The Historical Development of Aspectual Clusters in Russian

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The Historical Development of Aspectual Clusters
in Russian

• Laura A. Janda
• Universitetet i Tromsø
• laura.janda_at_hum.uit.no
• http//hum.uit.no/lajanda/

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Main Ideas

• Proto-Slavic OCS aspect traditionally described
  as in Modern Russian (Meillet 1934282, Vaillant
  1948304-5, Vaillant 1966462, Lunt 196669,
  Gorkova and Xaburgaev 1981279, Schenker
  199394-5)
• Newer research suggests recent provenience of
  Modern Russian aspect system (Bermel 1997,
  Nørgård-Sørensen 1997, Dickey 2007)
• Cluster model of Russian aspect (Janda 2007)
  supports these challenges
• Motion verbs are prototypical and Determined/
  Non-Determined distinction may be a key element
  in the development of aspect in Russian

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Overview

• Russian aspect as a recent development
• Motion verbs as prototypical verbs
• Cluster model and Perfectivization patterns
• Determined/Non-Determined and Completable/Non-Comp
  letable
• Possible diachronic implications

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Russian aspect as a recent development

• Standard works on Proto-Slavic OCS suggest
  little change over past millenium, but
• if this were so, we would expect relatively
  uniform expression distribution in Slavic
• evidence shows this is not the case (Galton 1976,
  Schuyt 1990, Dickey 2000, Janda 2006)
• Alternative hypothesis aspect system in Modern
  Russian established approx. 16th-18th c (Bermel
  1997, Nørgård-Sørensen 1997, Dickey 2007)

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2. Motion verbs as prototypical verbs

• Whats a prototype?
• This can be assessed by looking at
• Density of shared properties
• Idealized Cognitive Model of category
• Association with embodied experience

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Density of shared properties

• A prototype
• is the member of a category with the densest set
  of shared properties and relationships to other
  category members (Geeraerts 199525, Croft
  Cruse 200478 81, Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk
  2007155)
• Russian motion verbs show the densest set of
  Perfectivization options (Cluster structures)

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Idealized Cognitive Model of category

• A prototype
• represents an Idealized Cognitive Model of the
  category, serving as a best example that is the
  source of inferences for motivating the rest of
  the category (Lakoff 198768-76)
• Determined/Non-Determined is the source of
  inferences for Completable/Non-Completable
  distinctions that are relevant for all other verbs

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Association with embodied experience

• A prototype
• is typically associated with embodied experiences
  such as motor interactions and movements (Lakoff
  198756)
• motion verbs describe embodied movements
• Furthermore, other scholars have identified
  motion verbs as prototypical
• Chaput forthcoming, Nesset forthcoming

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3. Cluster model and Perfectivization patterns

• Definition
• An aspectual cluster is a group of verbs that are
  aspectually related to each other via transitive
  relations to a single lexical item
• In addition to an Imperfective Activity, an
  aspectual cluster can include up to four kinds of
  Perfectives
• Natural Perfective, Specialized Perfective,
  Complex Act Perfective, Single Act Perfective

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Four kinds of Perfectives

• Natural Perfectives
• ??????i write gt ????????p write
• Specialized Perfectives
• ????????i work gt ????????????p rework, revise
  (gt ??????????????i rework, revise)
• Complex Act Perfectives
• ???????i moangt ?????????p moan a while
• Single Act Perfectives
• ????i blow ( ??????p blow a while) gt ??????p
  blow once

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Distribution of Perfectives

• Natural Perfectives
• ????????p write, ???????p tie, ?????????p
  get stronger, ?(?)??????p pinch/pluck
• Specialized Perfectives
• ??????????p rewrite, ?????????p untie,
  ????????????p rework, revise, ?????p blow in,
  ????????p pluck out
• Complex Act Perfectives
• ????????p write a while, ??????????p work a
  while, ??????p blow a while, ????????p
  pinch/pluck a while, ??????????p squeak a
  while
• Single Act Perfectives
• ??????p blow once, ???????p pinch/pluck once,
  ?????????p squeak once

