Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

HS: The Syntax and Semantics of the English Verb Phrase

The Phylogenesis of Aspect in English

Winter term 2007/2008

The Phylogenesis of Aspect in English

von

Andreas Keilbach

Table of Contents:

1. Definition of `Aspect′ and `Phylogenesis′

03

2. `Aspect′ in Old English (OE)

03

2.1. Distributive Habitual

03

2.2. Progressive

04

2.3. Perfect

05

3. `Aspect′ in Middle (ME) and Early Modern English (EME)

06

3.1. Distributive Habitual

06

3.2. Progressive

06

3.3. Perfect

08

4. `Aspect′ in Modern English (ModE)

09

4.1. Progressive

09

4.2. Perfect

09

4.3. `Aspectual Oppositions′ on a Semantic Level in ModE

10

5. Frequency Table

11

6. Conclusion: Process of the Evolution of `

Verbal Aspect

′

12

2

Introduction:

Starting with a definition of `aspect′ and `phylogenesis′ in this term paper I will try to

give an overview of the development of the grammatical category of `aspect′

throughout the history of the English language.

1. Definition of `Aspect′ and `Phylogenesis′:

According to Comrie, `aspect′ can be defined as follows: "As the general definition of

aspect, we may take the formulation that `aspects are different ways of viewing the

internal temporal constituency of a situation′." In contrast to `tense′, which is a deictic

category, `aspect is not concerned with relating the time of the situation to any other

time-point [...]?"1

WordNet, a lexical database for the English language, defines `phylogenesis′ as

follows: "Phylogenesis: ((biology) the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary

development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms)"2 Therefore, in

connection with linguistic purposes and `aspect′ the term `phylogenesis′, usually used

in biological and evolutionary terminology, can be understood as the diachronic

development of the grammatical category of aspect from Old English (OE) to Modern

English (ModE).

2. `Aspect′ in Old English (OE):

2.1.

Distributive Habitual:

Just like in ModE, habitual activities normally have no special overt verbal form such

as an auxiliary:

Or. 20.16 7

se cyning 7 þa ricostan men

drincað

myran meolc.

If the preposition involves a main

be

verb and habitual aspect, then

beo

- is preferred

over

wes

- or

weorþ:

Or. 20.19

þær is (always) mid Estum ðeaw, þonne þær bið (whenever there is) man

dead.

1 Bernard Comrie.

Aspect. An Introduction to the Study of Verbal Aspect and Related Problems

.

(Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics.). (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 3ff.

2http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=phylogenesis&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o7

=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&h=.

3