85. Word-formation and aspect in Samoyedic

What is it about?

In this paper I discuss the relation between aspect, tense, and derivation in the Samoyedic languages. A typical feature of these idioms is that they lack the morphological category of present tense; instead, they display a morphologically unmarked neutral tense. It is the aspectual quality of the morphologically unmarked verb that determines the actual temporal meaning of the verb and thus, of the sentence in which it occurs. Telic verbs denote events and actions of the past, whereas atelic verbs refer to present events and actions. Modifying the aspectual quality of a verb (e.g. by changing the Aktionsart by derivational means) also affects the temporal reference of the verb in the neutral tense, as well as of the sentence.

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