Time Adverbials Research Articles

How L2 Learners Process Different Means of Time Encoding in a Tenseless Language: An ERP Study of Mandarin.

In the past, research on the cognitive neural mechanism of second language (L2) learners' processing time information has focused on Indo-European languages. It has also focused on the temporal category expressed by morphological changes. However, there has been a lack of research on L2 learners' various time coding means, especially for Mandarin, which lacks morphological changes. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), we investigated the cognitive neural mechanism of L2 learners with native Indonesian background in processing two time coding means (time adverbs and aspect markers) in Chinese. Indonesian has time adverb encoding time information similar to that of Chinese, but there are no aspect markers similar to Chinese in Indonesian. We measured ERPs time locked to the time adverb " (cengjing)" and the aspect marker "verb + (verb + guo)" in two different conditions, i.e., a control condition (the correct sentence) and a temporal information violation. The experimental results showed that the native speaker group induced the biphasic N400-P600 effect under the condition of time adverb violation, and induced P600 under the condition of the aspect marker "verb + (verb + guo)" violation. Indonesian L2 learners of Chinese only elicited P600 for the violation of time adverbs, and there was no statistically significant N400 similar to that of Chinese native speakers. In the case of aspect marker violation, we observed no significant ERPs component for the Indonesian L2 learners of Chinese. Both groups of subjects induced elicited a widely distributed and sustained negativity on the post-critical words after "verb + (verb + guo)" and "(cengjing)". This showed that the neural mechanism of Indonesian L2 learners of Chinese processing Chinese time coding differs from that of Chinese native speakers.

It Costs To Exist: Acceptability Judgments of the Temporal Concord of the Auxiliary Verbs You and Hui in Taiwan Mandarin.

The mechanisms underlying the processing of the temporal reference of a sentence are still unexplored. Most of the previous psycholinguistic studies used the temporal concord violation between deictic time adverbs and tense marking on the verb to investigate this issue. They found that processing past tense marking is more difficult than non-past tense, indicated by lower accuracy rates and/or longer reaction time. However, it is not clear whether this complexity is due to tense marking or the temporal reference it denotes. This paper examines this issue with a judgment acceptability experiment in Taiwan Mandarin, which is analyzed as a tenseless language. The two modal auxiliary verbs you and hui were placed after deictic past time adverbs (grammatical with you but not with hui) and deictic future time adverbs (grammatical with hui but not with you). The temporal concord violation of the auxiliary verb you led to higher acceptability rates but longer reaction time than hui, reflecting higher processing difficulties. This paper argues that these complexities are due to the existential-assertive meaning of you, which interplays with the meaning of the event described by the verb rendering the situation more or less likely to occur in the future. The computation of the temporal concord of hui, displaying a future sense meaning, is more straightforward and therefore easier to process. This suggests that the mechanisms responsible for temporal reference processing are of different nature depending on the semantics of the temporal marker in the sentence.

Metadiscursive Boosting in Russian Courtroom Discourse: Enhancing Persuasiveness in Defense Speeches

Recent studies are revealing new aspects of courtroom discourse, examining its generation and applying novel analytical methods. Yet, despite their significance and complexity, the use of metadiscursive tools remains scarce. These tools offer substantial promise for analyzing discursive practices, increasingly seen as not just informative but also interactive and impactful. The inherently interactive and persuasive nature of courtroom discourse underscores the need for metadiscourse as a potent analytical instrument. Such an instrument encompasses mechanisms for expressing attitudes toward the propositional content and for drawing the recipient into a dialogue with the speaker. This article addresses the metadiscursive dimension of defense speeches as a distinct genre within courtroom discourse. The study uses quantitative analysis on a corpus of Russian-language courtroom texts, innovatively applying metadiscursive analysis to identify linguistic elements that enhance the persuasiveness of defense speeches, with a focus on the technique of boosting. Throughout the study, five types of boosters were identified – markers of certainty, evidentiality, intensity, solidarity, and superiority – each serving one of five pragmatic functions: to show the speaker’s confidence in the truth of their assertions, to point to the credibility and reliability of the source, to amplify the emotional impact of the statement, to denote the upper bounds of a continuum, and to reference commonly known facts or shared experiences of events or situations. The study reveals that boosting at the lexical level is predominantly achieved through the use of evidential verbs and nouns, adverbs of measure, degree, and time, as well as superlative adjectives. Additionally, the frequent use of first-person plural pronouns was observed. The findings suggest that adept use of boosters in courtroom discourse is indicative of a lawyer’s pragmatic competence and is crucial for effective communication with the court and the jury.

