Notes on Smith 1991/1997: The Parameter of Aspect

Introduction1. Aspectual meaning = situation type +

viewpoint

Situation type (Aktionsart, internal event structure): a V(erb)C(onstellation) describes a situation which unfolds in time in a certain way. This may involve:

Endpoints (beginnings and endings)Dynamic stagesStatic periods

IntroductionViewpoint: a VC may focus all or part of the

situation talked about.

(1) a. John built a house last summer. (PFV/P)b. John was building a house last summer. (IPFV/I)

P=spans an entire event, which occurred in its entirety;

I=spans only part of an event, which was in progress.

IntroductionSituations may be events [+dynamic] or states [-dynamic].

(2) a. The bird flew. (Activity event)b. The bird was in flight. (State)

Both sentences are P, according to Smith.

! The Italian translation of (2b) would be ‘era in volo’...

IntroductionThe two-component theory of aspectual

meaning:

both components come into play when the VC contains adverbials;

both concur in establishing the entailment patterns of sentences.

IntroductionRepresentation of the components:

Viewpoint is indicated overtly, morphologically, within the V word;

Situation type is conveyed covertly, abstractly by the VC.

The basic values are universal, the more marked values are language-specific.

Introduction2. The aspectual categories are universal because they

are based in human cognitive habilities.

Brown 1958: the English progressive tenses occur in dynamic sentences only. English-speaking children do not say things like *I am loving you.

Aksu 1978: Turkish P past -dI vs. I -Iyor-du: telic and change-of-state Vs vs. atelic Vs.

Antinucci & Miller 1976: Italian children apply a past participle-object agreement rule to telic VCs only.

Introduction3. Discourse Representation Theory:

provides semantic representations of both conceptual/truth-conditional meanings and pragmatic meanings.

allows the integration of aspect with other semantic features of sentences like e.g. temporal location.

can account for the properties of the aspectual systems of English, French, Russian, Mandarin and Navajo.

1. The ApproachAspect is the semantic domain of the temporal structure of situations

(situation type) and their presentation (viewpoint).

These components have a parameterized structure: departures from the universal statements (principles) represent marked values.

Viewpoint: the basic principle for P is that it should focus both endpoints of a situation. However:

in some languages, it can apply to states; In Russian, it only applies when a predicate is explicitly quantized.

Situation type: they have a prototype organization. Variation falls out from the cluster of temporal properties that make up the various classes of states and events.

1. The ApproachViewpoint types (abstracting away from

internal stages):

P: [+Initial endpoint], [+Final endpoint]I: [-Initial endpoint], [-Final endpoint]N(eutral): [+Initial endpoint], [-Final

endpoint]*[-Initial endpoint], [+Final endpoint] (an end

implies a beginning)

1. The ApproachSituation types:States: [-dynamic], [+durative] ([+/-telic] N/A for

States)Durative Events:Activities: [+dynamic], [+durative], [-telic]Accomplishments: [+dynamic], [+durative], [+telic]Instantaneous Events:Semelfactives: [+dynamic], [-durative], [-telic]Achievements: [+dynamic], [-durative], [+telic]*[-dynamic], [-durative] (there can be no instantaneous

States)

1. The Approach(3) Mary was walking to school.

<WALK>: [+dynamic], [+durative], [-telic] (Activity V);{I ...}<TO SCHOOL>: Goal PP, telicity operator;{F}<WALK TO SCHOOL>: [+dynamic], [+durative], [+telic] (Accomplishment

VC);{I ... F}

be+V-ing (I viewpoint, present progressive);{... /// ...}

<Mary walking to school>: Accomplishment VC with I viewpoint;{I ... /// ... F}

1. The ApproachAspectual meaning holds for sentences, not just for VCs:

Telicity-enhancing vs. telicity-neutral PPs and DPs:

(4) a. Mary walked in the park. (atelic, Activity) b. Mary walked to school. (telic, Accomplishment)

(5) a. Edward smoked cigarettes . (atelic, Activity) b. Edward smoked a cigarette. (telic, Accomplishment)

Telicity-demoting adverbial PPs:

(6) a. A famous movie star discovered it. (telic, Achievement) b. Famous movie stars discovered it for years. (atelic, iterative)

1. The ApproachMacrovariation:

Viewpoint contrasts: (Mandarin) Chinese: 3 Ps, 2 Is, N; Finnish, Icelandic: no viewpoint morphology.

