This thesis deals with the group of Latin iterative verbs, i.e. the group that is formally marked with the iterative suffix -t. It deals with the question what was the actual meaning of the iterative suffix -t in classical Latin as reference literature says that in some cases the meaning of iterative verbs in classical Latin was the same as that of the base verb and there are iterative verbs whose base verbs are not attested at all. Also, only iterative verbs often passed into Romance languages. Another question this thesis deals with is the relationship of iterative verbs as a group set off on the basis of the category of aktionsart as it is understood in the Czech linguistic tradition and the categories that are generally referred to as aspect (grammatical aspect, lexical aspect). In this case, the selected method is a corpus-based quantitative method called the "behavioural profiles". In our case, the corpus is limited to selected prosaic works of the classical Latin period of approximately the 1st century b.C. to the 1st century AD. In its first part, the analysis is based on studying the occurrences of selected iterative verb - base verb pairs in the above mentioned corpus, especially focused on the frequency of occurrence, valence and classification of predicates into Vendler's classes,...

Nous nous demandons dans ce travail de quelle manière "quand" modifie l'interprétation qui serait faite d'une séquence de propositions P. Q ou Q. P lorsqu'il préfixe P. Après avoir souligné les problèmes que cette question soulevé dans plusieurs études fondatrices en sémantique temporelle, nous apportons des arguments pour défendre la théorie, admise par plusieurs auteurs, selon laquelle "quand P" est un adverbial de localisation temporelle. Nous montrons que les propriétés discursives de P, souvent traitée dans la littérature comme une proposition présupposée, s'expliquent par cette seule contrainte : "quand" impose de traiter cette proposition comme la description d'un repère temporel utilisé dans l'interprétation de Q. Nous montrons en outre que la théorie selon laquelle "quand P" désigne un repère temporel permet de rendre compte des contraintes qui pèsent sur les relations chronologiques pouvant s'établir entre les événements eP et eQ des deux propositions. En particulier, nous avançons que l'inférence d'une relation de succession immédiate entre eP et eQ reflète l'une des relations qui peuvent s'établir entre le référent d'un adverbial de localisation et l'événement qu'il localise : le référent de l'adverbial sert de borne initiale à l'intervalle d'occurrence de l'événement. Enfin, nous étudions la manière dont la description d'éventualité et le marqueur temporel accueillis par P contribuent à la sémantique de l'adverbial "quand P". Nous précisons les propriétés quantificationnelles et temporelles conférées au référent de "quand P" par les différents temps du français et expliquons par ces propriétés les contraintes de cooccurrence qui pèsent sur l'emploi des temps dans P et Q. / In this work, we adress the following question: how does "quand" change the interpretation that may be made of a sequence of clauses P. Q or Q. P when it prefixes P? After highlighting the problems that this matter raises in several pioneering studies in temporal semantics, we provide arguments to defend the theory E accepted by several authors E that quand P is a temporal locating adverbial. We show that the discourse properties of P, which is often treated in the literature as a presupposed proposition, is explained by the following single constraint: "quand" demands to treat this clause as the description of a time mark to be used in the interpretation of Q. We further show that the theory that "quand P" designates a time mark accounts for the constraints on the temporal relations that can be established between eP and eQ, the events of both clauses. In particular, we argue that the inference that eQ immediately follows eP reflects one of the relations that can be established between the referent of a temporal locating adverbial and the event it locates: the referent of the adverbial provides an initial bound to the interval of occurrence of the event. Finally, we study how the event description and the tense of P contribute to the semantics of the adverbial "quand P". We specify the quantificational and temporal properties imparted to the referent of quand P by the different tenses of French and explain these properties by co-occurrence constraints that impact the use of tenses in P and Q.

