Abstract
Although the aspectual class of states is understood as an elementary component in the constitution of more complex eventualities (Dowty, 1979; Rappaport Hovah & Levin, 1998), it is rarely studied for itself. In fact, we claim in this paper, these types of eventualities don’t show as simple as they seem. In particular their internal structure and their interpretation are worth a closer look. We thus focus on their distributional and semantic properties and conclude that the best way to describe this aspectual class is to determine what it means exactly for a predicate to denote a state, even when that predicate is not typical of the category. Doing so, we can avoid to mix up what is actually encoded with what is in fact inferred pragmatically; and thus we aim at allowing for a more precise semantic-pragmatic interface in the aspectual domain to develop (following Khallouqi, 2007).
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
