Abstract
Recent literature has debated the nature and robustness of distinctions between pronominal tenses and existential tenses, between absolute tenses and relative tenses, and between perfect aspects and relative tenses. In this paper, we investigate anteriority markers in Javanese and Atayal, two distantly related Austronesian languages. On the basis of a range of empirical diagnostics, we propose that the markers tau in Javanese and -in- in Atayal are relative past tenses with existential semantics. We demonstrate that plausible alternative analyses are not tenable: these markers do not have pronominal tense semantics and they are not perfect aspects despite their salient ‘experiential’ interpretation. Further, we claim that a single language can possess both pronominal and existential tenses. Our diagnostics show that while tau and -in- are existential past tenses, Javanese and Atayal each also have a pronominal tense morpheme which is phonologically null and which pragmatically interacts with tau and -in-.
Highlights
Investigating the temporal/aspectual system of a language inevitably involves analyzing the semantics of individual tense/aspect markers in that language
Are ‘experiential’ readings always contributed by perfect aspects, or can they be contributed by past tenses?
In order to uncover their semantics within the typology of anteriority markers, we use a range of diagnostics to distinguish pronominal tenses from existential tenses, absolute tenses from relative tenses, and past tenses from perfect aspects
Summary
Investigating the temporal/aspectual system of a language inevitably involves analyzing the semantics of individual tense/aspect markers in that language. In order to uncover their semantics within the typology of anteriority markers, we use a range of diagnostics to distinguish pronominal tenses from existential tenses, absolute tenses from relative tenses, and past tenses from perfect aspects. We argue that both markers share the semantics of EXISTENTIAL, RELATIVE PAST TENSES—a striking result considering their different etymology and that these languages are only distantly related within Austronesian. The upshot of our proposal is that a single language can have both types of tenses, suggesting that pronominal and quantificational tenses are distinct types within the inventory of semantic building blocks and that no economy principle rules out this type of language Another important contrast among anteriority markers is that between relative tenses and perfect aspects.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have