English Lexical Correspondents of Aspectual Pairs in Serbo-Croatian

Authors

  • Vesna Bulatović

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18485/bells.2020.12.11

Keywords:

perfectivity, imperfectivity, aspect, lexical aspect, aspectual pair

Abstract

This paper looks into some English lexical correspondents of aspectual pairs in Serbo-Croatian (SC). Because SC and English are diametrically opposed in terms of how overtly they express aspect, SC and English are usually seen as typical representatives of languages with and without aspect, respectively. In SC, the aspectual dichotomy is expressed by the following three instruments in the following order of frequency: a) pairs of lexically related verbs; b) biaspectual verbs, and c) pairs of different verbs. Our analysis shows that ‘aspectless’ English uses the same three instruments but in a different order of frequency. Most English verbs are biaspectual, i.e. their aspectual interpretation depends on a number of factors outside the verb. This study focuses on the other two instruments. Several different types of such lexical means for the expression of aspectual dichotomy in English are identified according to the lexical and morphological relations between their members.

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Published

2021-03-18

How to Cite

Bulatović, V. (2021). English Lexical Correspondents of Aspectual Pairs in Serbo-Croatian. Belgrade English Language and Literature Studies, 12(1), 231–255. https://doi.org/10.18485/bells.2020.12.11

Issue

Section

THEORETICAL AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS