How motion verbs are spatial: The spatial foundations of intransitive motion verbs in French

Aurnague, Michel

doi:10.1075/li.34.1.01aur

Article published In: Lingvisticæ Investigationes
Vol. 34:1 (2011) ► pp.1–34

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How motion verbs are spatial

The spatial foundations of intransitive motion verbs in French

Michel Aurnague | Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie (CLLE-ERSS, UMR 5263) CNRS & Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail

Published online: 7 July 2011

https://doi.org/10.1075/li.34.1.01aur

This paper aims to bring out the spatial properties of motion eventualities by focusing on French intransitive motion verbs. After examining changes of posture and changes of placement, we introduce the concept of change of basic locative relation (J.-P. Boons 1987) in order to accurately grasp the telic processes usually characterized as changes of location. The complex combinatory possibilities as between changes of relation and changes of placement are then illustrated by pinpointing the factors that condition the use of predicates of change of placement in utterances denoting changes of relation and placement (the notion of tendenciality). Finally, a categorization of French intransitive verbs of change of relation and placement is proposed, which is based on the way these two notions interact in their semantics.

Keywords: motion verbs, ontology of spatial entities, change of placement, inner aspect, change of basic locative relation, polarity, spatio-temporal structure, par-headed PPs, direct infinitival constructions, path

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