“The Historical Development of Aspectual Clusters in
Russian”Laura A. Janda
Universitetet i Tromsø
http://hum.uit.no/lajanda/
Main Ideas• Proto-Slavic & OCS aspect traditionally
described as in Modern Russian (Meillet 1934:282, Vaillant 1948:304-5, Vaillant 1966:462, Lunt 1966:69, Gorškova and Xaburgaev 1981:279, Schenker 1993:94-5)
• 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
Overview
1. Russian aspect as a recent development
2. Motion verbs as prototypical verbs3. Cluster model and Perfectivization
patterns4. Determined/Non-Determined and
Completable/Non-Completable5. Possible diachronic implications
1. 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)
2. Motion verbs as prototypical verbs
• What’s a prototype?
–This can be assessed by looking at
• Density of shared properties
• Idealized Cognitive Model of category
• Association with embodied experience
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 1995:25, Croft & Cruse 2004:78 & 81, Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk 2007:155)
– Russian motion verbs show the densest set of Perfectivization options (Cluster structures)
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 1987:68-76)
– Determined/Non-Determined is the source of inferences for Completable/Non-Completable distinctions that are relevant for all other verbs
Association with embodied experience
• A prototype:– is typically associated with embodied
experiences such as motor interactions and movements (Lakoff 1987:56)
– motion verbs describe embodied movements
• Furthermore, other scholars have identified motion verbs as prototypical:– Chaput forthcoming, Nesset forthcoming
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
Four kinds of Perfectives:
– Natural Perfectives • писатьi ‘write’ > написатьp ‘write’
– Specialized Perfectives • работатьi ‘work’ > переработатьp ‘rework, revise’
(> перерабатыватьi ‘rework, revise’)
– Complex Act Perfectives• стонатьi ‘moan’> постонатьp ‘moan a while’
– Single Act Perfectives • дутьi ‘blow’ (+ подутьp ‘blow a while’) > дунутьp
‘blow once’
Distribution of Perfectives:• Natural Perfectives:
– написатьp ‘write’, связатьp ‘tie’, окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’, о(б)щипатьp ‘pinch/pluck’
• Specialized Perfectives: – переписатьp ‘rewrite’, развязатьp ‘untie’,
переработатьp ‘rework, revise’, вдутьp ‘blow in’, выщипатьp ‘pluck out’
• Complex Act Perfectives: – пописатьp ‘write a while’, поработатьp ‘work a while’,
подутьp ‘blow a while’, пощипатьp ‘pinch/pluck a while’, поскрипетьp ‘squeak a while’
• Single Act Perfectives:– дунутьp ‘blow once’, щипнутьp ‘pinch/pluck once’,
скрипнутьp ‘squeak once’
Distribution of Perfectives:• Natural Perfectives:
– написатьp ‘write’, связатьp ‘tie’, окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’, о(б)щипатьp ‘pinch/pluck’
• Specialized Perfectives: – переписатьp ‘rewrite’, развязатьp ‘untie’,
переработатьp ‘rework, revise’, вдутьp ‘blow in’, выщипатьp ‘pluck out’
• Complex Act Perfectives: – пописатьp ‘write a while’, поработатьp ‘work a while’,
подутьp ‘blow a while’, пощипатьp ‘pinch/pluck a while’, поскрипетьp ‘squeak a while’
• Single Act Perfectives:– дунутьp ‘blow once’, щипнутьp ‘pinch/pluck once’,
скрипнутьp ‘squeak once’
Attested Aspectual Clusters
• Activity + Natural Perfective (крепнутьi ‘get stronger’)• Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized Perfective
(вязатьi ‘tie’)• Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized Perfective +
Complex Act Perfective (писатьi ‘write’)• Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized Perfective +
Complex Act Perfective + Single Act Perfective (щипатьi ‘pnch/pluck’)
Additionally the Natural Perfective and/or Specialized Perfective can be removed from all cluster structures, yielding other variants (работатьi ‘work’, дутьi ‘blow’, скрипетьi ‘squeak’, уважатьi ‘respect’)
+ Natural Perfective (perfectiva tantum, уцелетьp ‘survive’)Total: 13 attested cluster structures
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
Motion verbs have the maximal cluster structure
• Activity лететьi/летатьi ‘fly’• Natural Perfective полететьp ‘fly’• Specialized Perfectives улететьp
(улетатьi) ‘fly away’, прилететьp (прилетатьi) ‘fly to’
• Complex Act Perfectives полетатьp ‘fly a while’, залетатьp ‘start flying’
• Single Act Perfective слетатьp ‘fly someplace and back once’
Motion verbs have the maximal cluster structure
• Activity лететьi/летатьi ‘fly’• Natural Perfective полететьp ‘fly’• Specialized Perfectives улететьp
(улетатьi) ‘fly away’, прилететьp (прилетатьi) ‘fly to’
• Complex Act Perfectives полетатьp ‘fly a while’, залетатьp ‘start flying’
• Single Act Perfective слетатьp ‘fly someplace and back once’
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
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
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
Determinacy and Completability:
Писатель пишетi книгу.
