Aspectual and Actional Properties of Verbal Analytical Predicates in Khakass
50th Annual Meeting of the PIAC, Kazan 2007
This paper is an attempt to grasp mutual relations and interferences of aspect and actionality within verbal analytical predicates. The aspectual and actional characteristics of a specific type of complex predicates in Khakass are compared with the similar predicates in Tatar.
In Turcology significant achievements have been made in studying both the problems of aspect, actionality and verbal analytical predicates. This paper is devoted to the converbal type of predicates, i.e. to the constructions consisting of a converb and an auxiliary verb. In the works on verbal analytical constructions they are considered from different perspectives. Some papers deal with general problems concerning concepts and terminology, and the others focus on topics of a more specific nature.
The Tatar verbal analytical constructions expressing the aspectual or actional meanings have broadly been discussed in scientific papers [Grammatika 1993, Ganiyev 2003, Zakamulina 1999].
As for the Khakass constructions it is possible to find some information in grammars, dictionaries, and in a few scientific papers [Dyrenkova 1948, Grammatika 1975], but in fact they have never been the matter of special analysis. Thus, we can say that the concept of aspect and actionality as a fundamental and primary theoretical principle in the analysis of the Khakass verbal system has not been given its proper attention in linguistic research.
The expression of aspect and actionality is closely connected with the development of the converbal type of multicomponent predicates consisting of two, three, and sometimes even more than three word forms of different lexico-grammatical meanings where each element combines with the next one by means of a converb (-a/-e; -p/-yp/-ip or its zero form; rarely -bin), and such members contribute their own function as a part of the whole. The order of combination of the members of such multicomponent predicate is quite similar to that of morphemes within any simple verbal predicate: first comes a verb or a compound verb conveying lexical meaning, next — a group with actional meaning, then — a unit with aspectual meaning that is usually followed by the tense morpheme. So verbal analytical predicates may have the following structural types: 1) bi verbal constructions represented by two main subtypes – V=p + AV; V=a + AV; 2) three-component constructions with three main subtypes – [V=p + AV]=p + AV; [V=a + AV]=p AV, [V=p + AV]=bin + AV. These structural types are considered to be the central part of the system of verbal analytical constructions not only because of their usage frequency but also because of the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic functions. Bi verbal constructions have to undergo changes in their structure when the meaning gets more complicated.
In fact, a two-member predicate dominates among these predicates. Multicomponent predicates are developed due to the necessity to express lexical meaning by compound verbs or idiomatic phrases or because of some other modifications of the grammatical meaning. The majority of the compound verbs or idiomatic phrases are complicated units with lexico-grammatical meaning.
A single-language approach offers a profitable way of looking at aspect and ac- tionality but it is quite obvious that these categories need to be analyzed in comparative studies. In our case the comparative analysis helps to reveal common and specific features of multicomponent predicates in both languages from the point of view of their structure and semantics, and what is more important, to find out the tendencies of their development, especially, in case with actionality. These predicates have caused and still cause a lot of problems with regard to definitions of their members and the delimitations between them in Khakass.
References
- Ganiyev, F. A.: Sposoby deystviya glagolov v tatarskom yasyke. Kasan, 2003.
- Grammatika Khakasskogo yasyka. M., 1975.
- Dyrenkova, N. P.: Grammatika Khakasskogo yasyka. M., 1948.
- Zakamulina, M. N.: Aspectualnost’ v tatarskom I frantsuzskom yazykah. Kazan, 1999.
- Tatarskaya grammatika. Tom II, Kasan, 1993.