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oa The aspectual meaning and aspectual positioning of the verb base form ∅ in Early Middle Japanese
- Source: Asian Languages and Linguistics, Volume 6, Issue 2, Dec 2025, p. 406 - 438
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- 20 Aug 2024
- 14 Aug 2025
- 29 Jan 2026
Abstract
Abstract
This paper examines the aspectual meaning and positioning of the verb base form ∅ in Early Middle Japanese. This paper classifies verbs based on four temporal features:
- [activity][telic][durative] and [intentionality].
It also examines the aspectual meanings of different types of verbs in both narrative and non-narrative sections of two Heian period narratives, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and Tales of Ise. It elucidates the aspectual influence on ∅ by both the literary style and the temporal features of the verb. Compared to narrative section, the ∅ in non-narrative sections tends to be strongly imperfective. Furthermore the ∅ in “punctual telic verbs” with the temporal features of [−durative][+telic] absolutely expresses an event in the perfective aspect, whereas the ∅ in “atelic verbs” and “phenomenon verbs” with the temporal features of [+durative][−telic] tends to express an event in the imperfective aspect. In conclusion, the ∅, is aspectually positioned as a “neutral” in Early Middle Japanese.