Time and Tide Wait For No Man: Telicity and the English Verb 2004 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor)Student thesis

Abstract [en]

Telicicality in verbs refers to the events performed by the verbs. Thus it points out the semantic aspect of verbs rather than their form. If the event of a verb phrase can be understood having an inherent culminating point, then the verb is said to be telic, but if the event of a verb phrase does not hold a culmination point the verb is said to be atelic. The word telic comes from the Greek word telos and means end, so the event of a telic verb reaches a sharp end, it culminates. In the atelic case the performance of the verb does not reach a sharp end point but simply ceases, fades away or is cut of by the event of a new verb, which does not belong to the performance of the first one. The distributive reference held by nouns can be transferred to the verbal domain, says the linguist Victoria Fromkin, and help defining verbs as telic or atelic, although the distributive reference of nouns is not a defining property. Still, atelic verb phrases are supposed to refer distributively, whilst telic do not. This means that the event of an atelic verb can be divided into smaller units, which still perform the same event. Telic verbs do not refer distributively. The aim of my study is with reference to the analysis made by Victoria Fromkin to investigate if the concept of telicicality holds.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages

2004.

Keywords [en]

Telicity

Identifiers

URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-11552Local ID: U10577OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-11552DiVA, id: diva2:366685

Uppsok

Humanities, Theology

Note

Denna uppsats kan beställas från arkivet / This paper can be ordered from the archive. Kontakta / Contact: arkivet@hh.seAvailable from: 2010-11-09 Created: 2010-11-09Bibliographically approved

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