"constraints on the formal structure of russian verb clusters" laura a. janda unc-chapel...

"Constraints on the formal structure of Russian verb clusters"

Laura A. JandaUNC-Chapel [email protected],

www.unc.edu/~lajanda

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.unc.edu/~lajanda

Laura A. Janda AATSEEL 2005 2

Problem:

• Model of aspectual “pairs” has a long tradition: – Vinogradov 1938,

Šaxmatov 1941, Bondarko 1983, Čertkova 1996, Zaliznjak & Šmelev 2000, Timberlake 2004

• Suspicions that aspectual relationships involve more complex clusters have arisen:– Isačenko 1960,

Bertinetto & Delfitto 2000, Tatevosov 2002, Janda forthcoming


Solution:

• There is a single implicational hierarchy that predicts all and only the aspectual clusters that exist in Russian.

– This result is based on a empirical study of a multiply stratified sample of 283 verb clusters (including over 2000 verbs).


Definition:

• 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 up to four types of Perfective verbs: – Natural Perfective, Specialized Perfective,

Complex Act, Single Act


The four types of Perfectives:

• Natural Perfective: – написать ‘write’, связать ‘tie’, о(б)щипать ‘pinch/pluck’,

окрепнуть ‘get stronger’

• Specialized Perfective: – переписать ‘rewrite’, развязать ‘untie’, оплакать ‘mourn’, вдуть

‘blow in’, выщипать ‘pluck out’

• Complex Act: – пописать ‘write (a while)’, поплакать ‘cry (a while)’, подуть

‘blow (a while)’, пощипать ‘pinch/pluck (a while)’, поскрипеть ‘squeak (a while)’

• Single Act:– дунуть ‘blow (once)’, щипнуть ‘pinch/pluck (once)’, скрипнуть

‘squeak (once)’


Cluster components:

• There are five aspectually distinct types of verbs expressing:– Activity, Natural Perfective, Specialized

Perfective, Complex Act, Single Act

• Five items can compose 31 different combinations.

• The Implicational Hierarchy constrains the structure of aspectual clusters


The Implicational Hierarchy:

Activityщипать ‘pinch/pluck’

> (Natural/Specialized Perfective) о(б)щипать ‘pinch/pluck’/выщипать ‘pluck out’

> Complex Act пощипать ‘pinch/pluck (a while)’

> Single Act щипнуть ‘pinch/pluck

(once)’


Extant verb clusters

• Activity• Activity + Natural Perfective• Activity + Specialized Perfective• Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized

PerfectiveTo any of the above one can add either:

…+ Complex Act…+ Complex Act + Single Act

Total: 12 extant cluster types


What the hierarchy excludes:

• 18 unattested cluster types

• 1 cluster type that is rare, but known to exist: – Natural Perfective (perfectiva tantum)

• more rare than Imperfective isolates• morphologically complex, probably remnants of

clusters that were historically larger


Distribution of extant cluster types:

• Three cluster types account for over half the verbs in the lexicon

• Five cluster types follow, each representing less than 10% of verbs

• Five cluster types are rare (2% or less)


Comparison with “pair” model:

• Activity + Natural Perfective type accounts for only 6.4%, and is a semantically unusual group (can be continued after result is achieved): – Иван окреп. Потом он еще больше окреп.‘Ivan got stronger. Then he got even stronger.’– Иван написал книгу. *Потом он еще больше

написал книгу.‘Ivan wrote a book. *Then he wrote the book even more.’

• Most attested cluster structures have 3-5 components

• The three most common cluster structures have 3 or 4 components


Concepts that motivate cluster structure:

• Completable vs. Non-Completable:

Аспирант пишет диссертацию.

‘The grad student is writing a dissertation.’

vs.Профессор работает в

университете.‘The professor works at the

university.’

• Singularizable vs. Non-Singularizable:

(щипать >) щипнуть ‘pinch/pluck (once)’, (скрипеть >) скрипнуть ‘squeak (once)’

vs.(писать >) * ‘?’,

работать >) * ‘?’