The semantics of Mandarin futurates

Abstract This paper investigates future interpretations in Mandarin declarative root clauses without overt future modals, i.e., Mandarin futurates. Mandarin futurates require future time adverbs and schedulable eventualities, which denote future readings relative to the utterance time or a context-determined past time. Moreover, Mandarin futurates presuppose the existence of a plan in the context and are incompatible with a single perfective aspect marker le1 . To account for these facts, I argue that a covert future modal m-plan is present in futurates and extend the formal analysis for English simple futurates to Mandarin with necessary modifications.

Error Analysis of Time Adverbs of the Type “从来”

— The time adverbs “一向” (yīxiàng), “一贯” (yīguàn), “一直” (yīzhí), and “从来” (cónglái) can all convey a state or behavior that remains unchanged over a long period of time, and in some contexts, they are interchangeable. However, due to subtle differences in semantics, syntax, and pragmatics, they are not always interchangeable. Therefore, in teaching Chinese as a second language, teachers should focus on the nuances in lexical meanings, specific contextual usages, and pragmatic implications to help students avoid errors and improve the accuracy and naturalness of their language expression.

The Structure and usages of future forms in Classical Sinhalese Literature

This research paper is presented to identify the morphological and practical approaches to the future verb appearing in the prose language of classical Sinhalese. According to records, five formations of the future verb can be identified. This shows that the future verbs of the Sinhalese language were not clearly identifiable in classical literature. Therefore, it is possible to observe how different formations were used to convey the same linguistic meaning. There are two future formations in the traditional standard grammar of Sinhalese. According to the facts found in religious texts which were written in the Classical Sinhalese Period, some other formations of future verbs are realized. This research is mainly based on the qualitative research method. The data is collected from primary and secondary resources. The future forms used in the Classical Sinhalese Period are taken into account in this research. The religious texts such as Dharma Pradīpikā, Amāvaturǝ, Butsarǝɳǝ, Pūɟāvəlijə, Saddharmə Ratnāvəlijə, and Pansijəpaɳas Ɉātəkə Potə are considered as main primary resources in the research. These literary works which were written in the Classical Sinhalese Period have been selected for the research because they represent the written and spoken varieties, the standard and non-standard varieties of the Sinhalese language. The data collected from the texts is categorized and analyzed according to the relevant formations of the future tense. According to the facts found in the above-mentioned religious texts, there are five formations of future forms. They are as follows: the future form with future meaning, the future form with present meaning, the adverb of (future) time with the future verb form, the adverb of (future) time with the present verb form and the representation of the future meaning by the present form. Therefore, two future formations of traditional grammar are developed up to five in the Classical Sinhalese literature.

Acquisition of Spanish Temporal Adverbials by Multilingual Estonian Learners

Abstract This article focuses on the temporal structures used by multilingual Estonian students when expressing the hour in Spanish. Learning linguistic structures related to time is crucial in the early stages of foreign language acquisition. However, these structures can be complex and vary across languages, as they are highly idiosyncratic in terms of vocabulary and syntax. This study concentrates on the difficulties Estonian students face with Spanish time adverbials, specifically prepositions and articles. The paper aims to answer several research questions related to the repertoire of temporal expressions in the students' interlanguage, the difficulty posed by typological differences between their native language and Spanish, the influence of English, and the impact of English proficiency on Spanish production. The analysis of a corpus of interlanguage texts from Estonian students is conducted to identify idiosyncratic structures and patterns, distinguishing them from standard structures. The findings reveal that the use of articles improves with higher proficiency levels, while the use of prepositions remains challenging. Furthermore, the study explores the influence of English and Estonian on the students' Spanish production and highlights the importance of crosslinguistic reflection and attention to functional words for enhanced accuracy and fluency. The article concludes by emphasizing the significance of language proficiency levels and crosslinguistic influence in third language acquisition and suggesting areas for further research.

