punctual:  achievements  and  semelfac,ves  

John  found  a  penny.  John  coughed.  •  non-­‐instantaneous:  ‘punctual’  =  closed  She  swam.  The  king  reigned  for  30  years.  

•  terminated  vs.  completed  situa,ons  Lily  swam  in  the  pond  *and  is  s,ll  swimming.    Lily  swam  in  the  pond.    Lily  coughed.    Lily  wrote  a  leXer.    Lily  reached  the  lighthouse.  Lily  wrote  a  leXer  *but  she  didn’t  finish  wri,ng.  

     •  states:  flexible  open/closed  :  context  Sam  owned  several  apple  orchards.    •  sequen,al  reading:  John  ran/went  to  bed/fell  asleep  when  Mary  got  home.  

John  saw  Mary  eat  an  apple.  John  saw  Mary  ea,ng  an  apple.  

Imperfec,ve  viewpoint  

•  marked  aspectual  choice  •  dynamism  •  informa,onally  open  •  presents  part  of  a  situa,on  

•  origin:                  (Jespersen)  he  was  on  hun,ngN  (in  the  course  of,  engaged  in,  busy  with  some  protracted  ac,on)  on  >  a  >  dropped  •  temporal  frame:  hun,ng  =  frame  around  smth.  else  (anchor)  

 Whenever  I  call  him  he  is  working  in  the  garden.  When  I  got  there  he  was  working  in  the  garden.  When  you  arrive  I’ll  be  working  in  the  garden.    

a.  John  was  hiding  the  loot  when  the  police  came.    

b.  *John  was  hiding  the  loot  aHer  the  phone  rang.    

c.  John  hid  the  loot  when/aHer  Mary  knocked  at  the  door.    

d.  John  sang  when  Mary  knocked.  =  ?  e.  John  was  happy  when  Mary  knocked.    1.?      2.?  

a.  John  was  hiding  the  loot  when  the  police  came.    

b.  *John  was  hiding  the  loot  aHer  the  phone  rang.    

c.  John  hid  the  loot  when/aHer  Mary  knocked  at  the  door.    

d.  John  sang  when  Mary  knocked.  =  successive  e.  John  was  happy  when  Mary  knocked.  =  1.  overlapping  2.  successive  

•  pragma,c  factors:  mutual  knowledge    John  was  building  a  tree-­‐house.    (=)  John  built  a  tree-­‐house.    

Mildred  was  shelling  peas.  •  nega,ve  focus:  …when  the  fire  broke  out.  •  neutral  focus:  

•  temporary:  He  wears/is  wearing  a  wig.  The  river  flows/is  flowing  through  the  center  of  the  town.    •  emo?ve:  George  is  always  promising  to  have  the  stone  reset  but  it’s  never  been  done.    

•  gradual  change:  These  examples  are  seeming  less  and  less  unacceptable  to  me  

•  imminence:  …at  any  moment  he  was  expec,ng  the  door  to  burst  open  …  

•  politeness:  I’m  hoping…        

 “In  its  aspectual  func,on,  the  progressive  is  used  to  show  that  a  situa,on  is  in  progress,  that  it  is  incomplete,  or  that  it  has  a  certain,  normally  limited  dura,on.  However,  it  is  also  claimed  that  the  progressive  has  expressive,  intensive,  focalizing  foregrounding,  subjec,ve,  textual,  stylis,c,  etc.  func,ons  at  its  various  stages  of  development.  [...]    the  progressive  has  increasingly  been  used  as  a  marker  of  subjec,vity.  The  main  argument  for  this  hypothesis  seems  to  be  that  much  of  the  rise  has  taken  place  in  linguis,c  contexts  where  the  progressive  is  not  gramma,cally  required,  but  where  it  is  in  compe,,on  with  the  simple  form.    […]  The  subjec,fica,on  of  the  progressive  is,  among  other  things,  assumed  to  explain  the  alleged  rise  in  the  use  of  the  progressive  with  sta,ve  verbs.”  (Killie  2004).