Completable:

• Many verbs are Ambiguous:– Completable

• Писатель пишет книгу ‘A writer is writing a book’

– Non-Completable• Писатель пишет книги ‘A writer writes books’

• Some verbs are Non-Completable: стонать ‘moan’

– But some can be Completable if specialized• плакать ‘cry’ > оплакать ‘mourn’

• A few verbs are Completable: крепнуть ‘get stronger’


What Completable vs. Non-Completable means for clusters:

• Only verbs that can be interpreted as Completable have Natural Perfectives– писать > написать, крепнуть > окрепнуть

• Only verbs that can be interpreted as Non-Completable have Complex Acts– писать > пописать, стонать > постонать, плакать >

поплакать

• Verbs that can be Completable if specialized have Specialized Perfectives– писать > переписать, плакать > оплакать


Singularizable

• Only verbs that can be interpreted as Non-Completable and have a Complex Act can also be Singularizable.– A subset of verbs with a Complex Act also have

Single Act Perfectives:• щипать ‘pinch/pluck’ + пощипать ‘pinch/pluck (a while)’ >

щипнуть ‘pinch/pluck (once)’• дуть ‘blow’ + подуть ‘blow (a while)’ > дунуть ‘blow (once)’• скрипеть ‘squeak’ + поскрипеть ‘squeak (a while)’ >

скрипнуть ‘squeak (once)’• писать ‘write’ + пописать ‘write (a while)’ > *писнуть ‘write

(once)’• плакать ‘cry’ + поплакать ‘cry (a while)’ > *плакнуть ‘cry

(once)’ [NB: Some are formed ad-hoc]


Inventory of Extant Cluster Types:

• Cluster types will be listed in order of descending frequency

• For examples of some of the verbs in each cluster, follow your handout

• [NB: Not all verbs in a cluster are listed – only a representative sample is given to show the cluster type]


Three Dominant Cluster Types:

• Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized Perfective + Complex Act: писать ‘write’– Ambiguous (both Completable and Non-Completable)– Non-Singularizable

• Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized Perfective: вязать ‘tie’– Completable– Non-Singularizable

• Activity + Specialized Perfective + Complex Act: плакать ‘cry’– Non-Completable, but Completable if done in a special way– Non-Singularizable


Less Common Cluster Types:

• Activity + Complex Act: стонать ‘moan’– Non-Completable– Non-Singularizable

• Activity + Specialized Perfective + Complex Act + Single Act: дуть ‘blow’– Non-Completable, but Completable if done in a special way– Singularizable

• Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized Perfective + Complex Act + Single Act: щипать ‘pinch/pluck’ – Ambiguous (both Completable and Non-Completable)– Singularizable


Less Common Cluster Types (cont’d):

• Activity + Natural Perfective: крепнуть ‘get stronger’– Completable– Non-Singularizable

• Activity + Complex Act + Single Act: скрипеть ‘squeak’ – Non-Completable– Singularizable


Rare Cluster Types:

• Activity: предвидеть ‘foresee’– [NB: No Perfectives are formed!]

• Activity + Specialized Perfective: крепить ‘strengthen’– Non-Completable, but Completable if done in a

special way [NB – No Complex Act!]– Non-Singularizable

• Activity + Natural Perfective + Complex Act: пользоваться ‘use’– Ambiguous (both Completable and Non-Completable)

[NB – No Specialized Perfective!]– Non-Singularizable


Extremely Rare Cluster Types:

• Activity + Natural Perfective + Complex Act + Single Act: ошибаться ‘make a mistake’– Ambiguous (both Completable and Non-

Completable) [NB – No Specialized Perfective!]

– Singularizable

• Natural Perfective: уцелеть ‘survive’– [NB: Defective structure, no Activity verb to

serve as source for other Perfectives!]


Conclusions:

• The cluster model gives a richer, more accurate account of aspectual relationships than the “pair” model.

• Cluster structures are highly constrained and transparently motivated.

• Motion verbs are entirely regular, consisting of complementary subclusters with Completable (Determined) and Non-Completable (Non-Determined) properties.

• Both linguists and pedagogs should describe aspectual relationships in terms of clusters.

"constraints on the formal structure of russian verb clusters" laura a. janda unc-chapel...

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