The semantic field of continuation: Periphrastic blijven and continuer à

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the periphrastic expression of continuative aspect by taking into account Dutch blijven + Vinf and French continuer à + Vinf. As prototypical marks of continuation, or the middle phase of an event, they will be argued to constitute the core of a formal field of equivalent expressions and of a semantic field intersecting with other meanings, including spatiality, stativity, iteration and counter-expectation. The lack of substantial research into continuative aspect motivates a semasiological approach making use of translation data which, although potentially controversial, will be shown to be a highly effective heuristic for formal and semantic equivalence in linguistic phenomena. A quantitative outset will be combined with qualitative analyses of synchronic data, resulting in an outline of potential pathways of grammaticalization and, potentially, subjectification.