I malé změny v Gramatický a lexikální aspekt jsou dva příklady kategorií, které se na této mentální reprezentaci podílí. Pomocí těchto kategorií vytváříme mentální koncepty, pomocí opujeme naše prožívání místa a času. Tato studie zkoumá interakci lexikálního a gramatického vidu a jak se tato interakce odráží na charakteru očních pohybů u mluvčích nizozemštiny. Bylo užito 04). Byly měřeny oční pohyby 20 rodilých mluvčí nizozemštiny, během toho, co sledovali bílou obrazovku bez jakýchkoliv explicitních obrazových stimulů a poslouchali věty vytvořené s ohledem na různé kombinace lexikálního a gramatického vidu. Užité paradigma simuluje případy z běžného života, kdy lidé pasivně poslouchají mluvenou řeč bez doprovodné vizuální složky. Tato studie nabízí důkazy, že gramatický a lexikální aspekt ovlivňují celou řadu očních pohybů. Tato práce je hodnotným rozšířením naší znalosti o psycholingvistické realitě vidu v nizozemštině, tomto ohledu věnována dostatečná pozornost. Výsledky tohoto výzkumu vnáší nové světlo do probíhající diskuse o tom, zda i tak abstraktní ává měřitelné stopy v našem senzomotorickém systému, a zda je schopný ho ovlivňovat. Navíc tato studie otevírá dveře dalšímu výzkumu zaměřenému na spojení mezi jazykem a mozkovými drahami, které se podílí na zpracování vjemových stimulů. klíčová slova:...

Temporal constructions in Afrikaans are ambiguous with respect to aspectual meaning. The past tense construction with het ge-, for instance, can be interpreted as progressive, perfective or anterior. In the same vein, the unmarked present tense construction can be interpreted as a construction with a progressive or a perfective meaning. This aspectual ambiguity of the Afrikaans verbal system has a significant effect on the way in which Afrikaans grammar is described or understood. The observation by native speakers, linguists, literary specialists and writers that the temporal constructions in Afrikaans are vague or ambiguous with regard to aspectual meaning has led to certain views about the expression of tense in the language. In Afrikaans literature, for example, there is a tradition to write prose primarily in the present tense, because of the perception that the past tense is not adequate to convey particular semantic nuances. Furthermore, certain speakers of Afrikaans and linguists believe that Afrikaans grammar has been simplified and just does not have aspect. However, Afrikaans possesses alternative strategies to specify aspectual meaning. The five prototypical ways of expressing aspectual meaning in Afrikaans are i) lexical constructions (such as adverbs and conjunctions); ii) constructions with affixes, iii) reduplication constructions; iv) passive constructions; and v) periphrastic constructions. Aspectual meaning in Afrikaans is an almost entirely unexplored research field. In my opinion, the literature on the expressions of aspectual meaning in Afrikaans contains two shortcomings. First, Afrikaans aspect needs to be described theoretically. Second, more research is needed concerning the specific ways in which aspectual meaning is expressed in Afrikaans. The scope of this entire research field is too large for a single study. For that reason, the present study aims to reveal the way in which periphrastic constructions are used to convey progressive meaning. As far as temporal meaning is concerned, it is possible to make a distinction between tempus meaning, which stands for deictic temporal meanings (i.e. past, present and future tense), and aspectual meaning, which stands for non-deictic temporal meanings such as duration, point of view and the internal structure of the situation. One can also distinguish between lexical and grammatical aspect. Lexical aspect has to do with the conceptual properties of a situation or, in other words, with the question whether it is static or dynamic, telic or atelic and durative. There are five situation types: states, activities, achievements, accomplishments and semelfactives. Grammatical aspect concerns the point of view from which the situation is perceived. One can make a distinction between perfective and imperfective grammatical aspect. The latter can be subdivided into imperfectives conveying habitual meaning and imperfectives conveying progressive meaning. Grammaticalisation theory is useful and a relevant tool to provide answers to the afore-mentioned research questions. First, it offers insight into the manner in which the ambiguous tempus constructions of Afrikaans came into being. Second, it can be used to show how the alternative aspectual constructions have developed and how they are currently employed in the language. For the purpose of this study, grammaticalisation is regarded as language change in which a construction loses its lexical meaning and comes to express grammatical meaning. Grammatical constructions can be used in more contexts than their lexical counterparts, as grammaticalised uses have been generalized contextually. Grammatical constructions lose the morphosyntactic properties typical of their lexical counterparts and assume