Viewpoint/situation type interactions: English, Navajo, Russian, Chinese: restricted; French: unrestricted.

Viewpoint/tense interactions: English: unrestricted; French, Russian: viewpoint contrasts in past tenses only.

1. The ApproachSpeaker’s choice:

Viewpoint:

(8) a. Il regna pendant trente ans. (P)b. Il regnait pendant trente ans. (I)

Situation type:

(9) a. The ship moved. (Activity)b. The ship was in motion. (State)

With truth as the only general constraint, speakers can choose between aspectual meanings according to the grammar of their languge and the pragmatic conventions used by that language.

1. The ApproachMarkedness:

Russian: читать (atelic) vs. прочитать (telic); читать is unmarked, as it is simpler both semantically and morphologically.

Prague school: closed systems may be ‘symmetrical’ or ‘asymmetrical’.

Simmetry=contrasting positive values, equipollent terms. E.g. past vs. present= [+PST] vs. [+PRS];

Asymmetry=privative or subordinative. Privative: past vs. nonpast=[+PST] vs. [-PST]. Subordinative: past vs. time-neutral tense= [+PST] vs. N/A.

1. The ApproachJakobson 1932/1971:

Russian tenses stand in an asymmetric, subordinative relation. The –L past is [+PST], the present tense is time-neutral.

Jakobson 1957:

Russian viewpoints also stand in such a relation: I is unmarked, P is marked.

P specifically states that the endpoints of a situation are taken into account, whereas I is noncommital about this. P is often optional, whereas I is often obligatory. I often precludes the use of P (iteratives, Statements of Fact), but the reverse is not true.

1. The ApproachBut the Russian viewpoints can also be viewed as

equipollent:

P gives information about endpoints; I gives information about internal stages.

The subordinative analysis is found to be useful at the pragmatic level of representation;

The positive analysis turns in useful at the semantic level.

1. The ApproachChoice entails a pragmatic convention of viewing

and categorizing situations. There are basic-level options, which are unmarked and stand in the middle of the taxonomic hierarchy they appear in, and derived, marked options that depart from the standard.

The unmarked way of referring to an event is as a complete, functional whole (‘making a cake’ is more basic than ‘measuring the flour’ or ‘putting the pan in the oven’).

1. The ApproachPrototype theory (Rosch 1973, 1978): concepts have a central

meaning, or prototype, consisting of a set of properties. Prototypical members of a class have many of the characteristic properties; marginal members have less.

Situation types lend themselves to the prototype approach. The temporal structure of situations is the prototype:

... I ... F ...

A situation may have preliminary, internal and resultant stages.

2. Situation AspectThe situation type of a sentence is conveyed by a VC. A sentence expresses a

situation type + temporal features.

VCs have a basic situation type, which can however be changed by a co-occurring circumstantial expression:

(1) a. Bill knew the truth. (Stative)b. Suddenly Bill knew the truth. (Inchoative Achievement)a’ Mary coughed. (Semelfactive) b’ Mary coughed for an hour. (Multiple-event Activity)a” Kim played a set of tennis on Friday. (Accomplishment)b” Kim always played a set of tennis on Friday. (Habitual Stative)

The (a) examples represent basic-level categories, the (b) sentences are derived-level. Situation-type shifts are triggered by clashes of temporal features, and are predictable by rule.

2. Situation AspectSituation types:States: [-dynamic], [+durative] ([+/-telic] N/A for

States)Durative Events:Activities: [+dynamic], [+durative], [-telic]Accomplishments: [+dynamic], [+durative], [+telic]Instantaneous Events:Semelfactives: [+dynamic], [-durative], [-telic]Achievements: [+dynamic], [-durative], [+telic]*[-dynamic], [-durative] (there can be no instantaneous

States)

2. Situation AspectQuine 1960: for mass Ns, a proper part counts as an instance of

the whole. For count Ns, a proper part is not an instance of the whole.

Accomplishments=count Ns,Activities=mass Ns;

A proper part of an Activity is in itself an Activity.John was walking John walked.

A proper part of an Accomplishment is NOT an Accomplishment.

John was walking to school John walked to school.

