The present perfective paradox across languages / Astrid De Wit.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De Wit, Astrid, author.

Series:

Oxford studies of time in language and thought ; 4.

Oxford studies of time in language and thought ; 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grammar, Comparative and general--Tense.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Aspect.

Physical Description:

1 volume ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2017.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

1.1 The present perfective paradox: A first glance 1

1.2 Selected languages 4

1.3 A cognitive-semantic approach to cross-linguistic variation 4

1.4 The structure of the study 8

2 An epistemic approach to the categories of tense and aspect 10

2.1 Tense 10

2.1.1 Temporal and non-temporal uses of tense constructions 10

2.1.2 A modal account of the present tense 13

2.2 Aspect 17

2.2.1 Lexical and grammatical aspect: A unified aspect model 18

2.2.2 Grammatical aspect 21

2.2.2.1 Perfective and imperfective aspect 21

2.2.2.2 Other types of grammatical aspect 23

2.2.3 Lexical aspect 28

2.3 The perfect 32

3 The present perfective paradox: The state of the art 35

3.1 The incompatibility problem 35

3.2 Previous analyses of the incompatibility problem 40

3.3 Objectives of the current study 51

4 The present perfective paradox in English 54

4.1 Usage types of the English simple present 55

4.1.1 Present-time reference 55

4.1.2 Historical present 57

4.1.3 Futurate 58

4.1.4 Non-counterfactual conditionals 58

4.1.5 Habitual and generic contexts 58

4.1.6 The use of the simple present versus the present progressive in comparable contexts 58

4.1.7 Overview of the usage types of the English simple present 60

4.2 Previous analyses of the semantics of the English present tense 61

4.2.1 Analyses of the temporal meaning of the simple present 61

4.2.2 Analyses of the aspectual meaning of the simple present 62

4.2.3 The simple present versus the present progressive: Aspectual and modal accounts 63

4.3 The semantics of the English present tense and the rise of the present perfective paradox 65

4.3.1 A semantic analysis of the English simple present 65

4.3.1.1 Basic modal and temporal meaning 66

4.3.1.2 Aspectual meaning 67

4.3.1.3 The modal contrast between the simple present and the present progressive 68

4.3.1.4 The development of the present progressive and the rise of the perfective meaning of the simple present in English 70

4.3.2 Interactions between the simple present and types of lexical aspect in different contexts 71

4.3.2.1 States versus events 71

4.3.2.2 Present-time reference with events in non-virtual contexts 73

4.3.2.3 Present-time reference with events in virtual contexts 76

4.4 Two types of solution for the incompatibility problems 78

4.4.1 A structural interpretation 78

4.4.2 Type shifting 80

4.4.2.1 The present perfect 81

4.4.2.2 The present progressive 83

4.5 Conclusion 87

5 The present perfective paradox in French 88

5.1 Usage types of the French simple present 89

5.1.1 Present-time reference 89

5.1.2 Historical present 90

5.1.3 Futurate 92

5.1.4 Non-counter factual conditionals 94

5.1.5 Habitual and generic contexts 94

5.1.6 Overview of the usage types of the French simple present 94

5.2 Previous analyses of the semantics of the French simple present 95

5.3 The semantics of the French simple present and how it avoids the rise of the present perfective paradox 98

5.3.1 The basic modal and temporal meaning of the simple present 98

5.3.2 The aspectual ambiguity of the simple present 99

5.3.2.1 Aspectual ambiguity and the continuative present perfect 100

5.3.2.2 Epistemic implications of the aspectual ambiguity 101

5.3.3 The French simple present and the present perfective paradox 103

5.3.4 The modal contrast between the simple present and the present progressive 105

5.4 A diachronic explanation for the aspectual ambiguity of the simple present 109

5.5 Conclusion 111

6 The present perfective paradox in Sranan 112

6.1 Preliminary observations 112

6.2 Methodology: Actional classification and corpus analysis 115

6.2.1 Classes of lexical aspect 115

6.2.2 Corpus data and elicitations 117

6.3 Usage types of zero 118

6.3.1 Present-time reference 118

6.3.2 Present perfect 120

6.3.3 Narrative contexts 121

6.3.4 Past perfective outside narrative contexts 122

6.3.5 Non-counterfactual conditional clauses 123

6.3.6 Overview of the usage types of zero 124

6.4 Previous analyses of zero, ben, and e 125

6.5 Analysis: Zero as a present perfective marker 130

6.5.1 Zero as a present perfective marker and the rise of the present perfective paradox 130

6.5.2 Two types of solution for the present perfective paradox 132

6.5.2.1 Type shifting: The progressive/habitual e 132

6.5.2.2 Alternative 'non-present' interpretations 133

6.6 Conclusion 139

7 The present perfective paradox in Slavic 140

7.1 Slavic-style aspect in this study 143

7.2 Usage types of the present (perfective) tense across Slavic languages 148

7.2.1 In northeastern Slavic (Russian and Polish) 148

7.2.1.1 Future-time reference 148

7.2.1.2 Habitual 151

7.2.1.3 Historical present 153

7.2.1.4 Realis conditionals 154

7.2.1.5 Actual present 155

7.2.2 In northwestern Slavic (Czech) 157

7.2.2.1 Future-time reference 157

7.2.2.2 Habitual 158

7.2.2.3 Historical present 159

7.2.2.4 Non-counterfactual conditionals 160

7.2.2.5 Actual present 160

7.2.3 In southwestern Slavic (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian) 161

7.2.3.1 Habitual 162

7.2.3.2 Historical present 162

7.2.3.3 Realis conditionals 163

7.2.3.4 Actual present-time reference 163

7.2.4 Overview 164

7.3 The rise of the present perfective paradox in Slavic 166

7.3.1 Arguments in favor of a present-tense analysis 166

7.3.2 Why does the present-time reporting of perfective events seem more problematic in the eastern Slavic languages than in the western Slavic languages? 167

7.4 Two types of solution for the incompatibility problems 176

7.4.1 Imperfective and perfect construals 176

7.4.1.1 Imperfectivization 176

7.4.1.2 The limited type-shifting function of the perfect in South Slavic 177

7.4.2 Non-present readings: The 'prospective strategy' and the 'structural strategy' 177

7.4.2.1 The exploitation of the 'prospective strategy' in different Slavic languages 177

7.4.2.2 The 'structural strategy' and eastern-western 'differences 181

7.5 Conclusion 182

8 Conclusion and wider relevance 184

8.1 The rise and resolution of the present perfective paradox across languages 185

8.1.1 The conceptual problems underlying the present perfective paradox 185

8.1.2 Preemptive blocking of the present perfective paradox: Present-tense constructions with an imperfective value 186

8.1.3 The role of (types of) lexical and grammatical aspect 187

8.1.4 Present-time event reports in specific (perfective) contexts 189

8.1.5 Solutions to the present perfective paradox 192

8.1.5.1 Alternative 'non-present' readings: The 'prospective', 'retrospective', and 'structural strategy' 192

8.1.5.2 Type-shifting constructions that enable present-time reference 194

8.2 Wider relevance and future research 195.

ISBN:

9780198759539

0198759533

OCLC:

963179334