Student’s Mastery Of Grammar In Simple Present Tense

This journal aims to analyze students' level of grammar mastery in using Simple Present Tense at school. Research was carried out through data collection. The results of the analysis show that the majority of students still experience difficulties in mastering the use of Simple Present Tense. There are common mistakes such as using inappropriate auxiliary words, adding -s/es to the wrong verb, and using inappropriate adverbs of time. However, there are some students who show good mastery in using this tense. In conclusion, this research shows the importance of supporting students' grammar mastery in the Simple Present Tense. Educators need to provide appropriate exercises, such as using example sentences and direct interaction in class, to help students overcome their difficulties and improve their mastery of these tenses. Apart from analyzing the difficulties students face in mastering the Simple Present Tense, this research also explores factors that might influence their mastery. Factors such as language background, training intensity, and grammar teaching methods were also considered in this study. The research results show that students' language background can influence the level of mastery of Simple Present Tense grammar. Students who have a language background that is more similar to English tend to have better abilities in understanding and applying these tenses.

Past and future time reference processing teased apart in Paiwan, an endangered Formosan language

AbstractHow the time reference of a sentence is processed based on the grammatical marking of the verb has already been explored in several languages with grammatical tense and aspect. It can also be grammatically expressed according to the reality status of the event (whether the event exists in time,realismood, or not,irrealis). This study reports results from an acceptability judgment experiment in Paiwan, a Formosan language which exhibits a realis-perfective/irrealis distinction. By placing realis-perfective and irrealis markers after deictic past or future time adverbs and manipulating the grammaticality of the sentences, we asked which temporal concord violation (i.e., realis-perfective or irrealis) was harder to detect. The temporal concord violation of the realis-perfective marker induced greater processing difficulties (interactions between time reference and mood marking revealed lower accuracy rates and longer reaction time), but not the irrealis marker, in line with previous hypotheses. These processing difficulties may be partly due to the Paiwan realis mood marker which also encodes perfective aspect meaning. The reanalysis of the design of previous studies indicates that the interaction with perfective aspect also led to additional processing cost, suggesting that perfective aspect marking plays a crucial role in the processing of time reference.

The Dynamics of the Past and Future Tense Expressions in Dagbani

This paper discusses the degree of remoteness in Dagbani, a Mabia (Gur) language of the Niger-Congo language family spoken in Northern Ghana. The degree of remoteness has been discussed in Dagbani (Olawsky1999; Bodomo 2001; Botne 2012; Bodomo 2018). According to the scholars mentioned above, the verbal particles; sa, di and daa mark degree of remoteness in Dagbani. However, these scholars have not discussed all the possible means degree of remoteness can be expressed in the language. The time adverbials, the proximity markers, yɛ̂n and yólí, and others are not looked at. This paper, therefore, moves a step further to discuss the possible remoteness distinctions that are part of the ways tense is expressed in Dagbani. The paper uses Comrie’s (1985) conceptualisation of tense in human language in the discussion. Comrie’s explanation of the phenomenon shows that in some languages, the degree of remoteness is expressed using the time adverbials and other particles. Eliciting data from eight people in Tamale and Yendi, and existing literature, I support my intuition as a native speaker to demonstrate that the time adverbials and other particles either than only daa, sa and di express degree of remoteness in both past and future tenses in Dagbani.

A contrastive study of the semantic prosody of Time adverbs "jiàn jiàn" and " màn màn "

This study taking " màn màn" and " jiàn jiàn" as an example, on the basis of syntactic description, using the theory of semantic prosody, combined with the research methods of employing data and analysis、being qualitative and quantifying, under the support of professional knowledge and technique, analyses contrastively the colligation and semantic prosody of the overlapping time adverbs "màn màn" and " jiàn jiàn". It is found that " jiàn jiàn" is more commonly used when describing the state, while "màn màn" is more commonly used when modifying the action. What’s more, the proportion of the neutral collocation of " jiàn jiàn" and "màn màn" is basically same. In the comparison between positive collocation and negative collocation, the negative collocation of " jiàn jiàn" is more, and the positive collocation of "màn màn" is more. P.

Déjà : le temps mis en question

"Dictionaries and linguistic literature classify déjà as an adverb of time, considering that its meaning is linked to the notion of «precocity», but they also recognize an interrogative use that appears to express a momentary forgetfulness, as well as another use, in which this lexical unit would refer to a «partial result», among others. Here it is proposed that the various values of déjà can be described as semantic entities of the same lexical unit, applying a semantic-pragmatic perspective that takes polyphony into account. These semantic entities have a common trait, anteriority, and respond to a particular treatment of this anteriority (temporal or enunciative), thus allowing the various uses of déjà to be characterized based on specific linguistic properties."

