Download Constraints on the formal structure of Russian verb clusters

“Semantic Motivations for
Aspectual Clusters of
Russian verbs”
Laura A. Janda
University of Tromsø
[email protected]
hum.uit.no/lajanda
Main Ideas
• Meaning of verb motivates aspectual
behavior
• Conceptualization of different types of
events and relationship to time
• Components of verb meaning
correlate with selection of Perfectives
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Theoretical Framework
•
•
•
•
Cluster model, four types of Perfectives
Metaphors motivate Perfectives
Cluster structure: 0-4 types of Perfectives
Cluster structure largely predictable from
the meanings of verbs
• Motion verbs are prototypical
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Overview
• Cluster model
• Types of Perfectives
• Implicational hierarchy
What is the
structure of the
aspect system?
• Metaphorical motivation of Perfectives Why does it
• Travel vs. motion and Completability have this
structure?
• Granular vs. fluid and Singularizability
Lexical meaning
motivates aspectual
behavior
• Conclusions
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Part 1
What is the structure of
the aspect system?
Problem:
• Model of aspectual
“pairs” has a long
tradition:
– Vinogradov 1938,
Šaxmatov 1941,
Bondarko 1983,
Čertkova 1996,
Zaliznjak & Šmelev
2000, Timberlake 2004
Laura A. Janda
• Suspicions that
aspectual
relationships involve
more complex
clusters have arisen:
– Isačenko 1960,
Bertinetto & Delfitto
2000, Tatevosov 2002,
Janda forthcoming
Ohrid 2008
What is an aspectual cluster?
• An aspectual cluster is a group of verbs
joined via transitive relationships on the
basis of aspectual derivational morphology
– All verbs in a cluster are aspectually related to
a single lexical item
• In addition to Imperfective Activity verbs,
an aspectual cluster can include four types
of Perfective verbs:
– Natural Perfective, Specialized Perfective,
Complex Act, Single Act
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Four types of Perfectives:
• Natural Perfective:
– написатьp ‘write’, связатьp ‘tie’, о(б)щипатьp ‘pinch/pluck’,
окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’
• Specialized Perfective:
– переписатьp ‘rewrite’, развязатьp ‘untie’, переработатьp
‘revise’, вдутьp ‘blow in’, выщипатьp ‘pluck out’
• Complex Act Perfective:
– пописатьp ‘write a while’, поработатьp ‘work a while’, подутьp
‘blow a while’, пощипатьp ‘pinch/pluck a while’, поскрипетьp
‘squeak a while’
• Single Act Perfective:
– дунутьp ‘blow once’, щипнутьp ‘pinch/pluck once’, скрипнутьp
‘squeak once’
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Cluster components:
• Five items (Imperfective Activity + four
types of Perfectives) can compose 31
different combinations, but only 12 cluster
types are attested
• The three metaphors motivate an
Implicational Hierarchy that constrains the
structure of aspectual clusters
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
The Implicational Hierarchy:
• There is a single Implicational Hierarchy
that predicts all and only the aspectual
clusters that exist in Russian.
– This result is based on empirical study of two
multiply stratified samples of over 350 verb
clusters (several thousand verbs).
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
The Implicational Hierarchy:
Activity
щипатьi ‘pinch/pluck’
> (Natural/Specialized Perfective)
о(б)щипатьp ‘pinch/pluck’/выщипатьp ‘pluck out’
> Complex Act Perfective
пощипатьp ‘pinch/pluck a while’
> Single Act Perfective
щипнутьp ‘pinch/pluck once’
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Cluster Structures
•
•
•
•
Activity
Activity + Natural Perfective
Activity + Specialized Perfective
Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized
Perfective
To any of the above one can add either:
…+ Complex Act Perfective
…+ Complex Act Perfective + Single Act Perfective
Total: 12 extant cluster types
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Part 2
Why does the aspect
system have this structure?
Metaphors and types of
perfectives:
• Three metaphors govern the Russian
aspectual system
• These metaphors motivate the
derivation of four different types of
Perfective verbs
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
The three metaphors
• Solid vs. Substance => Perfective vs.
Imperfective
• Travel vs. Motion => Construal of
Completability
• Granular vs. Fluid => Construal of
Singularizability
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Travel vs. Motion
One can travel to a destination
– or –
One can move without a destination
This distinction is grammaticalized in Russian
motion verbs: идтиi ‘walk (somewhere)’ vs.
ходитьi ‘walk (around, back and forth)’
This can be likened to the Completability of an
action
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Completability:
Писатель пишетi книгу.
‘The writer is writing a
book.’
Профессор работаетi в
университете.
‘The professor is
working at the
university.’
Note that Completability is a scale
involving various kinds of construal.
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Completability:
• Many verbs are Ambiguous:
– Completable
• Писатель пишетi книгу ‘A writer is writing a book’
– Non-Completable
• Писатель пишетi книги ‘A writer writes books’
• Some verbs are Non-Completable: стонатьi ‘moan’
– But some can be Completable if specialized
• работатьi ‘work’ > переработатьp ‘revise’
• Few verbs are unambiguously Completable:
• крепнутьi > окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
What Completability means for aspectual
derivation:
• Only verbs that can be construed as Completable have
Natural Perfectives
– писатьi ‘write’ > написатьp ‘write’, крепнутьi ‘get stronger’ >
окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’
• Only verbs that can be construed as Non-Completable
have Complex Act Perfectives
– писатьi ‘write’> пописатьp ‘write a while’, стонатьi ‘moan’>
постонатьp ‘moan a while’, работатьi ‘work’> поработатьp ‘work
a while’
• Verbs that can be Completable if specialized have
Specialized Perfectives
– писатьi ‘write’> переписатьp ‘rewrite’, работатьi ‘work’ >
переработатьp ‘revise’
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Granular vs. Fluid:
Substances can be:
Particulate, like sand
Continuous, like water
This can be likened to Singularizability of an
action
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Singularizability:
Мальчик дулi на
одуванчик.
‘The boy was blowing on the
dandelion.’
Профессор работалi в
университете.
‘The professor was working
at the university.’
Мальчик дунулp на
одуванчик.
‘The boy blew once on the
dandelion.’
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
What Singularizability means for
aspectual derivation:
• Only verbs that can be construed as NonCompletable and have a Complex Act Perfective
can also have a Single Act Perfective:
• щипатьi ‘pinch/pluck’ + пощипатьp ‘pinch/pluck a
while’ > щипнутьp ‘pinch/pluck once’
• дутьi ‘blow’ + подутьp ‘blow a while’ > дунутьp
‘blow once’
• скрипетьi ‘squeak’ + поскрипетьp ‘squeak a while’
> скрипнутьp ‘squeak once’
• работатьi ‘work’ + поработатьp ‘work a while’ >
*работнутьp ‘work once’ [NB: Some are formed
ad-hoc]
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Singularizability and motion verbs:
• The Non-Completable motion verbs can
also be construed as Singularizable
– ходитьi ‘walk’ can refer to multiple round-trips,
in which case there is a Single Act Perfective
сходитьp ‘make a single round trip’
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
Conclusions:
• The cluster model is more accurate than the
“pair” model
• Cluster structures are highly constrained and
transparently motivated by meanings of verbs:
– Verbs with Completable construals form Natural
Perfectives
– Verbs with Non-Completable construals form
Complex Act Perfectives
– Verbs with Granular construals form Single Act
Perfectives
• Motion verbs play a prototypical role in the
system
Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008
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Laura A. Janda
Ohrid 2008