1. “The Historical Development of Aspectual Clusters in Russian”
Laura A. Janda
Universitetet i Tromsø

2. Main Ideas
Proto-Slavic & OCS aspect traditionally described as in Modern Russian (Meillet 1934:282, Vaillant 1948:304-5, Vaillant 1966:462, Lunt 1966:69, Gorškova and Xaburgaev 1981:279, Schenker 1993:94-5)
Newer research suggests recent provenience of Modern Russian aspect system (Bermel 1997, Nørgård-Sørensen 1997, Dickey 2007)
Cluster model of Russian aspect (Janda 2007) supports these challenges
Motion verbs are prototypical and Determined/ Non-Determined distinction may be a key element in the development of aspect in Russian

3. Overview Russian aspect as a recent development
Motion verbs as prototypical verbs
Cluster model and Perfectivization patterns
Determined/Non-Determined and Completable/Non-Completable
Possible diachronic implications

4. Russian aspect as a recent development
Standard works on Proto-Slavic & OCS suggest little change over past millenium, but:
if this were so, we would expect relatively uniform expression & distribution in Slavic
evidence shows this is not the case (Galton 1976, Schuyt 1990, Dickey 2000, Janda 2006)
Alternative hypothesis: aspect system in Modern Russian established approx. 16th-18th c (Bermel 1997, Nørgård-Sørensen 1997, Dickey 2007)

5. 2. Motion verbs as prototypical verbs
What’s a prototype?
This can be assessed by looking at
Density of shared properties
Idealized Cognitive Model of category
Association with embodied experience

6. Density of shared properties
A prototype :
is the member of a category with the densest set of shared properties and relationships to other category members (Geeraerts 1995:25, Croft & Cruse 2004:78 & 81, Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk 2007:155)
Russian motion verbs show the densest set of Perfectivization options (Cluster structures)

7. Idealized Cognitive Model of category
A prototype:
represents an “Idealized Cognitive Model” of the category, serving as a “best example” that is the source of inferences for motivating the rest of the category (Lakoff 1987:68-76)
Determined/Non-Determined is the source of inferences for Completable/Non-Completable distinctions that are relevant for all other verbs

8. Association with embodied experience
A prototype:
is typically associated with embodied experiences such as motor interactions and movements (Lakoff 1987:56)
motion verbs describe embodied movements
Furthermore, other scholars have identified motion verbs as prototypical:
Chaput forthcoming, Nesset forthcoming

9. 3. Cluster model and Perfectivization patterns
Definition:
An aspectual cluster is a group of verbs that are aspectually related to each other via transitive relations to a single lexical item
In addition to an Imperfective Activity, an aspectual cluster can include up to four kinds of Perfectives:
Natural Perfective, Specialized Perfective, Complex Act Perfective, Single Act Perfective

10. Four kinds of Perfectives:
Natural Perfectives
писатьi ‘write’ > написатьp ‘write’
Specialized Perfectives
работатьi ‘work’ > переработатьp ‘rework, revise’ (> перерабатыватьi ‘rework, revise’)
Complex Act Perfectives
стонатьi ‘moan’> постонатьp ‘moan a while’
Single Act Perfectives
дутьi ‘blow’ (+ подутьp ‘blow a while’) > дунутьp ‘blow once’

11. Distribution of Perfectives:
Natural Perfectives:
написатьp ‘write’, связатьp ‘tie’, окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’, о(б)щипатьp ‘pinch/pluck’
Specialized Perfectives:
переписатьp ‘rewrite’, развязатьp ‘untie’, переработатьp ‘rework, revise’, вдутьp ‘blow in’, выщипатьp ‘pluck out’
Complex Act Perfectives:
пописатьp ‘write a while’, поработатьp ‘work a while’, подутьp ‘blow a while’, пощипатьp ‘pinch/pluck a while’, поскрипетьp ‘squeak a while’
Single Act Perfectives:
дунутьp ‘blow once’, щипнутьp ‘pinch/pluck once’, скрипнутьp ‘squeak once’

12. Distribution of Perfectives:
Natural Perfectives:
написатьp ‘write’, связатьp ‘tie’, окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’, о(б)щипатьp ‘pinch/pluck’
Specialized Perfectives:
переписатьp ‘rewrite’, развязатьp ‘untie’, переработатьp ‘rework, revise’, вдутьp ‘blow in’, выщипатьp ‘pluck out’
Complex Act Perfectives:
пописатьp ‘write a while’, поработатьp ‘work a while’, подутьp ‘blow a while’, пощипатьp ‘pinch/pluck a while’, поскрипетьp ‘squeak a while’
Single Act Perfectives:
дунутьp ‘blow once’, щипнутьp ‘pinch/pluck once’, скрипнутьp ‘squeak once’

13. Attested Aspectual Clusters
Activity + Natural Perfective (крепнутьi ‘get stronger’)
Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized Perfective (вязатьi ‘tie’)
Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized Perfective + Complex Act Perfective (писатьi ‘write’)
Activity + Natural Perfective + Specialized Perfective + Complex Act Perfective + Single Act Perfective (щипатьi ‘pnch/pluck’)
Additionally the Natural Perfective and/or Specialized Perfective can be removed from all cluster structures, yielding other variants (работатьi ‘work’, дутьi ‘blow’, скрипетьi ‘squeak’, уважатьi ‘respect’)
+ Natural Perfective (perfectiva tantum, уцелетьp ‘survive’)
Total: 13 attested cluster structures

