Present Tense Forms Research Articles

Present tense forms in Russian and English as a means of expressing the simultaneity category

Present tense forms in Russian and English as a means of expressing the simultaneity category

Unraveling interlanguage variability: A psycholinguistic exploration of morphological forms in Iranian ESL learners' written performance

The present research study aimed to investigate the psycholinguistic aspects of interlanguage (IL) variability in English as a second language learners from Iran. Three morphological forms were specifically examined in this study: the plural "-s," past tense forms, and present tense forms. In order to investigate the learners' cognitive processes, the researchers used a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative semi-structured interviews with quantitative analysis of written task performance. Under various task conditions, learners exhibited two opposing patterns of IL variability (increasing and decreasing) in their morphological forms. Various degrees of accuracy were noted for every kind of morpheme. Different students allocated their attention differently to form and meaning in both under pressure and relaxed task environments. The observed variations could have been caused by limited working memory and attention capacity in addition to L1 transfer. The research indicated that the field of second language acquisition could benefit from an explanatory approach to comprehend IL variability from the learner's perspective. It provides recommendations for larger-scale research projects in a variety of educational contexts, along with pedagogical implications.

<i>Skažem tak</i>: Discourse markers originating from verbs of speech in Russian

Based on data from the Russian National Corpus, first and foremost, from its multimedia corpus, we address two members of the family of discourse markers developed from the finite form of the verb of speech skažem (the first person plural present tense form of the verb ‘say’): isolated skažem and its combinations with an adverb or a pronominal adverb such as skažem prjamo ‘let’s put it bluntly’, skažem tak ‘let’s put it this way’, etc. We show that these markers demonstrate a typical pragmaticalization trajectory: unlike the original speech verb, they do not refer to a speech event, their main function is to express a fuzzy nomination, or hedging, i.e., these markers are used when the speaker disclaims responsibility for the possible inaccuracy of the propositional content or of the nomination used in relation to the fixed propositional content. We demonstrate the main shifts in the distribution of these markers, which occur due to the fact that they fall out of the rigid clausal structure and acquire the status of an operator which scopes over discourse segments of various (potentially any) length. We study the main prosodic properties of these markers instrumentally and perceptually and, in addition, discuss the use of markers of this family together with other means of signaling that the speaker needs additional efforts in choosing an adequate expression. These can be other lexical markers of fuzzy nomination, lexical and prosodic indicators of an open list, self-corrections, signals of hesitation (filled pauses, non-phonological lengthening of sounds), etc. The results obtained convincingly show: (1) that even within the same family of markers, the shift from a unit with propositional meaning to a discourse marker can follow different trajectories and lead to larger or smaller shifts in meaning and form; and (2) that the study of discourse markers that uses data on prosody and such specific phenomena of oral discourse as speech disfluencies makes it possible to get more comprehensive lexicographic portraits of single units and their families.

Communication models in a foreign language in relation to cognitive style category width and power distance.

Understanding how category width of cognitive style and power distance impact language use in cultures is crucial for improving cross-cultural communication. We attempt to reveal how English foreign language students, affected by high-context culture, communicate in English as a foreign language. What models of foreign communicative competence do they create? We applied association rule analysis to find out how the category width of cognitive style affects the foreign communication competence in relation to culture and language. The requester tends to be more formal and transfers conventional norms of the culture of the mother tongue into English, which mainly affects the use of alerters and external modifications of the head act of request. A broad categorizer, regardless of social distance, prefers to formulate the request in a conditional over the present tense form, contrary to narrow categorizers who, in a situation of social proximity, prefer the request form in the present tense. A similar finding was shown in the case of external modifications of the head act, where we observed the inversion between broad and narrow categorizers, mainly in the use of minimizers and mitigating devices.

Present tense form in the language of Azerbaijan and its comparison

Present tense form in the language of Azerbaijan and its comparison

Kontrastivna analiza sadašnjeg vremena u srpskom i engleskom jeziku

This paper aims to comprehensively analyze the syntactic semantic features inherent in the present tense in the Serbian language, juxtaposed with an exploration of their counterparts in the English language. Delving into the intricacies of specific meanings, we systematically incorporate indicative, relative, and modal meanings. Beyond delineating the fundamental constructs of the present tense, particular emphasis is placed on the temporal dimension, elucidating the property of the present tense not only to refer to past events but also to indicate future actions. Addressing the complex nature of tense as a linguistic category, the study extends its analytical framework to the category of aspect, thereby elucidating the varied verb forms of the English present tense, including the progressive, perfect, and perfect-progressive aspects. Employing a methodology combining contrastive and descriptive analysis, the research explores the degrees of equivalence inherent in the present tense, in an attempt to discern and articulate corresponding counterparts in English for each specified syntactic-semantic nuance. Upon the completion of the analysis, it was concluded that both linguistic systems convey specific syntactic-semantic meanings, attesting to a considerable degree of equivalence. This analysis underscores the attributes shared by both languages, indicating a high degree of alignment between their linguistic structures.