‘The writer is writing a book.’
Профессор работаетi в университете.
‘The professor is working at the university.’
Completability is a scale that is influenced by various construals.
Completability:
• Many verbs are Ambiguous:– Completable
• Писатель пишетi книгу ‘The writer is writing a book’
– Non-Completable• Писатель пишетi книги ‘A writer writes books’
• Some verbs are Non-Completable: стонатьi ‘moan’
– But some of these verbs can become Completable if they are specialized by a prefix
• работатьi ‘work’ > переработатьp ‘rework, revise’
• A few verbs are Completable:• крепнутьi > окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’
What Completability means for aspect:
• Only verbs that can be construed as Completable have Natural Perfectives– писатьi ‘write’ > написатьp ‘write’, крепнутьi
‘get stronger’ > окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’
• Only verbs that can be construed as Non-Completable have Complext Act Perfectives– писатьi ‘write’> пописатьp ‘write a while’,
стонатьi ‘moan’> постонатьp ‘moan a while’, работатьi ‘work’> поработатьp ‘work a while’
Non-Determined and Singularizability
Non-Determined motion can be:
Without a goal
- or -
Roundtrips
Singularizability
What Singularizability means for aspect:
• Singularizability plucks out one cycle to form a Single Act Perfective:– слетатьp ‘fly to a place and back once’, сбегатьp ‘run
to a place and back once’, сходитьp ‘walk to a place and back once’
– дунутьp ‘blow once’, щипнутьp ‘pinch/pluck once’, скрипнутьp ‘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: *работнутьp
Preliminary summaryModern 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
5. Possible diachronic implications
• Bermel’s 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
Bermel’s (1997) order of grammaticalization
“Telic nonpunctual acts”
“Atelic acts”
“Punctual acts”
Travel > CompletableNatural and Specialized Perfectives
Motion without goal > Non-Completable
Complex Act PerfectivesRoundtrips > Singularizable
Single Act Perfectives
Bermel’s chronology is corroborated by:
• Nørgård-Sørensen (1997)– Russian did not develop its modern aspectual
distinction until the -ыва 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– по- prefix used first to form Natural Perfectives;
spread to delimitatives (Complex Act Perfectives) later, 16th-17th c
Determined vs. Non-Determined:• About a dozen motion verbs maintain this
distinction in Modern Russian:– идти/ходить ‘walk’, бежать/бегать ‘run’,
нести/носить ‘carry’, ехать/ездить ‘ride’, вести/водить ‘lead’, лететь/летать ‘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 1948:304 re OCS): – влечи/влачити ‘drag’, гласити/глашaти ‘call’,
кусити/кушати ‘bite’, месити/мѣшати ‘mix’, просити/прашати ‘ask’
New Form > 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
Completable situationsVerbs that had the Determined/Non-
Determined distinction had parallel prefixation in OCS:
приити приходити ‘come to’
вънести въносити ‘carry in’
Scholars agree that parallel prefixation played an important role in the grammaticalizationof aspect in Russian (Mayo 1985:9, Schuyt 1990:412-14, Bermel 1997:109)
Non-Completable situations
Some Complex Act Perfectives are attested in Old Russian:походити ‘walk a while’ посажати ‘sit a while’
Single Act Perfectives are attested already in OCS with the suffix –нѫ (доунѫти ‘blow once’ канѫти ‘drip once’), but are not attested with motion verbs
Modern distribtution may parallel historical development: See tables on handout
Possible changesDeterminacy
Completability
Grammaticalization Perfective/Imperfective
Formation of Complex Act Perfectives
Formation of Single Act Perfectives
