On tenses as speech-act-level functions : towards a novel analysis of the French 'narrative' imparfait
Caudal, Patrick (Université Paris-Cité (França))

Date:	2024
Abstract:	This paper aims at demonstrating the validity of a two-pronged hypothesis: (i) that the aspectual viewpoint content of the so-called 'narrative imparfait' (NIMPF) does not bear on the verb it marks (i. e. , it does not combine with the event predicate denoted by said verb) but that, therefore, (ii) it must operate at a higher, discursive semantic level. To substantiate the above hypothesis, the paper first focuses on diachronic and synchronic evidence suggesting that the NIMPF does not contribute aspectual meaning at the sentence semantics-level - showing notably that it behaves like a 'viewpoint neutral' tense with respect to the verb it marks. The paper then discusses synchronic, discursive evidence supporting the view that the NIMPF actually indicates a partial, discourse-structurally incomplete, 'ongoing' narrative act. From these two facts, the paper concludes that NIMPF utterances refer to imperfectively viewed narrative speech act events, and constitute a separate speech act-level conventionalized reading of the imparfait, applying an imperfective viewpoint meaning to relational speech act functions, i. e. , to rhetorical relations. It is argued that they should be endowed with a speech act event argument, and constitute an abstract type of event predicate which the viewpoint meaning of the NIMPF takes as its input.
Note:	Altres ajuts: Labex Empirical Foundations of Linguistics(Agence Nationale de la Recherche programme Investissements d'Avenir, ANR-10LABX-0083), especialment el subprojecte MEQTAME(CI: Patrick Caudal) (2010-2024)
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Imparfait ; Speech act function ; Viewpoint aspect ; Discourse structure ; Temporality
Published in:	Isogloss, Vol. 10 Núm. 7 (2024) , p. 1-40 (Articles) , ISSN 2385-4138

Adreça original: https://revistes.uab.cat/isogloss/article/view/v10-n7-caudal
DOI: 10.5565/rev/isogloss.435

40 p, 676.6 KB

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