The Category of Evidentiality and the Mechanisms of its Expression in Kartvelian Proverbs

Evidentiality is a universal morphosyntactic category of text that can be expressed by morphological, syntactic and lexical means. However, its linguistic expression is diverse not only in non-related but also in related languages (Margiani, Kurdadze, Lomia 2019: 427). Evidentiality as a universal grammatical category “is directly linked to the semantics of the utterance, expressing the attitude of the speaker to the provided information and pointing to the reliable source (direct or indirect) of information“ (Margiani, Kurdadze, Lomia 2019: 17). The category of evidentiality is expressed on the levels of text and discourse by various means, of which the construction with indirect speech is of utmost importance. Special literature has proved that “indirect speech is historically secondary. It is obtained as a result of processing-transformation of direct speech“ (Kvachadze 1977:441). An empirical analysis has yielded proverbs of simple structure that are expressed by means of subordinate clauses only. Such proverbs are especially productive in the Kartvelian languages. The main clause in such proverbs implies the present and past tense forms of verbs of saying (‘they say’, ‘it is said’, ‘they have said’ and so on). These verbs are omitted due to ellipsis. Such proverbs mention neither a speaker nor an addressee. In such cases, the omitted part (i.e. the main clause) is compensated by particles like Georgian o which indicate indirect speech.Indirect speech particles are distributed among the Kartvelian languages as follows: It should be underlined that in Kartvelian proverbs the indirect speech particles of the 3rd person are used systematically while the particles of the 1st and 2nd persons are extremely rare. This can be explained by the fact that the indirect speech particle of the 3rd person in the Kartvelian proverbs generalises the expressed viewpoint and enhances the reliability of the context.The use of the indirect speech particles in Georgian, Megrelian, Laz and Svan can also be analysed from the viewpoint of evidentiality. As it is known from the scholarly literature, evidentiality is expressed both morphologically and semantically in the Kartvelian languages. Different types of evidentiality are expressed differently on various language levels. For instance, in Georgian, evidentiality is expressed by perfect forms of verbs, by lexical means, by indirect speech markers, by evidential particles, etc. (Topadze-Gäumann 2011). Interestingly enough, in the Kartvelian proverbs evidentiality can have single (morphological or syntactic), double, and even multiple markers. In the latter case, it is simultaneously expressed by indirect speech particles and by evidential tenses. However, it should be noted that the natural structure of Georgian paremiological units is represented by evidential forms with single markers (mostly indirect speech particles).

Postfixal expression of the category of grammatical class in the attributive forms of the Dargin languages

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of class markers functioning in adjective and participial suffixes of the South Dargin languages (Dargin branch of the Nakh-Dagestan languages). The Dargin languages are characterized by a complex and extensive system of grammatical categories, however, the categories in numerous Dargin languages and dialects remain still unstudied, and that is the relevance of this study. The purpose of the study is to identify the cases of usage the changing markers of class and case in the postfixal position in the Dargin languages. To achieve this purpose, the following tasks are followed: a) to study the category of grammatical class in archaic South Dargin languages; b) to study the peculiarities of the functioning of class-numerical exponents; c) to identify the attributive words the class indicators of which function in the postfixal position; d) comparative analysis of Dargin word forms with changing class-numerical elements. The use of both field linguistics methods, as well as the comparative method and the method of synchronic analysis is needed to solve the above-mentioned issues. The novelty of the study is in the first attempt of comparative analysis of class-numerical indicators’ functioning in the postfixal position of attributive forms. A similar phenomenon was described only in the Kubachi language earlier. As a result of the study, all cases of postfixal use of changing class exponents in the South Dargin languages and dialects are identified. In particular, in the Chirag language these affixes are revealed in the present and past tense forms. In the Itzari dialect they are revealed in attributes derived from the demonstrative pronouns, in the Sanzhi dialect - in adjectives denoting a high degree of quality. The results of the study can be useful for compiling a comparative historical grammar of the Dargin languages.