2. Situation AspectTelic events=specific, countable. Their arguments,

too, should be countable.

(3) a. He played sonatas. (Activity, atelic)b. He played a sonata. (Accomplishment, telic)

Bare plurals are normally incompatible with telic events.

The part-whole relation is known as the mereological relation.

2. Situation AspectThe Causal Chain and Situation Types (Croft 1987,

simplified):

CAUSE S ACTION INSTRUMENT O RESULT |--LAUGH---------| (Activity)

|---KNOCK AT THE DOOR-------| (Semelfactive) |-------CLIMB A TREE-----------------| (Accomplishment)|--------CURE THE PATIENT-------------| (Achievement) |--KNOW FRENCH-| (State)

Given situation types often have a characteristic lexical span.

2. Situation AspectA few subtypes of Accomplishment/Achievement sentences:

Causatives: span the entire chain (cause, agent, change of state) Inchoatives: present the coming about of a state, without the

agent Inceptives: span the entry into an eventEgressives: span the exit from an eventResultatives: extend the lexical span of a VC with a resultative

complement (intended or unintended results have different properties, Talmy 1985)

The duration of the change of state determines whether a particular VC is an Accomplishment [+durative] or an Achievement [-durative].

2. Situation AspectInformal temporal schemata for situation types:

Dynamism[-dynamic]Undifferentiated period of States

... [+dynamic] Successive stages of events

TelicityI(Nat) FArb Initial and arbitrary endpoints of atelic eventsI(Nat) FNat Initial and natural endpoints of telic events

Duration is indicated by the presence vs. absence of internal stages.

2. Situation AspectActivities [+dynamic], [-telic], [+durative]

I ... FArb

Entailment pattern: any part of the process is of the same nature as the whole.

Bounding adverbials provide telicity, thus inducing situation type shift.

Typical examples: [stroll in the park], [laugh], [revolve], [think about], [enjoy], [eat cherries].

2. Situation AspectActivity situations

Main classes of Activities:inherently unlimited processesprocesses with several internal stages (bare plural

object Ns)derived (shifted) Activities

Examples: Degree predicates (‘widen the road’);Derived: multiple-event Activities with bounding

adverbials (‘cough for an hour’, iterated Semelfactive), continuative predicates (‘keep on walking’).

2. Situation AspectActivity sentences

Activity VCs normally consist of atelic Vs, or telic Vs with mass or bare plural N complements.

Antipassive formation may derive Activities from Accomplishments:

a. dibé nanishkaad(Navajo)sheep I.am.herding.them

b. na’nishkaadI.am.doing.the.herding

Similar effects obtain with English Vs: ‘read the book’ vs. ‘read in the book’.Truth of I Activity sentences entails truth of corresponding P sentences.Inceptive sentences may contain Achievement shifted to Activities by phase

Vs (‘begin’) or punctual adverbials, which are incompatible with durativity.

2. Situation AspectAccomplishments [+dynamic], [-telic], [+durative]

I ... FNatR

Entailment pattern: the process occurred if the outcome is reached.

Accomplishments may be in progress (progressive viewpoint).

Typical examples: [build a bridge], [walk to school], [drink a glass of wine].

2. Situation AspectAccomplishment situations

Main classes of Results:Affected object: [bend an iron bar], [break a pot]Constructed object: [build a house], [write a letter]Consumed object: [destroy a house], [eat a slice of cake]Affected experiencer: [entertain the viewers]Path-Goal: [walk to the lake], [work from 2 to 3]

Contact, process-oriented, manner of motion predicates; selling and buying (Path-Goal).

Derived: with bounding durative adverbials (shifted Activities), phase predicates with grade adverbials (‘slowly stop walking’).

2. Situation AspectAccomplishment sentences

‘Almost’ renders Accomplishments ambiguos, as is the case with other durative, explicitly bounded events.

Truth of P viewpoint of Accomplishment sentences entails truth of progressive.

Accomplishment VCs must include a countable argument.

Inceptive sentences may introduce initial phases of Accomplishments (phase V, ‘they began to walk to school’, or punctual adverbials, ‘they walked to school at noon’.)

2. Situation AspectSemelfactives [+dynamic], [-telic], [-durative]

E

Semelfactives are intrinsically bounded.

