Temporal ‘since’ constructions in cross-linguistic perspective

Abstract

Abstract The paper offers an analysis of the cross-linguistic variation in the expression of clausal temporal ‘since’ relations (e.g., I have been working since you arrived) in a sample of 59 languages. First, the investigation explores whether clausal temporal ‘since’ constructions bear formal resemblance to nominal temporal ‘since’ constructions (e.g., It has been raining since yesterday), nominal beginning-to-end constructions (e.g., They will sleep from tonight to tomorrow), and clausal beginning-to-end constructions (e.g., From the moment they were born, until they died, they never paid their bills). While, in most languages in the sample, these constructions are formed with the same pattern, the paper shows that there may be more to the story. Second, it is shown that at least one of the markers encoding nominal beginning-to-end constructions tends to be simpler (in terms of the number of segments) than the markers found in clausal temporal ‘since’ constructions or clausal ‘until’ constructions. It is proposed that this is the result of economy.