1,721,069 research outputs found
Hear-Say, Inference, Surprise: (Self-)Distancing in Bulgarian
Full text linkUsing examples of perfect-like forms in Bulgarian, this paper probes the linguistic potential of the notion of ‘distance’. It is shown how this conceptual metaphor can be semantically grounded and contribute to a systematic analysis of the semantics and interpretational range of the forms in question. By the contextual specification of their semantic components, the possible interpretations of the respective forms can be derived in a straightforward way. This provides evidence for a polysemy-based approach instead of a paradigm- or homonymy-based analysis, which has been the favoured approach for these forms in the previous literature. Moreover, based on the notion of distance, text-level usage patterns can be accounted for
Distance : between deixis and perspectivity
Full text linkDiscussing exemplary applications of the notion of distance in linguistic analysis, this paper shows that very different phenomena are described in terms of this concept. It is argued that in order to overcome the problems arising from this mixup, deixis, distance and perspectivity have to be distinguished and their interrelations need to be described. Thereby, distance emerges as part of a recursive process mediating between situation-bound deixis and discourse-level perspectivity. This is illustrated using the Balkan Slavic preterite system as an example, where these three levels interact in the construction of the ‘multiperspective’
Das Perfekt im Serbischen zwischen slavischer und balkanischer Entwicklung
No full textThe present paper is concerned with the formal and functional development of the analytic past, i.e. l-participle + auxiliary ‘to be’, in North Slavic (including Slovene) and Balkan Slavic. While in the former languages, the analytic past has developed into a narrative preterit, it is generally assumed to have kept its perfect semantics and additionally have acquired renarrative and evidential functions in Balkan Slavic. These functions are related to the omission of the auxiliary in the 3rd person. The variation in the usage of the auxiliary, in turn, is interpreted as underlying distinct morphological paradigms – perfect and renarrative – and hence as indicating a different path of development than observed for the rest of Slavic. Upon closer inspection, however, the development of these forms might have proceeded less differently in both language groups than traditionally assumed. This is suggested by the ‘auxiliary variation’ in colloquial Serbian and western Serbian dialects. Exhibiting functional similarities with both, Serbian is located at the junction between North and Balkan Slavic
Sprachenräume der Schweiz
Full text linkDas vorliegende Handbuch bietet eine umfassende Darstellung der Vielfalt der in der Schweiz bis in jüngste Zeit mündlich und schriftlich verwendeten Sprachen und Dialekte und der räumlichen und sozialen Bedingtheit ihres Auftretens. Es bezieht sich nicht ausschliesslich auf die Schweiz als viersprachiges Land, sondern geht neue Wege, indem es darüber hinaus das Englische sowie Sprachen berücksichtigt, deren heutige Präsenz in der Schweiz auf Migration beruht. Auch historische Sprachen und Dialekte, die in der Schweiz und im liechtensteinischen Sprachraum gesprochen werden, sowie die drei Schweizer Gebärdensprachen werden behandelt. Mit Ausblicken über die Schweiz hinaus bietet das Handbuch eine erweiterte Perspektive auf die Räume, die die Sprachen der Schweiz einnehmen. So wird das traditionelle Verständnis von Vielsprachigkeit um neue Aspekte und aktuelle Entwicklungen ergänzt
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