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In:Thinking and Speaking About Time: A cognitive linguistic approach
Edited by Rita Brdar-Szabó and Mario Brdar
[Human Cognitive Processing 81] 2026
► pp. 279–307

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Chapter 10
The time it takes

Metonymic aspect in English and French

 | University of Hamburg
 | University of Hamburg
Published online: 27 January 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.81.10pan
Abstract
In this chapter we investigate the linguistic means used to code the internal temporal structure of various events, states, situations, etc. in French and English translation equivalent pairs. Holding the assumption that language structure and use reflect general principles of cognition, including types of figurative reasoning and pragmatic inferencing, we anticipate that contrasts in form are suggestive of distinctions in conceptualization. Using bilingual texts, we demonstrate that in a substantial number of cases, English uses a construction of the form begin/start + V-ing/to V (henceforth: inceptive verb construction) to express the same content as French does with a single verb (or V only) construction. We account for this difference by proposing that what is coded explicitly in French may be achieved through conceptual metonymy in English.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1How does aspect relate to time?
    • 1.2How does aspect relate to language?
    • 1.3What does metonymy have to do with it?
    • 1.4The organization of the chapter
  • 2.The problem: When does it all begin?
    • 2.1Translation equivalent pairs: French to English
    • 2.2Translation equivalent pairs: English to French
  • 3.Quantifying the coding differences
    • 3.1Hansard corpus results
    • 3.2Narrative fiction results
  • 4.Accounting for the contrasts
    • 4.1Conceptual distinctions
    • 4.2The main thesis
  • 5.Analysis of selected data
    • 5.1onset of event → whole event: Constraints and applications
    • 5.2incipient phase → whole event: Constraints and applications
    • 5.3Incipient phase and French preterite (passé simple)
    • 5.4Incipient phase and French imperfective (imparfait)
  • 6.Metonymic coercion: From achievement to accomplishment
  • 7.Conclusion and outlook
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
References (20)
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