Tense and aspect in Xhosa

This dissertation investigates the semantics of each tense and aspect in Xhosa. Since tense and aspect perform important pragmatic functions, the analysis takes into account the correlation between the verb and the wider discourse in which it is embedded. Tense reflects the temporal relation between the time of the utterance (speech time) and an interval the speaker makes the assertion about (reference time). The Remote Past and the Remote Future tenses differ from their Recent/Immediate counterparts in that they denote events which occurred in a significantly different situation than the speech time and/or events in the surrounding discourse. Aspect does not only indicate the relation between the time occupied by the real world event and the reference time chosen by the speaker. The Perfective aspect represents an event as a unique change-of-state that pertains to a single point on the timeline which at the same time functions as the reference time. By contrast, for the Imperfective aspect temporally links the event to a contextually provided reference time, e.g. the utterance time, a time adverbial, a period of time previously introduced in the preceding discourse, or the interlocutors’ shared experience. At the pragmatic level, the Perfective aspect tends to introduce an event’s resulting state into the discourse, whereas the Imperfective aspect tends to rule it out. Like the Imperfective aspect, the Anterior and the Prospective aspects assert an event’s occurrence from a contextually defined reference time. They refer to the consequent and the preparatory states of an event, respectively. On the pragmatic level, the Anterior aspect may also indicate that the truth-conditionality of the event’s resulting state is contradicted in the immediate discourse. This study shows that tense and aspect temporally represent different means of temporally assigning an event to a particular portion of the timeline. I further argue that aspect indicates whether the reference time is provided in the context (Imperfective, Anterior, Prospective) or whether it is introduced by the verb itself (Perfective). Furthermore, this study shows that aspect exhibits a pragmatic function by laying focus on different parts of the event that are relevant in the upcoming discourse.

Interspeaker variation in the negated perfective aspect of Zamboanga Chavacano

Framed from four perspectives, (1) Schütze & Curbach (2019), grammaticality judgment and linguistic methodology; (2) Mcwhorter’s (2011), description of the complexity of creoles as flourishing over time from an original state; (3) Steinkruger (2013), explanation of negated sentences in the perfective aspect; and (4) Lee (2005), delineation of native speakers of a language, this research paper looked into the combination of the negator nohay and the perfective aspect markers ya and yan (ya man) in the sentence. A negated sentence with a perfective aspect is a structure that seems to be accepted by some native speakers of Chavacano (or Chabacano) but rejected by others. In the literature, only Steinkruger (2013), describes the permissibility of the forenamed combination in the syntactic structure of Chavacano. It was hypothesized that such a combination is acceptable in Chavacano and that there is an interspeaker variation pertinent to its acceptability. To confirm these hypotheses, data were collected via grammaticality judgment from 105 native Chavacano speakers and another set of data were collected via interview from 10 native speakers of Chavacano for corroborative purposes.

Causality and aspect in ability, actuality, and implicativity

Past-tense ability ascriptions (e.g., "was able") alternate between pure, potentially unrealized ability and an interpretation which actualizes the ability. The alternation extends to abilitative uses of possibility modals, with actualized readings strengthening to actuality entailments under perfective aspect in aspect-marking languages (Bhatt 1999). These interpretations resist explanation on accounts which seek to derive them in the composition of modality and aspect. I build on causal analyses of implicative inferences (from lexical implicatives like "manage" as well as 'variably-implicative' "enough" comparatives; Baglini & Francez 2016, Nadathur 2016, 2017) to propose a new approach to actuality inferences, grounded in a causal semantics for ability predicates. This account derives both pure ability and actuality readings, and explains parallels between implicative "manage" and actualized ability on the basis of shared (presuppositional) causal structure. "Manage" and ability differ in asserted content, but the difference is neutralized – producing actuality entailments – under a perfective operator which selects for eventive predicates, and combines with stative ability attributions only via aspectual coercion.

