Larry trask's question on preterites

[abraham]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Synthetic preterites were the original form for the past in all (Indo-
)Germanic, certainly to the extent that no explicit distinction was
made between aorists and preterites. However, whether or not the
simple, synthetic preterite was used for meanings quoted by Larry
Trask, rather than only a selection, for example, for perfective
meanings, is a different question altogether. It depended, to all
appearances, on the lexical Aktionsart of the predicate in question.
Thus, perfective AA (marked or unmarked, i.e. truly lexical) could
take the synthetic preterite to express past-to-present, but AA-
imperfectives (duratives,statives, ect.) could not. Some of this
inconclusiveness could be balanced by way of case assignment,
similarly to Russian. See my paper in Kemenade/Vincent, CUP
three years back.
        Notice that the 'present perfect' in PDSE is NOT a continuation
of this original aspectual stage of OE or Germanic. what the
present perfect means in PDSE is different from the original
perfectivity in Germanic and certainly a novel development.An
unpublished paper of mine (based on original observations made by
Elly van Gelderen, in response to Giorgi/Pianesi 1995) about that is
available upon request.
        This is just to say that illustrations such as those provided by
Trask need to be looked at from a AA-perspective, and therefore in
greater numbers for conclusive generalisations, before any direct
link to Germanic and inheritance can be made.

Werner Abraham
Werner Abraham

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*   Werner Abraham                                                   *                         *
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