Sprache ist mehr als nur Worte – sie ist ein Fenster zur Wahrnehmung der Zeit selbst. Haben Sie sich jemals gefragt, wie wir als Sprecher die flüchtige Natur von Ereignissen erfassen und in grammatikalische Formen gießen? Dieses Buch enthüllt die faszinierende Welt des Aspekts, jenes subtilen Bereichs der Sprachwissenschaft, der unsere Sicht auf die innere zeitliche Struktur von Situationen prägt. Tauchen Sie ein in eine tiefgreifende Analyse von Perfective, Imperfective und Perfect, den Eckpfeilern des Aspektsystems. Entdecken Sie, wie Sprachen wie Englisch, Spanisch und andere die Vollständigkeit, den Verlauf und die Relevanz von Handlungen und Zuständen kodieren. Verstehen Sie die Nuancen zwischen "Ich verlor meine Tasche" und "Ich habe meine Tasche verloren" – ein scheinbar kleiner Unterschied, der jedoch eine Welt an Bedeutung eröffnet. Erforschen Sie die subtilen Unterschiede zwischen habitualen und kontinuierlichen Aspekten, progressiven und nicht-progressiven Formen und wie diese unsere Interpretation von Ereignissen beeinflussen. Anhand zahlreicher Beispiele und klarer Erklärungen werden die komplexen Konzepte des Aspektsystems entmystifiziert. Egal, ob Sie Sprachwissenschaftler, Student oder einfach nur neugierig auf die Funktionsweise von Sprache sind, dieses Buch bietet Ihnen einen unverzichtbaren Einblick in die Art und Weise, wie wir Zeit durch Sprache konstruieren. Erweitern Sie Ihr Verständnis für Grammatik, Semantik und die kognitiven Prozesse, die unserer sprachlichen Kompetenz zugrunde liegen. Wagen Sie eine Reise in die verborgenen Tiefen der Aspektualität und entdecken Sie die Kraft der Sprache, unsere Realität zu formen. Dieses Werk ist ein Muss für jeden, der sich für die feinen Unterschiede interessiert, die unsere Kommunikation so reichhaltig und nuanciert machen. Lassen Sie sich von den subtilen, aber wirkungsvollen Mechanismen des Aspektsystems verzaubern und gewinnen Sie eine neue Perspektive auf die Art und Weise, wie wir die Welt um uns herum wahrnehmen und beschreiben. Die Erforschung von Aspekt und Tempus eröffnet ein tieferes Verständnis dafür, wie Sprachen die Zeit strukturieren und wie diese Struktur unsere Wahrnehmung der Welt beeinflusst. Die perfekte Lektüre für alle, die sich mit Linguistik, Grammatik und dem faszinierenden Zusammenspiel von Sprache und Kognition beschäftigen.
Comrie on Perfective, Imperfective and Perfect
0. Introduction
- General definition of aspect: Aspects are different ways of viewing the internal temporal constituency of a situation.
- Aspect is not unconnected with time, i.e. locates situations in time with reference to the present moment.
- Situation-internal time (aspect) vs. situation-external time (tense).
- The differentiation between tense and aspect is particularly important in considering the perfect.
Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten
Table 1: Classification of aspectual oppositions (cf. Comrie, 1976, 25)
1. Perfective
1.1. Definition of perfectivity
- Perfective and imperfective forms can be used to describe durations.
- Perfectivity can be combined with certain other aspectual properties and is not punctual, rather reduces a situation to a blob.
- A frequent characterisation of perfectivity is that it indicates a completed action.
- The perfective does denote a complete situation, with beginning, middle, and end.