grammatical properties. Grammaticalisation is a typological phenomenon and the lexical origin of a grammatical construction is often the same in different languages. Grammaticalizing constructions exhibit an increase in frequency. Afrikaans and Dutch are closely related languages and possess cognate periphrastic progressive constructions, viz. i) the aan het- / aan die- ii) VPOS te / VPOS en-; en iii) bezig- / besig- progressive constructions. To examine the use of periphrastic progressive constructions in Afrikaans from a grammaticalisation perspective, I compare the results of a study of these constructions in an Afrikaans corpus to those of previous studies of the periphrastic progressive constructions in Dutch. The respective constructions are compared on the basis of four criteria, viz. i) frequency; ii) verb collocations; iii) transitivity; and iv) combinatorial possibilities with other aspectual periphrastic constructions. The lexical origins of the various constructions are also considered. The comparison of the constructions on the basis of the afore-mentioned criteria makes it possible to demonstrate how the periphrastic progressive constructions in Afrikaans came into being and how they have developed into grammatical constructions conveying aspectual meaning and in which way the different Afrikaans periphrastic constructions express progressive meaning. / PhD (Afrikaans and Dutch), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Temporal constructions in Afrikaans are ambiguous with respect to aspectual meaning. The past tense construction with het ge-, for instance, can be interpreted as progressive, perfective or anterior. In the same vein, the unmarked present tense construction can be interpreted as a construction with a progressive or a perfective meaning. This aspectual ambiguity of the Afrikaans verbal system has a significant effect on the way in which Afrikaans grammar is described or understood. The observation by native speakers, linguists, literary specialists and writers that the temporal constructions in Afrikaans are vague or ambiguous with regard to aspectual meaning has led to certain views about the expression of tense in the language. In Afrikaans literature, for example, there is a tradition to write prose primarily in the present tense, because of the perception that the past tense is not adequate to convey particular semantic nuances. Furthermore, certain speakers of Afrikaans and linguists believe that Afrikaans grammar has been simplified and just does not have aspect. However, Afrikaans possesses alternative strategies to specify aspectual meaning. The five prototypical ways of expressing aspectual meaning in Afrikaans are i) lexical constructions (such as adverbs and conjunctions); ii) constructions with affixes, iii) reduplication constructions; iv) passive constructions; and v) periphrastic constructions. Aspectual meaning in Afrikaans is an almost entirely unexplored research field. In my opinion, the literature on the expressions of aspectual meaning in Afrikaans contains two shortcomings. First, Afrikaans aspect needs to be described theoretically. Second, more research is needed concerning the specific ways in which aspectual meaning is expressed in Afrikaans. The scope of this entire research field is too large for a single study. For that reason, the present study aims to reveal the way in which periphrastic constructions are used to convey progressive meaning. As far as temporal meaning is concerned, it is possible to make a distinction between tempus meaning, which stands for deictic temporal meanings (i.e. past, present and future tense), and aspectual meaning, which stands for non-deictic temporal meanings such as duration, point of view and the internal structure of the situation. One can also distinguish between lexical and grammatical aspect. Lexical aspect has to do with the conceptual properties of a situation or, in other words, with the question whether it is static or dynamic, telic or atelic and durative. There are five situation types: states, activities, achievements, accomplishments and semelfactives. Grammatical aspect concerns the point of view from which the situation is perceived. One can make a distinction between perfective and imperfective grammatical aspect. The latter can be subdivided into imperfectives conveying habitual meaning and imperfectives conveying progressive meaning. Grammaticalisation theory is useful and a relevant tool to provide answers to the afore-mentioned research questions. First, it offers insight into the manner in which the ambiguous tempus constructions of Afrikaans came into being. Second, it can be used to show how the alternative aspectual constructions have developed and how they are currently employed in the language. For the purpose of this study, grammaticalisation is regarded as language change in which a construction loses its lexical meaning and comes to express grammatical meaning. Grammatical constructions can be used in more contexts than their lexical counterparts, as grammaticalised uses have