Inchoative verbs in constructions with infinitives in 16th‒17th century Russian sources: Searching for the difference

The article focuses on the study of differences between phase verbs in constructions with infinitive clause in the 16th‒17th century Russian writing. The verbs under discussion are: načati, počati, jati, učati, and stati, as well as the verb byti, which does not belong to phase ones, but competes with them in the simple future tense form. The study is limited to the constructions with auxiliary verbs in the perfective present tense form, i. e., those that refer to the future. The data was collected from the Middle Russian subcorpus of the Russian National Corpus. Contexts from the corpus are classified according to the following parameters: auxiliariness, infinitive, agency/non-agency and telicity/atelicity/punctivity of the predicate in the infinitive form, aspectual semantics of the construction (phasal, iterative, habitual, general factual, durative-continuative meanings), the type of the clause in question, the date and the title of the source, its register and genre. It was found that each periphrastic construction has a unique set of properties associated with the paradigmatic limitations of the auxiliary verb, tendency to occur in a certain clause type, register and genre. The constructions are sensitive to various semantic features of infinitive and aspectual semantics of the context. It is argued that constructions with the verb učnu are less associated with the expression of inchoativity since they are attested in the contexts uncommon for inchoative verbs. Two distinct clusters of periphrastic constructions are distinguished: older constructions with the verbs načnu, počnu and imu and newer ones with the verbs učnu, stanu and budu.

Distribution of (non-)syllabic present tense forms of the verb býti in the 3rd-person singular in Old Czech

In the presented article, I follow the previous works investigating clitics in the history of the Czech language. Particularly, I aim to describe the distribution of the 3sg present tense be forms in Old Czech prosaic texts dated to the 14th and 15th centuries, and, subsequently, assess their status in the scope of the grammaticalization theory. Since each form bears several functions in a clause, I explore the effect of both the verb's function and form on its distribution. The observations made here are then contextualized, compared to the contemporary Czech, as well as the Old Czech situation, especially focusing on the 2sg forms that show a similar formal variation as the 3sg forms. The numerical data presented here are supplemented with statistical tests whose results and methods are in detail published online on GitHub.

Формы времени глагола как средства выражения одновременности в английском и русском языках

The paper analyses the functioning of verb forms as means of expressing the semantics of simultaneity in English and Russian. The aim of the paper is to identify allomorphic and isomorphic features of the functioning of tense forms as morphological means of simultaneity expression. The study is novel in that it identifies correlative forms in both languages and at the same time considers variability of the meanings of simultaneity that they represent. Isomorphism is manifested in the fact that the conjunction “while” / «пока» explicating the meaning of simultaneity in polypredicative complexes - compound sentences is used in both languages. Allomorphism is found in the fact that the potential of expression by tense forms is much higher in the Russian language compared to English. The coincidence of imperfect forms and the present tense forms of predicates leads to actualisation of the meaning of complete, unlimited simultaneity, while the use of different tense forms leads to the realisation of partial simultaneity.

러시아어 중간문의 의미와 범위에 관한 연구 : 조력적 중간문을 중심으로

Middle voice is a construction that is difficult to define from the viewpoint of the voice as a dual system with passive and active constructions. Middle constructions are classified into several detailed semantic types. Among them, facilitative middles are the subject of this study. Facilitative middles in Russian mainly present the degree to which the object of the underlying transitive verb (promoted to the position of syntactic subject) is likely to be put into action. Therefore, the facilitative middles consist of a subject (the object of the underlying transitive verb), a present tense form of a reflexive verb derived from an imperfective transitive verb, and generic agent that is not explicitly expressed. In addition, many middle constructions combine with adverbial phrases of manner that indicate how an action is carried out.BR This study examines the semantic and structural properties of facilitative middles in Russian, focusing on subject, verb, agent, and adverbial phrases, and analyzes the attributes of Russian facilitative middles through comparison with related constructions. The findings and conclusions are as follows.BR First, the typical attributive meaning of facilitative middles is derived from the specific tense aspect form of the verb, namely the present imperfective verb form. Thus, when the verb tense is changed to the past, the possibility and potential of the action is weakened and when the aspect of the verb is changed to the perfective, the genericity and conventionality of the action disappear, consequently shifting to the interpretation of anticausative constructions.BR Second, while generic agents cannot be specified and are only implied, non-generic agents can be specified through the “у” prepositional phrase. However, in this case, the cause of and responsibility for the action performed can be ascribed to the agent expressed through the prepositional phrase, not the subject; hence, the sentence obtains an interpretation similar to the passive.BR Third, facilitative middles have modal meanings of potential and possibility in the sense that the object is likely to be subjected to an action. In particular, facilitative middles combine with various adverbial phrases with manner meanings.BR Finally, there are the similar constructions that promote arguments other than the object of the underlying transitive verb as the subject. These are instrument-subject constructions and antipassive. These constructions are formed from a much narrower range of verbs than middle constructions. Therefore, the Russian middles are closely related to the passive, anticausative, antipassive, instrument-subject constructions and generalized personal constructions in accordance with the tense aspect form of verb, the genericity of the agent and the semantic role of the subject, among others.