Осложняющие обстоятельства в орокском предложении: структура и семантика

Complicating adverbials are represented in the Orok language by non-predicative possessive constructions, verbal nouns of “complex semantics.” As a universal semantic category for expressing attributive relations between names, possessiveness has specific expression mechanisms in each language. In the Tungus-Manchu languages, possessiveness is formalized by attributive possessive constructions. Traditionally, semantic relations between the components of a possessive construction are implemented at the level of a two-term structure, with the first component being the name-possessor and the second component being the object of possession (exclusively a noun), formed by a markerrelator (possessive suffix). Depending on the grammatical class of the first component (the possessor), possessive constructions are characterized as substantive and pronominative, the latter derepresented by personal and reflexive ones occupying the position of an adverbial in the sentence and regarded as “complicating” in terms of semantics. The verbal nouns of “complex semantics” are traditionally referred to as verb forms: “simultaneous form,” “conditional-temporal form,” “purpose form,” “conditionally concessive form,” and “failed action form.” These verbal nouns occupy the syntactic positions of the adverbials of time, purpose, condition, concession, or unachieved purpose in the sentence as part of a possessive construction. The semantic equivalents of these adverbials in Russian are phrases of possessive pronouns with prepositional-case forms of a noun, or clauses of the corresponding categories in complex sentences, attached by subordinating conjunctions or allied words. This work describes the inventory of complicating adverbials manifested in possessive constructions with verbal nouns of special ancient paradigms in terms of structure and semantics.

The Use of Adverbial Time in Bimanese Language: A Case Study in Bajo Village

This study aims to determine the category of using adverbs of time in Bimanese language and how the Bimanese use adverbs of time in the sentences. The samples of this study were eight participants, the native speakers of Bimanese language in Bajo Village. The data research were obtained by means of interviews, observation, audio recording, and taking note. The category of using adverb of time in Bimanese language consists of three categories. First was present category. The researchers found three categories used by Bimanese people, namely: simple present, present continuous, and present perfect. The second category was past tense. There were three categories used by the Bimanese people, namely: simple past, past continuous, and past perfect. The third category was future. In this category the researchers only found one category, namely future time.

Interpreting the eventive copula 做 tso3 in Taiwanese Southern Min

Abstract This paper proposes an eventive copula 做 tso3 in contrast with the stative copula 是 si7 in Taiwanese Southern Min. The eventive copula 做 tso3 can be established on syntactic grounds. It can occur in copular small clauses on purposive phrases c-selected by distinct types of matrix verbs. The eventive copula 做 tso3 and the stative copula 是 si7 are in complementary distribution. Furthermore, due to its eventive nature the copula 做 tso3 is compatible with experiential and progressive aspect markers and durative time adverbs. Nevertheless, unlike the stative copular 是 si7 , the eventive 做 tso3 cannot function as a focus marker. In addition, the eventive copula 做 tso3 rather than its stative counterpart 是 si7 is limited to predicational clauses only.

When Egos Collide: The Linguistics of Aggressiveness in English, German, and Hungarian Business Letters – A Contrastive Approach

Abstract The subject of verbal aggressiveness seems to be marginalized in the context of business correspondence. Our paper sets out to fill in this niche, as it exposes the linguistic patterns of this phenomenon within business letters. The study commences with a conceptual framework within which the most relevant theoretical findings applicable to business correspondence in general and to verbal aggressiveness in particular are foregrounded. Next, through a descriptive approach, it presents a series of linguistic markers to identify the morphological, syntactic, and semantic constructions for the expression of aggressiveness. For this purpose, the article scrutinizes authentic business letters in English, German, and Hungarian, and then it juxtaposes data contrastively to conclude that offensive emotions materialize in relatively similar linguistic structures in these languages, i.e. through verbs and modal verbs of obligation, necessity, and impossibility, verbs in the first-person singular, conditional and result clauses, and time adverbials. Furthermore, given the linguistic characteristics of the aforementioned languages, business letters also exploit specific tools, such as inversion, fronting, and the emphatic “do”, to communicate hostile and threatening messages. Due to the large variety of linguistic resources provided, we deem that verbal aggressiveness alters, reshapes, and enriches the business discourse. It therefore deserves a proper place in the rhetoric of business correspondence.

