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Article published In: Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 33:2 (2020) ► pp.384–415

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Thinking for speaking in the right aspect

On whether modern English grammars can do more

 | University of Montenegro
Published online: 10 February 2021
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https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.18007.bul
Abstract
In this article we focus on the category of aspect and examine modern English grammars to see whether they give sufficient guidelines to the learner on how aspectual meanings are decoded and encoded in English. More precisely, we check whether the grammars reflect the abundant linguistic research on aspectual construal in English. Out of a number of components that play a role in the shaping of aspectual meaning, we look at the following four: lexical aspect, arguments, grammatical aspect, and tense. An overview is first made of the key theoretical findings on the impact of these four components on aspectual interpretation, followed by an analysis of the grammar content on the given components. Our conclusion is that only two comprehensive grammars we examined take into account the results of linguistic research on aspect to a certain extent and that there is a lot of room for improvement.
Resumen
Pensar para hablar en el aspecto correcto: Pueden o no las gramáticas modernas de la lengua inglesa ayudar más
En el presente artículo nos centramos en la categoría de aspecto y examinamos gramáticas de inglés contemporáneo con el fin de determinar si ofrecen al alumno suficientes directrices sobre cómo se codifican y decodifican los significados aspectuales en inglés. Más exactamente, comprobamos si estas gramáticas reflejan las abundantes investigaciones lingüísticas sobre interpretación de aspecto en inglés. De una serie de componentes que juegan un papel importante en la configuración de significado aspectual, analizamos los cuatro componentes siguientes: aspecto léxico, argumentos, aspecto gramatical y tiempo. Este artículo empieza con una revisión de los principales hallazgos teóricos del impacto de los cuatro componentes sobre la interpretación aspectual y continúa con un análisis de contenidos gramaticales sobre los componentes dados. Nuestra conclusión es que sólo dos gramáticas analizadas toman en cuenta en cierta medida los resultados de investigaciones lingüísticas sobre aspecto aunque aún quedan muchas cosas que mejorar.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2. Literature on CA in English
    • 2.1CA in linguistic theory
      • 2.1.1Lexical aspect
      • 2.1.2Arguments
      • 2.1.3Grammatical aspect
      • 2.1.4Tenses
    • 2.2CA in the literature on second-language acquisition (‘SLA’)
  • 3.Grammars on CA in English
    • 3.1Group one: Comprehensive grammars of English treating aspect as a tense/aspect category
    • 3.2Group two: Comprehensive grammars of English addressing aspect more systematically
      • 3.2.1Overall approach to aspect
      • 3.2.2Lexical aspect
      • 3.2.3Arguments
      • 3.2.4Grammatical aspect
      • 3.2.5Tenses
    • 3.3Group three: Specialised grammars
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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