The feature of tense at the interface of morphology and semantics
Anna Kibort | University of Cambridge & Surrey Morphology Group
In this paper I discuss the properties of tense as a grammatical feature, understood as a set of values and the methods of their realization on linguistic elements. I outline the criteria for recognizing various featural dependencies: agreement, government, and different types of multirepresentation of a feature value in a domain. I examine more closely three instances of tense-aspect-mood-polarity (TAMP) marking which have been put forward as candidates for agreement in tense: multirepresentation of TAMP in a verbal group/complex; multirepresentation of TAMP among elements bearing verbalizing case in Kayardild; and the modal cases of Kayardild which participate in TAMP marking. I argue that none of these arise as a result of syntactic agreement or government, but are due to the choice of a particular (semantic) value of TAMP for the clause. Hence, all these known instances of tense are morphosemantic, rather than morphosyntactic: syntax is not sensitive to the tense value of the verb.
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
HRISTOV, BOZHIL P.
2015.
The atoms of language.
Journal of Linguistics 51:3
► pp. 644 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 15 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.