been generalized contextually. Grammatical constructions lose the morphosyntactic properties typical of their lexical counterparts and assume grammatical properties. Grammaticalisation is a typological phenomenon and the lexical origin of a grammatical construction is often the same in different languages. Grammaticalizing constructions exhibit an increase in frequency. Afrikaans and Dutch are closely related languages and possess cognate periphrastic progressive constructions, viz. i) the aan het- / aan die- ii) VPOS te / VPOS en-; en iii) bezig- / besig- progressive constructions. To examine the use of periphrastic progressive constructions in Afrikaans from a grammaticalisation perspective, I compare the results of a study of these constructions in an Afrikaans corpus to those of previous studies of the periphrastic progressive constructions in Dutch. The respective constructions are compared on the basis of four criteria, viz. i) frequency; ii) verb collocations; iii) transitivity; and iv) combinatorial possibilities with other aspectual periphrastic constructions. The lexical origins of the various constructions are also considered. The comparison of the constructions on the basis of the afore-mentioned criteria makes it possible to demonstrate how the periphrastic progressive constructions in Afrikaans came into being and how they have developed into grammatical constructions conveying aspectual meaning and in which way the different Afrikaans periphrastic constructions express progressive meaning. / PhD (Afrikaans and Dutch), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The current thesis is based on four individual studies which aim to account for the expression of motion events (ME) in Spanish and Swedish as first languages (L1), in Swedish as a second language (L2), and in Spanish as a heritage language (SHL). The data, resulting from audio-recordings of different sorts of stimuli, have been analyzed with special focus on (1) the most common structures used for referring to various types of ME, (2) the types and amount of information provided by the participants, in particular as regards the semantic components Path, Manner and Ground, and (3) grammatical aspect and types of syntactic structures resorted to, including the correlation between the two latter factors and speakers’ discursive preferences.      Study 1 sets out to explore how Spanish and Swedish native speakers convey information about motion. The results show that the Swedish L1 speakers produced a wider range of descriptions concerning Manner and Path than the Spanish L1 speakers; furthermore, both groups delivered detailed Ground descriptions, although the Swedish native speakers expressed final destinations (endpoints) of ME to a greater extent.      Study 2 aims to investigate to what extent Swedish L1 patterns for motion encoding are still at play in the acquisition of Spanish L2 even at advanced stages of L2 acquisition. The results show that the learner group used a larger amount of Path particles and Ground adjuncts (in particular those referring to endpoints) than did the Spanish natives; this finding supports the claim that L2 learners rely on the lexicalization patterns of their L1 when describing ME in an L2. As for Manner, the L2 speakers were found to express this component mainly outside the verb, and to deliver more information about Manner than the Spanish natives.      Study 3 addresses the construal of ME in Swedish speakers of L2 Spanish, in particular concerning the encoding of motion endpoints and Manner of motion. The results show that the Swedish learners of Spanish exhibited the same, high frequencies of endpoint marking as did their monolingual Swedish peers, thus deviating from the Spanish native pattern. Moreover, the L2 speakers used the same amount of Manner verbs as did the Spanish natives but tended consistently to provide additional Manner information in periphrastic constructions.      Finally, Study 4 sets out to analyze the ways in which L1 Spanish/L2 Swedish early and late bilinguals express ME in SHL. The aim is to show in which ways and to what extent the typological patterns for motion encoding in the L2 may impact on motion encoding in the L1 with regard to three parameters: (1) age of onset (AO) of the acquisition of L2, (2) length of residence (LoR) in the L2 environment and (3) contact level with the L1 (CL). The focus data, consisting of oral re-tellings produced by the bilinguals, were compared to analogous data produced by two control groups (native speakers of Spanish and Swedish) in order to analyze conflation patterns regarding Manner, Path and Ground information. The analysis points to the conclusion that both the individuals’ AO of L2 acquisition and their LoR in the L2 environment have affected their L1 conceptualization patterns while their CL plays a subordinate role.      In summary, the findings lend support to the idea that the habitual conceptualization of events in the L1 influences L2 acquisition; conversely, the conceptual patterns of the L2 have an impact on L1 usage in bilinguals, especially in combination with an early AO and a long LoR. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: In press.</p>