They can receive a single-event or a multiple-event readings, especially in the case of bodily events (‘cough’). In such cases, they shift to multiple-event Activities.

Typical examples: [knock at the door], [hiccup], [flap a wing].

2. Situation AspectSemelfactive situations

Main classes of Results:Bodily events: [blink], [cough]Internal events: [the light flicker]“Quick” actions: [tap], [scratch], [pound on the table]

‘Mary knocked for 5 minutes’: the durative adverbial triggers a multiple-event reading, shifting the Semelfactive to an Activity.

In many cases, the multiple-event reading is just as basic as the single-stage event.

2. Situation AspectSemelfactive sentences

They cannot take the I viewpoint, nor can they take durative expressions and still be interpreted as Semelfactives.

If they do, they are interpreted as multiple-event Activities: ‘Mary coughed for an hour’, ‘Mary was coughing’.

The derived interpretation is triggered by the clashing temporal features of the VC and other forms.

2. Situation AspectAchievements [+dynamic], [+telic], [-durative]

... ER ...

Preliminary or resultant stages may be implied, but are often not considered part of the event.

They typically receive a single-state event reading. No part-whole entailment.

Typical examples: [leave the house], [reach the top], [recognize Aunt Jane].

2. Situation AspectAchievement situations

Main classes of Achievements:“Quick” changes of state: [find], [lose], [recognize],

[break a glass]Outcome of event chain: [reach the top], [arrive]

Result states=same as those for Accomplishments.

In many cases, preliminary stages are necessary (‘win’ a race’); in others, they are not (‘recognize’, ‘find’).

2. Situation AspectAchievement sentences

Agent-oriented adverbs like ‘deliberately’ may be odd with Achievements which do not entail full control by an agent (‘find’). But you can [accidentally lose your watch] or [deliberately miss the target].

Derived Achievements may be formed by phase Vs such as ‘start’ or ‘finish’ (‘Mary finished reading the book’).

2. Situation AspectStates [-dynamic], [+durative]

(I) (F)

The endpoints are not part of the State, but different situations.

Entailment pattern: When a State holds for an interval, it holds for any subinterval of that interval as well.

Typical examples: [own the farm], [be in Copenhagen], [be tall], [believe in ghosts].

2. Situation AspectStative situations

Main classes of Achievements: Private predicates: [believe that S], [hope that S] Stable properties (individual-level, ‘be extinct’, ‘be a beaver’) vs. transitory

properties (stage-level, ‘be available’, ‘be angry’) Posture and location Vs: only in English do they allow the progressive

viewpoint.

Derived statives: generic predication, applying to classes or kinds (individual-level). ‘The beaver builds dams’: if the beaver is a class, it is a derived State, but the basic VC is an Accomplishment.

Habitual sentences: they present a pattern of events, and denote a State holding consistently over an interval. The English present tense normally takes a habitual reading.

Dispositional statements are similar to habituals, but they do not denote actual events. They can be paraphrased with modals, unlike habituals.

2. Situation AspectStative sentences

Statives may or may not appear with all the viewpoints available in a language, e.g. English statives do not allow the progressive.

Inchoatives present States through the change of a preceding state (‘Mary got angry’, ‘Bill learned Greek’, ‘the gate was closed’). They are often expressed by dedicated morphology (‘to whiten’, ‘to yellow’).

Habitual sentences standardly contain frequency (or durative) adverbials.

In some languages, they have dedicated morphology: in Navajo, the habitual is distinct from both the P and the I viewpoints. French (like Russian) uses the I for habitual sentences.

2. Situation AspectSumming up

Differences between states and events:Mereological structure (part-whole relation)Dynamism

Events are discrete and bounded (stage property), states cumulative and unbounded (subinterval property).

Mereological facts: Telicity implies an intrinsic bound. Semelfactives are bound by the single-stage nature of the event. Temporally bounded Activities have independent bounds. Activity sentences have an implicit bound with the P viewpoint.

2. Situation AspectSumming up

All sentences with the I viewpoint are stative (the subinterval property holds of them).

Boundedness can also be derived from dynamism, since the latter entails change.

We could thus refine the feature [+/-telic] in compliance with the nature of the bounds:

[+/-Intrinsically bounded] (all telic events) [+/-Implicitly bounded] (P Activity sentences) [+/-Independently bounded] (Activities with time adverbials)