Towards cognitive aspectology : the subsystems of lexical aspects

Vassiliev, Valeri I. (1997) Towards cognitive aspectology : the subsystems of lexical aspects. Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

In this thesis a system of lexical aspects, or Aktionsarten, is considered from the point of view of Guillaumian Psychomechanics, which is a form of cognitive linguistics. Guillaume proposes that verbal systems have developmental stages, the total system of stages being called the chronogenesis, that is the development of the time image. We have proposed the existence of pre-chronogenetic levels, which concern the development of the event image of the lexeme, which in Guillaumian terms concerns the ideogenesis (choice and development of lexical notion) rather than the morphogenesis (development of the grammatical notion). The development of the event image is viewed as comprising five successive stages at the pre-chronogenetic level, each of them rooted in perception. -- At the first stage the perceiving subject and the perceived event are separated in consciousness which results in the realisation of the cognitive feature 'Occurrence'. This feature is presumed to have a linguistic representation of the Inherent lexical aspect, i.e. the basic meaning which unites words of different parts of speech (e.g. shoot, shot) and serves to lexically identify the same kind of event. -- The second stage comprises the realisation of staticity and movement, or change. The cognitive features Stasis and Kinesis of the event correspond to the linguistic categories of Stative and Non-Stative lexical aspects. -- The third stage is based on the preceding notion of movement, developing the realisation of two kinds of movement - determinate, proceeding in a definite direction and thus bound to reach its end-point, and indeterminate, unorderly movement. The linguistic exponents of these cognitive notions are the determinate and Indeterminate lexical aspects. -- The fourth stage is based on the notion of orderly movement which is goal oriented and proceeds from a beginning through a unidirectional process to an end. The binary tensor provides the remaining two features of this level - punctual and repetitive occurrence. These cognitive realizations of the manner of occurrence correspond to the Punctual and Iterative lexical aspects. -- The final stage involves the separation of the event and its subject, or pivot, which allows for the subject to be viewed either externally, corresponding to the Perfective lexical aspect, or internally, corresponding to the Imperfective lexical aspect. The hierarchical system of lexical aspects is subsequently provided. -- The second part of the thesis is an application of the proposed theoretical constructs for the analysis of the aspectual subsystems of Russian.

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