We-Narratives: Collective Storytelling in Contemporary Fiction

We-Narratives: Collective Storytelling in Contemporary Fiction

Процессы стяжения аналитических конструкций в чалканском языке (на примере аналитической конструкции -ып ал-)

This paper describes phonetic transformations occurring during the synthetization of analytic verb constructions with the auxiliary verb al- “to take” in the Chalkan language. The examples of the reduction of the verb under study during the conjugation of adverbial participial analytic constructions in various temporal fields are presented. In Chalkan, not only can analytic constructions be contracted into single words, but also contractions occur within verb forms. As a result, personal or tense markers are completely or partially lost. Sometimes, even parts of lexical stems are lost within various phonetic transformations, with various homographs being formed. When analytic constructions are contracted with the auxiliary verb al-, the latter can be fully or partially preserved depending on the tenses. For example, when verbs in past tense with -gan and in future tense with -yr in positive forms are conjugated, only the anlaut broad vowel а- of the auxiliary verb al- is preserved. In past tense forms with -dy, -tyr and present tense forms with -yp tyt, two variations with full preservation of the auxiliary verb al- and with the anlaut broad vowel а- can be used. When contracted analytic constructions in negative forms are conjugated, the auxiliary verb al- is fully reconstructed in all tenses. In all tenses, similar phonetic processes take place: elimination of the adverbial participle markers after stems with consonants and preservation of the adverbial participle markers after stems with vowels. However, the auslaut voiceless consonant -p- is replaced by the voiced consonant -v- in the intervocalic position.

MODERN GERMAN SONGS: GRAMMATICAL AND SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS

The article is devoted to establishing grammatical and semantic features of modern German-language songs. The study was based on the contemporary German-language songs produced within the last five years. A modern German-language song, as a dominant genre in a popular music culture, is considered not only an art form, but also an indicator of the current state of language and society. The German language songs of 2017-2021 have the following characteristics: reduction of word forms in verbs and articles, omission of one of the main parts of the sentence, frequent use of interrogative sentences, as well as imperative and conditional grammatical ways of the verb. These features are due to both the influence of the colloquial version of the modern German language, and the rhythmic and melodic properties of this genre. The present and past tense forms of the verb are used in the modern German language songs. Among the 14 types of complex sentences, 11 were recorded, of which the most common was object clause. Verbs and nouns dominated in the partial linguistic aspects. Exclamations and appeals were used in most lyrics for greater emotionality. In the lexical and semantic aspect, the modern German language songs can be characterized by the presence of borrowings from the English language, abbreviations, names of places, onyms of the world famous clothing brands, cars, beverages and social networks. The semantic aspect is dominated by the themes of "life" and "love".

ВІДОБРАЖЕННЯ ПРОЦЕСУ АНАПЛАЗІЇ ПРИ ФОРМУВАННІ МАЙБУТНЬОГО ЧАСУ ГЕРМАНСЬКИХ МОВ

The purpose of this article is to separate grammatical structures that demonstrate the development of the future tense forms in the Germanic languages. The first step of research includes the identification of word forms for temporal description. Gradual identification of primitive analytical forms gives the possibility of tracing the gradual analytisation of the corresponding word combinations and their further transformation into stable analytical verb structures. Finding out latent features helps to recognize differentiated grammatical forms that are used to create and build the set of the formal Germanic future tense structures. The subject of the research is the components used to form temporal verb forms that project the action into the future. The Gothic language, which is understood as the initial, primary stage for the research, used forms of the present tense to describe the future action involving a phrase or an upper phrase context. Within the present tense forms a prefixal word-formation model was found. The Gothic optative was involved to render the future tense. The weak models of Gothic analytisation are connected with the infinitive phrase and auxiliary verb haban. Combination of auxiliary verbs with verbals (infinitive or participle I) were found in the North and West Germanic languages. These verb combinations involved a very restricted set of notional verbs used in two verbal forms. The first element of the phrase that falls under the process of future grammaticalization was preterite-present verbs, inchoative and some durative verbs. Stability of primary analytical temporal forms was created by using only two variants of verbals (infinitive or participle I). The first component of analytical temporal forms gradually lost its primary lexical meaning through its transformation into the auxiliary element. In the process of further differentiation of the Germanic languages some peculiarities were traced. The German language did not develop individual analytical forms with preterite-present (modal) verbs. Other West Germanic and Scandinavian languages used preterite-present (modal) verbs as a leading mechanism for temporal analytisation. Creation of analytical temporal forms happened within twofold formats.