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Distribution of Perfectives

• Natural Perfectives
• ????????p write, ???????p tie, ?????????p
  get stronger, ?(?)??????p pinch/pluck
• Specialized Perfectives
• ??????????p rewrite, ?????????p untie,
  ????????????p rework, revise, ?????p blow in,
  ????????p pluck out
• Complex Act Perfectives
• ????????p write a while, ??????????p work a
  while, ??????p blow a while, ????????p
  pinch/pluck a while, ??????????p squeak a
  while
• Single Act Perfectives
• ??????p blow once, ???????p pinch/pluck once,
  ?????????p squeak once

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Attested Aspectual Clusters

• Activity Natural Perfective (????????i get
  stronger)
• Activity Natural Perfective Specialized
  Perfective (??????i tie)
• Activity Natural Perfective Specialized
  Perfective Complex Act Perfective (??????i
  write)
• Activity Natural Perfective Specialized
  Perfective Complex Act Perfective Single Act
  Perfective (??????i pnch/pluck)
• Additionally the Natural Perfective and/or
  Specialized Perfective can be removed from all
  cluster structures, yielding other variants
  (????????i work, ????i blow, ????????i
  squeak, ???????i respect)
• Natural Perfective (perfectiva tantum, ???????p
  survive)
• Total 13 attested cluster structures

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Motion verbs as prototypes in the Cluster model

• Motion verbs have the maximal cluster structure
• Determined/Non-Determined motivates the formation
  of various kinds of Perfectives
• All events are metaphorical motions

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Motion verbs have the maximal cluster structure

• Activity ??????i/??????i fly
• Natural Perfective ????????p fly
• Specialized Perfectives ???????p (???????i) fly
  away, ?????????p (?????????i) fly to
• Complex Act Perfectives ????????p fly a while,
  ????????p start flying
• Single Act Perfective ???????p fly someplace and
  back once

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Motion verbs have the maximal cluster structure

• Activity ??????i/??????i fly
• Natural Perfective ????????p fly
• Specialized Perfectives ???????p (???????i) fly
  away, ?????????p (?????????i) fly to
• Complex Act Perfectives ????????p fly a while,
  ????????p start flying
• Single Act Perfective ???????p fly someplace and
  back once

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4. Determined/Non-Determined and
Completable/Non-Completable

• Determined/Non-Determined metaphorically
  motivates Completable/Non-Completable
• Only verbs that can express Completability can
  form Natural and Specialized Perfectives
• Only verbs that can express Non-Completability
  can form Complex Act and Single Act Perfectives
• Non-Determined metaphorically motivates
  Singularizability
• Only verbs that can express Non-Completability
  and can form a Complex Act Perfective can also
  form a Single Act Perfective

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Travel vs. Other Motion

• You can travel to a place
• or
• You can move without a goal
• or
• You can make round-trips

The difference is grammaticalized as Determined
vs. Non-Determined motion verbs
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Travel vs. Other Motion

• You can travel to a place
• or
• You can move without a goal
• or
• You can make round-trips

The difference is grammaticalized as Determined
vs. Non-Determined motion verbs
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Determinacy and Completability

• ???????? ?????i ?????.
• The writer is writing a book.

• ????????? ????????i ? ????????????.
• The professor is working at the university.

Completability is a scale that is influenced by
various construals.
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Completability

• Many verbs are Ambiguous
• Completable
• ???????? ?????i ????? The writer is writing a
  book
• Non-Completable
• ???????? ?????i ????? A writer writes books
• Some verbs are Non-Completable ???????i moan
• But some of these verbs can become Completable if
  they are specialized by a prefix
• ????????i work gt ????????????p rework, revise
• A few verbs are Completable
• ????????i gt ?????????p get stronger

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What Completability means for aspect

• Only verbs that can be construed as Completable
  have Natural Perfectives
• ??????i write gt ????????p write, ????????i
  get stronger gt ?????????p get stronger
• Only verbs that can be construed as
  Non-Completable have Complext Act Perfectives
• ??????i writegt ????????p write a while,
  ???????i moangt ?????????p moan a while,
  ????????i workgt ??????????p work a while