How Recently Borrowed Verbs in Russian Form Perfective Aspect — an Experimental Approach

This article examines how Russian aspectual pairs from borrowed and colloquial verbs are formed. This question is relevant since the most common source languages of Russian loan verbs do not express the aspectual distinction (imperfective-perfective) morphologically. Seventeen new verbs, most of which belong to the technological sphere, were examined in an online experiment (N=120), in which native Russian speakers were asked to form perfective counterparts for a number of new verbs, such as гуглить ‘to google’ and эсэмэсить ‘to text, to SMS’. The results show that there is variation in the formation of these new verbs, but also that one form was chosen by most participants who formed a valid perfective. The most common perfectivizers in this experiment were the suffix -ну-, followed by the prefixes за-, про-, от- and с-. The suffix -ну- is especially productive in verbs denoting actions that can be carried out or finished in a short time but is also found in verbs denoting longer processes. This use of -ну- is characteristic for verbs in Russian slang.

(Non)culmination by abduction

Recent literature has aimed to explain (non-)culminating accomplishment inferences, which often involve the perfective aspect, but can also involve the imperfective. The goal of our paper is to explore how these inferences come about with the Hindi perfective and the Russian imperfective. We propose that abduction, that is, inference to the best explanation, is ideally suited for this task. We show how the occurrence of a (non-)culminated event is abduced in the relevant cases based on a semantic analysis which adopts the distinction between culminated and maximal events, as well as a set of non-defeasible rules encoding general mereological principles. We also show how our abductive framework can take into account facts about the conversation. This, among other things, allows us to make more nuanced predictions about what speakers will infer and when, thereby addressing possible worries of overgeneralization that an abductive framework inevitably faces. We end the paper with two outstanding issues warranting further research. First, we raise questions about the nature of (non-)culminating accomplishment inferences, which have previously been taken to be conversational implicatures. Second, we take some preliminary steps towards extending our analysis to defeasible causatives in Germanic and Romance languages.

The category of aspect vs. meaning

The article offers an analysis of the perfective aspect within the approach of communicational grammar. The author provided an overview of selected verbs with a communication-based analysis of those which consist of recreating predicate-argument systems and their combinations (the so-called communicational scenarios) to indicate the impact of aspect on the resulting configuration of meaning. The text also includes examples of the analysis of metaphorical expressions.

ASPEK PERFEKTIF DALAM AL-QUR’AN

The perfective in Arabic is indicated by a form of māḍi verb used to indicate the past time. In the Qur'an there are often verses that describe the future (imperfective) but are contained in the māḍi verb. The research using this qualitative descriptive approach aims to know the meaning contained in the verses contained in the form of the māḍi verb but in the future context. The sample of this study using purposive sampling in the form of verses that contain māḍi verb in it that perpektive and imperfective aspect. The perfective aspect of the verses is inseparable from the influence of the letters that associated with the māḍi verbs and also has implications for meaning and time.

Aspects of the Grammar of Past Tense and the Present Perfective Aspect in English and Echie: A Contrastive Account

The absence of a parallel equivalence in the grammar of past tense and perfective aspect in English and Echie is significantly responsible for the errors that occur in the related sentences of the Echie second language learners of English. This article is a contrastive analysis of the grammar of past tense and present perfect tense in English and Echie and it highlighted the structural specifics of each of the languages. Using the descriptive research design, the data for this study were gathered through the primary sources (ten competent native speakers of Echie were interviewed) and the secondary sources (examples generated from textual materials). Our description showed a complete range of morphological differences in past tense and present perfect tense of English and Echie as seen in the use of 1st, 2nd and 3rd persons singular and plural respectively. The paper concludes that the parametric variation in the past tense and perfective aspect of English and Echie languages show that every language is unique in some sort. Key Words: Contrastive, grammar, tense, parametric, descriptive, interference; language.

An Overview of Syntactic Tense & Aspect: From both Grammatical & Lexical Perspectives

Language can be complicated even within one language, such as in English. Rules of grammar, construction, and syntax are used to express ideas clearly so that others understand the intention behind them. However, these rules can lead to challenges in ensuring that ideas are effectively communicated and interpreted, particularly because word choice in the context of grammar and syntax rules can impact the way an expression is interpreted. This can be illustrated through an examination of the perfective aspect of syntax. The purpose of this research is to provide an overview of aspect and tense from both the grammatical and lexical perspectives.