(Komi-Permyak)
SyntA & SuffA
SyntA: Aspect is expressed through the use of a polyexponential synthetic affix.
SuffA: Aspect is expressed through the use of a special suffix.
| (1) | pukavny ’sit down’ | pukaśny ’be sitting’ |
|---|---|---|
| śetny ’give’ | śetlyvny ’give to someone’ | |
| petny ’go out’ | petavlyny ’go out regularly’ (Ponomareva 2010: 255) |
| (2) | körkö | me | ker-l-i | šańga-ez. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| long_ago | I | make‑FREQ‑PST.1SG | shanga‑PL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ‘A long time ago I made shanga (a dough-based pie) once.’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ‘I used to make shanga.’ (L. P.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (3) | körkö | me | ker-l-yvl-i | šańga-ez. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| long_ago | I | make‑FREQ‑FREQ‑PST.1SG | shanga‑PL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ‘I used to make shanga.’ (L. P) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (4) | körkö | ol-öm | ďerevńa-yn | kreśťańin, | beďńak. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| once | live‑PST2.3SG | village‑INE | peasant | poor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ’Once there lived a poor peasant in a village.’ (Siegl 2004: 99) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In Komi-Permyak, aspect can be expressed using suffixes of different meanings: single or multiple event, progressivity, circumstantiality, perfect, imperfect, etc. (1) (such as the suffix -aś with a progressive meaning, cf. Batalova 2002: 110–113, Ponomareva 2010: 255). The reduplication of frequentative suffixes expressing multiple events probably affects the aspectual system in a productive way: using only one frequentative suffix, the event in question may be understood as a single one (2), but with a reduplicated suffix it must have a multiple event interpretation (3). Several questions emerge in connection with the aspectual properties of the past tenses. The second past tense, for example, expresses indirect, non-first hand information (evidentiality), or past events affecting the present (perfect function) (Siegl 2004: 99–108, Batalova 2002: 99–100), though the latter can be expressed using the first past tense as well (see the parameter on Perfect). The second past tense is also called non witness–resultative past tense (Cypanov 2005: 135) and, according to some, it expresses completed events (see Ponomareva 2010: 155). However, the same tense can serve as the frame for a given event (Siegl 2004: 99), which characterizes the imperfect aspect (cf. e.g. Comrie 1976: 30), so the tense can be used with a progressive meaning too (4), with a possibly neutral role in today’s Komi-Permyak as far as aspect is concerned. Certain analytical past tenses may also express progressive meanings (Cypanov 2005). More research is needed on this topic.
Author: Nikolett F. Gulyás and Laura Horváth