Homonymy and Polysemy in Verbal Aspect

Abstract

The article focuses on aspectual polysemy and homonymy of Czech verbs. From the point of view of homonymy/polysemy, verbs are classified into four groups: A. Verbs that demonstrate homonymy in some of their forms or sub-paradigms and have different infinitives. B. Verbs that show homonymy in some of their forms or sub-paradigms and have the same infinitives but different semantic bases (in this sense, they are different lexemes) e.g. (impf.) sladím kávu cukrem [I sweeten my coffee with sugar], (pf.) sladím barvu stěn s barvou koberce [I match the colour of the walls to the colour of the carpet]. C. Verbs in which one infinitive unites both perfective and imperfective meanings e.g. (impf.) napovídal mi při luštění křížovky [he gave me hints when I was solving the crossword], (pf.) hodně toho napovídal, ale málo udělal [he has talked a lot, but has done little]; D. Verbs with predominantly perfective meanings, from which a certain impf. meaning was clearly separated; for example: vejít se, hodit se, sednout (kabát mu sedne). The issues of aspectual homonymy/polysemy are closely related to the issue which factors contribute to the aspectual interpretation of an utterance. A list of examples of such factors is provided. To identify the aspectual value of an expression, it is not enough to consider morphology of the verb only. The aspectual construal of a verb is not determined by its morphology alone, it depends on the way it is used.