The current thesis is based on four individual studies which aim to account for the expression of motion events (ME) in Spanish and Swedish as first languages (L1), in Swedish as a second language (L2), and in Spanish as a heritage language (SHL). The data, resulting from audio-recordings of different sorts of stimuli, have been analyzed with special focus on (1) the most common structures used for referring to various types of ME, (2) the types and amount of information provided by the participants, in particular as regards the semantic components Path, Manner and Ground, and (3) grammatical aspect and types of syntactic structures resorted to, including the correlation between the two latter factors and speakers’ discursive preferences.      Study 1 sets out to explore how Spanish and Swedish native speakers convey information about motion. The results show that the Swedish L1 speakers produced a wider range of descriptions concerning Manner and Path than the Spanish L1 speakers; furthermore, both groups delivered detailed Ground descriptions, although the Swedish native speakers expressed final destinations (endpoints) of ME to a greater extent.      Study 2 aims to investigate to what extent Swedish L1 patterns for motion encoding are still at play in the acquisition of Spanish L2 even at advanced stages of L2 acquisition. The results show that the learner group used a larger amount of Path particles and Ground adjuncts (in particular those referring to endpoints) than did the Spanish natives; this finding supports the claim that L2 learners rely on the lexicalization patterns of their L1 when describing ME in an L2. As for Manner, the L2 speakers were found to express this component mainly outside the verb, and to deliver more information about Manner than the Spanish natives.      Study 3 addresses the construal of ME in Swedish speakers of L2 Spanish, in particular concerning the encoding of motion endpoints and Manner of motion. The results show that the Swedish learners of Spanish exhibited the same, high frequencies of endpoint marking as did their monolingual Swedish peers, thus deviating from the Spanish native pattern. Moreover, the L2 speakers used the same amount of Manner verbs as did the Spanish natives but tended consistently to provide additional Manner information in periphrastic constructions.      Finally, Study 4 sets out to analyze the ways in which L1 Spanish/L2 Swedish early and late bilinguals express ME in SHL. The aim is to show in which ways and to what extent the typological patterns for motion encoding in the L2 may impact on motion encoding in the L1 with regard to three parameters: (1) age of onset (AO) of the acquisition of L2, (2) length of residence (LoR) in the L2 environment and (3) contact level with the L1 (CL). The focus data, consisting of oral re-tellings produced by the bilinguals, were compared to analogous data produced by two control groups (native speakers of Spanish and Swedish) in order to analyze conflation patterns regarding Manner, Path and Ground information. The analysis points to the conclusion that both the individuals’ AO of L2 acquisition and their LoR in the L2 environment have affected their L1 conceptualization patterns while their CL plays a subordinate role.      In summary, the findings lend support to the idea that the habitual conceptualization of events in the L1 influences L2 acquisition; conversely, the conceptual patterns of the L2 have an impact on L1 usage in bilinguals, especially in combination with an early AO and a long LoR. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: In press.</p>

Prefix ex- u latinských sloves a jeho aspektová funkce Latin Verbal Prefix ex- in Regard of Aspect - disertační práce - Mgr. Martina Vaníková Summary The proposed thesis titled Latin Verbal Prefix ex- in Regard of Aspect is a pilot study that deals with the ways of expressing aspect in Latin, which is based on the detailed analysis of the functions of the verbal prefix ex- as one of the important components of this category. It also tries to find the method for the future research on the matter. In the theoretical part of the thesis the author gives summary of existing theories on aspect in general, with special attention given to the theories on aspect in the Czech and Latin language. The author defines the terms "aspect", "Aktionsart" and "situation type" at great length, and she particularly sets light to the term "telicity", distinguishing the "inherent telicity" from "maximizing". The practical part consist of: 1. a detailed analysis of all the occurrences of the indicative imperfect of the verbs with the prefix ex- from the corpus, which comprises of all well-preserved Latin texts from Plautus to Cicero; 2. an analysis of the indicative future and present tense forms of the selected verbs with the prefix ex-. Based on the analysis of the imperfect, the author verifies her hypothesis that the prefix...