‘-어야 하다/되다’의 ‘-었-' 결합형에 대한 한국어 교육 문법 기술 방안 연구

This study explains the meaning and usage of ‘-eoya hada/doeda’ based on previous corpus analysis studies and various usage examples and presents grammar descriptions related to the tense expression of ‘-eoya hada/ doeda’ in Korean language education. ‘-eoya hada’ is an expression of the speaker’s objective recognition of the necessity of a certain action or state, and ‘-eoya doeda'' is an expression of the speaker’s subjective recognition of the necessity of a certain action or state. Expressions related to the tense of ''-eoya hada/doeda'' are divided into 4 types according to the combination of ''-eoss-''. ''-eoya hada/doeda'' is a present tense form that indicates that an action or state is necessary in the present or near future. ‘-eoya haessda/dwaessda’, -eosseoya haessda/dwaessda’ and ‘-eosseoya hada/doeda’ are forms that indicate that an action or state was necessary in the past. The usage of the form depends on the intention of the speaker, and whether the proposition is realized is revealed through the context or by the semantic function of the ending combined after it. Korean language textbooks do not present the past forms of verbs adequately, and example sentences are few. As a result, learners tend to not use the past tense. This study systematically presented the form and usage of expressions related to the past tense of ‘-eoya hada/doeda’ for each learner level. (Kyung Hee University)

Вариативность глагольных форм настоящего времени в хакасском языке и его диалектах

The purpose of the study is to determine the variability of present tense indicative mood forms in the Khakass language and its dialects. The article pays special attention to the grammatical forms of the Sagai dialect that are absent in prescriptive grammars of the Khakass language. The study is novel in that it is the first to highlight the issue of the relationship between the dialects and the literary language at the present stage. As a result, the author has proposed informed recommendations on the use of certain present tense forms of the Sagai dialect in the modern Khakass language that are outside the literary norm: the parallel use of the affix «-чи» with attachment to soft verb stems, the loss of the consonant «р» in the present tense form ending with «-и(р)».

From complementizing to modifying status: On the grammaticalization of the complement-taking-predicate-clauses chances are and odds are

This article explores the process of grammaticalization undergone by complementation constructions with the shell nouns chances and odds, namely (the) chances/(the) odds + BE + clause, where the subordinate clause functions as a complement to the noun (e.g. The chances are that you will never behold the light of another sun/The odds are that you are out of your reckoning). Structures of this type, which convey the epistemic meaning of probability, develop over time into parenthetical structures (e.g. You never will need it, the chances are./The way he always has and, odds are, always will). The grammaticalization of the construction involves a number of morphosyntactic changes, among them the gradual loss of the determiner in the shell NP and the preference for the zero complementizer introducing the subordinate clause, as well as the tendency for the verb BE to occur in its present tense form. This process of grammaticalization culminates with the availability of complement-taking-predicate-clauses (CTP-clauses) with chances and odds in unambiguous parenthetical positions (medially and finally) and as stand-alone units. Both the matrices in the complementation structures and the parentheticals are shown to be non-propositional and to be deployed for pragmatic functions both at the subjective and at the intersubjective level. The study is based on data from American English, as represented in the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA).

The Variables of the Second Person Singular Feminine Present Tense Morpheme Used by Housha Bedouin Female Speakers in Jordan

The present study aims at analyzing and describing a variety used by theBedouin speakers who live in one of the Jordanian villages that is located in the northern areas of Jordan, close to the Syrian borders. The inhabitants of this village descend from a Great Tribe (Bani Khalid) that originally relates to the Muslim leader Khalid Bin Al-Waleed; they communicate using a variety of the Bedouin dialect which is widespread in Jordan. The researcher analyzed the two variables of the second person singular feminine present tense morpheme used by female speakers in this village; these allomorphs are: (i:n& i) that are added to the present tense form of the verb when addressing a female. The researcher recorded some utterances produced by different female speakers in various situations and contexts, and she divided the speakers subject of the study into two groups: Group (A) and group (B) in which their ages differ. The study, which is based on direct listening to the speakers, revealed that younger females tend to use the less frequent variable since it is considered, in their view, as more prestigious than the more frequent one that is selected by older females and considered closer to Classic Arabic. Moreover, the study showed that younger females tend to use the less frequent variable in the presence of outsiders as a sign of convergence.