- In languages that have a distinction between perfective and imperfective forms, some perfective verb forms can indicate the beginning of a situation (ingressive meaning), e.g. in Spanish the verbs ver ´see´, conocer ´know´ (i.e. ´be acquainted with´), saber ´know´ (for instance, know a fact). The perfective past of these verbs often indicates the start of a new situation:
(1) conoc í (Simple Past) a Pedro hace muchos a ñ os. (´I got to know Pedro many years ago´)
- Analysis of ingressive meaning leads to the thesis that such verbs can in general be either stative or ingressive, e.g. English sit, which can mean either ´be sitting´ or ´adopt a sitting position´.
- Similar to the definition of the perfective in terms of a completed action is its definition as being a resultative, i.e. indicating the successful completion of a situation.
1.2. Perfectivity and other aspectual values
- Following the definition of perfectivity, it involves a lack of explicit reference to the internal temporal constituency of a situation, perfective forms are used for situations that are internally complex.
- In Spanish, in the Past Tense, the opposition Simple Past vs. Imperfect can be expressed independently of the opposition Progressive vs. non-Progressive. In practice the form Perfective Progressive, such as estuvieron entrando (´they entered, were entering´) does occur as in
(2) toda la tarde estuvieron entrando visitas (´all the afternoon visitors kept arriving´).
2. Imperfective
- Imperfectivity is concerned with the internal temporal structure of a situation, viewing a situation from within.
- English has a separate Habitual Aspect (cf. table 1), but only in the Past Tense, e.g.
(3) John used to work here.
- Spanish has also a distinction between perfective and imperfective:
(4) Juan lleg ó (´John arrived´; Simple Past) vs. Juan llegaba (´John was arriving´; Imperfect)
2.1. Habitual/Continuous
- Habituality is concerned with iterativity, i.e. the repetition of a situation, the successive occurence of several instances of the given situation.
- Habituals describe a situation of an extended period of time, e.g.
(5) The Temple of Diana used to stand at Ephesus. (no iterativity involved)
(6) The policeman used to stand at the corner for three hours each day. (iterativity involved)
- Habituality is in principle combinable with other semantic aspectual values.
- In English the Habitual Aspect (used to- construction) can combine freely with Progressive Aspect, such as used to be playing.
2.2. Progressive/Non-Progressive
- The Progressive indicates a situation that frames another situation, while the non-Progressive excludes this interpretation:
(7) When I visit John, he ´ ll recite his latest poems. (Non-Progressive)
(8) When I visit John, he ´ ll be reciting his latest poems. (Progressive) Examples for progressive forms:
(9) John is singing. (English)
(10) Juan est á cantando. (Spanish)
(11) Gianni sta cantando. (Italian)
- The English Progressive has a wide range. In English Progressive and non-Progressive are not in general interchangeable.
- Progressiveness is similar to continuousness, which is defined as imperfectivity that is not occasioned by habituality.
- Progressiveness is compatible with habituality, e.g.
(12) Lisa used to be writing poems.
- General definition of progressiveness: Progressiveness is the combination of progressive meaning and nonstative meaning.
- In English and Spanish the explicitly progressive forms can be used in the sentences
(13) it is raining.
(14) est á lluviendo.
but not in
(15) * I am seeing you there under the table.
(16) * you aren ´ t hearing
- Difference between stative and non-stative verbs (e.g. act): The general rule is that lexically stative verbs can be used nonstatively and appear in the Progressive. Lexically nonstative verbs do not loose their ability to be in the Progressive by being used statively.
Example: I ´ m understanding more about physics as each day goes by.
- The Progressive in English has a number of specific uses that do not seem to fit under the general definition of progressiveness, e.g.
(17) I ´ ve only had six whiskies and already I ´ m seeing pink elephants.
- The meaning of the English Progressive is so extended, that we can speak of a general basic meaning which includes progressive meaning and other meanings that the English Progressive has.
3. Perfect
- The perfect indicates the continuing present relevance of a past situation, e.g.
(18) I have lost my bag. (Perfect)
(19) I lost my bag. (non-Perfect)
- Perfect expresses a relation between two time-points, the time of the state from a prior situation and the time of that prior situation.