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Non-Determined and Singularizability

• Non-Determined motion can be

Without a goal
- or -
Roundtrips
Singularizability
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What Singularizability means for aspect

• Singularizability plucks out one cycle to form a
  Single Act Perfective
• ???????p fly to a place and back once, ???????p
  run to a place and back once, ???????p walk to
  a place and back once
• ??????p blow once, ???????p pinch/pluck once,
  ?????????p squeak once
• Only verbs that can be construed as
  Non-Completable and form a Complex Act Perfective
  can also form a Single Act Perfective
• But not all do so ?????????p

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Preliminary summary

• Modern Russian has various types of Perfective
  verbs
• some express Completable situations
• Natural and Specialized Perfectives
• Motion verbs derive these Perfectives from their
  Determined stem
• some express Non-Completable situations
• Complex Act and Single Act Perfectives
• Motion verbs derive these Perfectives from their
  Non-Determined stem

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5. Possible diachronic implications

• Bermels grammaticalization order aligns with
  Cluster model
• New means of expressing Determinacy/
  Completability (via Perfectivization patterns)
  coincides with contraction of lexical
  differentiation
• Parallel prefixation played major role in
  grammaticalization of aspect, and was most
  available with motion verbs early on
• Current distribution of motion verb Perfectives
  aligns with Cluster model

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Bermels (1997) order of grammaticalization
Telic nonpunctual acts
Travel gt Completable Natural and Specialized
Perfectives
Atelic acts
Motion without goal gt Non-Completable Complex
Act Perfectives
Punctual acts
Roundtrips gt Singularizable Single Act
Perfectives
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Bermels chronology is corroborated by

• Nørgård-Sørensen (1997)
• Russian did not develop its modern aspectual
  distinction until the -??? suffix became highly
  productive (toward 18th c) aspect first
  encompassed action verbs (Natural and
  Specialized Perfectives), was only infrequently
  associated with procedurals (Complex Act and
  Single Act Perfectives)
• Dickey 2007
• ??- prefix used first to form Natural
  Perfectives spread to delimitatives (Complex Act
  Perfectives) later, 16th-17th c

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Determined vs. Non-Determined

• About a dozen motion verbs maintain this
  distinction in Modern Russian
• ????/?????? walk, ??????/?????? run,
  ?????/?????? carry, ?????/?????? ride,
  ?????/?????? lead, ??????/?????? fly
• This distinction was more extensive in Old
  Russian (Mayo 1985 cites nearly 40 other verbs,
  cf. also Van Wijk 1929 re Proto-Slavic, Vaillant
  1948304 re OCS)
• ?????/??????? drag, ???????/????a?? call,
  ??????/?????? bite, ??????/?????? mix,
  ???????/??????? ask

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New Form gt Contraction of Old Form

• Meaning of Determined/Non-Determined expanded as
  Completable/Non-Completable
• New means of expression Perfectivization pattern
  vs. Old means of expression lexical
  differentiation
• Another example of new form leading to expansion
  of a distinction, while old form contracts (cf.
  Cz -ovi)
• Dickey (forthcoming) suggests that the
  consolidation of the Determined/Non-Determined
  distinction is linked to development of modern
  Perfective vs. Imperfective

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Completable situations

• Verbs that had the Determined/Non-Determined
  distinction had parallel prefixation in OCS

Scholars agree that parallel prefixation played
an important role in the grammaticalization of
aspect in Russian (Mayo 19859, Schuyt
1990412-14, Bermel 1997109)
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Non-Completable situations

• Some Complex Act Perfectives are attested in Old
  Russian
• ???????? walk a while
• ???????? sit a while
• Single Act Perfectives are attested already in
  OCS with the suffix ?? (??????? blow once
  ?????? drip once), but are not attested with
  motion verbs
• Modern distribtution may parallel historical
  development See tables on handout

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Possible changes
Determinacy
Completability
Grammaticalization Perfective/Imperfective
Formation of Complex Act Perfectives
Formation of Single Act Perfectives