The most stable it'severbeen: the preterit/present perfect alternation in spoken Ontario English

English tense/aspect-marking is an area where variation abounds and where many theories have been formulated. Diachronic studies of the preterit/present perfect alternation indicate that the present perfect (e.g.I have eaten already) has been losing ground to the preterit (e.g.I ate already) (e.g. Elsness 1997, but see Hundt & Smith 2009, Werner 2014). However, few studies have examined this alternation in vernacular speech. This article fills this lacuna by analyzing spoken data from Ontario, Canada, from an apparent-time perspective. Using a large archive of multiple communities and people of different generations, we focus on linguistic contexts known to be variable, viz. with adverbs of indefinite time. Results indicate that, in contrast with previous studies, the alternation is mostly stable. We find evidence of change only with the adverbever. Where there is evidence of change, this change is different from the predictions in the literature, with the preterit increasing in frequency. We suggest that a minor constructionalization process operates in tandem with ongoing specialization of the preterit/present perfect contrast. Taken together, these results provide another example of the importance of including speech in research on language variation and change and of the unique contribution certain constructions make to more general systems of grammar.

The Application of Reichenbach’s Model to the Translation of the Arabic Perfect Verb Forms into English

The paper relies heavily on Reichenbach’s model of time whereby, the verb tense is employed to highlight the moment in which an event occurred in relation to the moment of its description. Tense together with time adverbs and adverbials definitely determine whether an event is reported in the timely chronological order, reversed order , or whether there is a time gap intermingling between the events on the time line or not. This paper addresses the subject-verb dichotomy, tackling the possible problems that translators may encounter in their quest to present successful renderings despite the profound differences between the two languages in the possible sentence patterns, places, order of places and the way of realizing, fitting and ordering elements onto the places. The paper aims primarily at probing deep into the topic by highlighting the characteristics of this subject-verb dichotomy. To achieve the aim, it is hypothesized that: translating the full stretch of the dichotomy poses serious problems for translators and that a sound translation can be given despite the divergencies between Arabic and English. In order to validate the hypotheses and achieve the objectives, a detailed account about the dichotomy is given, the major types, functions and features of the relation are tackled, a group of Arabic-English translation examples are selected and the Chafean Theory is adopted so as to help translators put forth some semantically sound and specially grammatically correct renderings.

An ethnography study on mathematical terminologies within two indigenous Makian languages in North Maluku

The two indigenous Makian languages, Western Makian (Makian Luar) and Eastern Makian (Makian Dalam/Taba), stem from two different language families in North Maluku. The indigenous Makian people are typically ignorant of the riches of values and knowledge reserved in their language and culture, including mathematical content. Therefore, through an ethnography approach, this study identifies mathematical terminologies (natural numbers, fractions, number operations, indefinite quantifiers and adverbs of time) that exist in indigenous Makian languages. Data Collecting was conducted through in-depth interviews with indigenous community leaders and some primary literature reviews, then analyzed qualitatively. The mathematical language that has been identified along with the context of its use can be a good entry point and a mean-ingful material in integrating indigenous languages and cultures in mathematics learning.

ANALISIS KAIDAH KEBAHASAAN DALAM NOVEL SESUAP RASA KARYA CATZ LINK TRISTAN SEBAGAI ALTERNATIF PEMILIHAN BAHAN AJAR BAHASA INDONESIA KELAS XII

Learning about novels is an important lesson that must be mastered by students. However, in reality, students find it difficult to analyze novels because of a lack of understanding of the material. One of the reasons is the selection of Indonesian language teaching materials that are less attractive. Therefore, the author researched the linguistic rules of the novel so that it can be used as alternative teaching material. This study aims to analyze the linguistic rules in the novel Sesuap Rasa by Catz Link Tristan as a choice of Indonesian language teaching materials for class XII. The research method used is qualitative with data collection techniques, namely documentation, and literature study. The author uses data sources in the form of 61.53% of the number of pages in the novel. The results of the analysis show that 61.53% of the number of pages in the novel Sesuap Rasa by Catz Link Tristan contains 6 novel linguistic rules consisting of 471 adverbs of time, 1122 personal pronouns, 591 material verbs, 470 mental verbs, 517 adjectives. , and 979 dialogues. Based on the results of the study, the linguistic rules of the novel that have been analyzed can be used as teaching materials by the demands of the 2013 Curriculum. The results of the validation of Indonesian class XII teaching materials in the form of modules obtained an overall average score of 4.61 with a percentage of 92.2% included in the "Very Good" category.