3.1. Perfect of result
- In the perfect of result, a present state is referred to as being the result of some past situation, e.g. John has arrived, I have had a bath.
- English tends toward the use of the stative Present to a greater extend as other languages do.
3.2. Experiental perfect
- The experiental perfect indicates that a given situation has held at least once during some time in the past leading up to the present, e.g.
(20) Bill has been to America.
(21) Bill has gone to America.
- English here makes an overt distinction between the experiental perfect and the perfect of result.
3.3. Perfect of persistent situation
- It is the use of the Perfect to describe a situation that started in the past but continues (persists) into the present, e.g.
(22) We ´ ve lived here for ten years.
(23) I ´ ve shopped there for years.
(24) I ´ ve been waiting for hours.
3.4. Perfect of recent past
- Temporal closeness of the past situation, the past situation is very recent, e.g.
(25) Ronald has just (this minute) arrived.
(26) I have recently learned that the match is to be postponed.
- Present relevance does not imply recentness, recentness can be a condition for present relevance.
- The degree of recentness required varies among languages that allow perfect constructions to express recent past time reference.
4. Literature
- Binnick, Robert. 1991. Time and the Verb. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Comrie, Bernard. 1976. Aspect. An Introduction to the Study of Verbal Aspect and Related Problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Frequently Asked Questions about Comrie on Perfective, Imperfective and Perfect
What is aspect according to Comrie?
Aspect refers to the different ways of viewing the internal temporal constituency of a situation. It's related to time but focuses on the internal structure of an event rather than its location in time.
How does Comrie differentiate between tense and aspect?
Tense locates situations in time with reference to the present moment (situation-external time), while aspect focuses on the internal temporal structure of a situation (situation-internal time). This distinction is particularly important when considering the perfect aspect.
What is perfectivity according to Comrie?
Perfectivity presents a situation as a single whole, without explicit reference to its internal temporal structure. It's often characterized as indicating a completed action, but it's more accurately understood as reducing a situation to a "blob" encompassing its beginning, middle, and end.
How does perfectivity relate to other aspectual values?
Despite involving a lack of explicit reference to internal temporal constituency, perfective forms can be used for internally complex situations and can be combined with other aspectual properties like progressiveness (e.g., "estuvieron entrando" in Spanish).
What is imperfectivity according to Comrie?
Imperfectivity focuses on the internal temporal structure of a situation, viewing it from within. It encompasses both habitual and continuous/progressive aspects.
What is the difference between habitual and continuous/progressive aspects within imperfectivity?
Habituality involves iterativity, the repetition of a situation, or describes a situation extending over a period. Continuous/progressive aspects indicate a situation in progress at a given time, often framing another situation.
What is the perfect aspect according to Comrie?
The perfect indicates the continuing present relevance of a past situation. It expresses a relation between two time points: the time of the resulting state and the time of the prior situation.
What are the different types of perfect aspect described by Comrie?
Comrie describes several types of perfect aspect, including:
- Perfect of result: A present state is referred to as the result of some past situation (e.g., "John has arrived").
- Experiential perfect: A given situation has held at least once during some time in the past leading up to the present (e.g., "Bill has been to America").
- Perfect of persistent situation: A situation started in the past and continues into the present (e.g., "We've lived here for ten years").
- Perfect of recent past: The past situation is very recent (e.g., "Ronald has just arrived").
Does present relevance in perfect aspect imply recentness?
No, present relevance does not necessarily imply recentness. While recentness can be a condition for present relevance, it is not always the case.
What literature does Comrie reference?
Comrie references the following literature:
- Binnick, Robert. 1991. Time and the Verb. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Comrie, Bernard. 1976. Aspect. An Introduction to the Study of Verbal Aspect and Related Problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Leech, Geoffrey N. 2198711971. Meaning and the English Verb. London: Longman.
- Quote paper
- Marius Weigel (Author), 1998, Comrie on Perfective, Imperfective and Perfect, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/101643