14. Motion verbs as prototypes in the Cluster model
Motion verbs have the maximal cluster structure
Determined/Non-Determined motivates the formation of various kinds of Perfectives
All events are metaphorical motions

15. Motion verbs have the maximal cluster structure
Activity лететьi/летатьi ‘fly’
Natural Perfective полететьp ‘fly’
Specialized Perfectives улететьp (улетатьi) ‘fly away’, прилететьp (прилетатьi) ‘fly to’
Complex Act Perfectives полетатьp ‘fly a while’, залетатьp ‘start flying’
Single Act Perfective слетатьp ‘fly someplace and back once’

16. Motion verbs have the maximal cluster structure
Activity лететьi/летатьi ‘fly’
Natural Perfective полететьp ‘fly’
Specialized Perfectives улететьp (улетатьi) ‘fly away’, прилететьp (прилетатьi) ‘fly to’
Complex Act Perfectives полетатьp ‘fly a while’, залетатьp ‘start flying’
Single Act Perfective слетатьp ‘fly someplace and back once’

17. 4. Determined/Non-Determined and Completable/Non-Completable
Determined/Non-Determined metaphorically motivates Completable/Non-Completable
Only verbs that can express Completability can form Natural and Specialized Perfectives
Only verbs that can express Non-Completability can form Complex Act and Single Act Perfectives
Non-Determined metaphorically motivates Singularizability
Only verbs that can express Non-Completability and can form a Complex Act Perfective can also form a Single Act Perfective

18. Travel vs. Other Motion You can travel to a place
or –
You can move without a goal
You can make round-trips
The difference is grammaticalized as Determined vs. Non-Determined motion verbs

19. Travel vs. Other Motion You can travel to a place
or –
You can move without a goal
You can make round-trips
The difference is grammaticalized as Determined vs. Non-Determined motion verbs

20. Determinacy and Completability:
‘The writer is writing a book.’
Профессор работаетi в университете.
‘The professor is working at the university.’
Completability is a scale that is influenced by various construals.

21. Completability: Many verbs are Ambiguous:
Completable
Писатель пишетi книгу ‘The writer is writing a book’
Non-Completable
Писатель пишетi книги ‘A writer writes books’
Some verbs are Non-Completable: стонатьi ‘moan’
But some of these verbs can become Completable if they are specialized by a prefix
работатьi ‘work’ > переработатьp ‘rework, revise’
A few verbs are Completable:
крепнутьi > окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’

22. What Completability means for aspect:
Only verbs that can be construed as Completable have Natural Perfectives
писатьi ‘write’ > написатьp ‘write’, крепнутьi ‘get stronger’ > окрепнутьp ‘get stronger’
Only verbs that can be construed as Non-Completable have Complext Act Perfectives
писатьi ‘write’> пописатьp ‘write a while’, стонатьi ‘moan’> постонатьp ‘moan a while’, работатьi ‘work’> поработатьp ‘work a while’

23. Non-Determined and Singularizability
Non-Determined motion can be:
Without a goal
- or -
Roundtrips
Singularizability

24. What Singularizability means for aspect:
Singularizability plucks out one cycle to form a Single Act Perfective:
слетатьp ‘fly to a place and back once’, сбегатьp ‘run to a place and back once’, сходитьp ‘walk to a place and back once’
дунутьp ‘blow once’, щипнутьp ‘pinch/pluck once’, скрипнутьp ‘squeak once’
Only verbs that can be construed as Non-Completable and form a Complex Act Perfective can also form a Single Act Perfective
But not all do so: *работнутьp

25. Preliminary summary
Modern Russian has various types of Perfective verbs
some express Completable situations
Natural and Specialized Perfectives
Motion verbs derive these Perfectives from their Determined stem
some express Non-Completable situations
Complex Act and Single Act Perfectives
Motion verbs derive these Perfectives from their Non-Determined stem

26. 5. Possible diachronic implications
Bermel’s grammaticalization order aligns with Cluster model
New means of expressing Determinacy/ Completability (via Perfectivization patterns) coincides with contraction of lexical differentiation
Parallel prefixation played major role in grammaticalization of aspect, and was most available with motion verbs early on
Current distribution of motion verb Perfectives aligns with Cluster model

27. Bermel’s (1997) order of grammaticalization
“Telic nonpunctual acts”
Travel > Completable
Natural and
Specialized Perfectives
“Atelic acts”
Motion without goal >
Non-Completable
Complex Act Perfectives
“Punctual acts”
Roundtrips >
Singularizable
Single Act Perfectives

28. Bermel’s chronology is corroborated by:
Nørgård-Sørensen (1997)
Russian did not develop its modern aspectual distinction until the -ыва suffix became highly productive (toward 18th c); aspect first encompassed “action verbs” (Natural and Specialized Perfectives), was only infrequently associated with “procedurals” (Complex Act and Single Act Perfectives)
Dickey 2007
по- prefix used first to form Natural Perfectives; spread to delimitatives (Complex Act Perfectives) later, 16th-17th c

29. Determined vs. Non-Determined:
About a dozen motion verbs maintain this distinction in Modern Russian:
идти/ходить ‘walk’, бежать/бегать ‘run’, нести/носить ‘carry’, ехать/ездить ‘ride’, вести/водить ‘lead’, лететь/летать ‘fly’
This distinction was more extensive in Old Russian (Mayo 1985 cites nearly 40 other verbs, cf. also Van Wijk 1929 re Proto-Slavic, Vaillant 1948:304 re OCS):
влечи/влачити ‘drag’, гласити/глашaти ‘call’, кусити/кушати ‘bite’, месити/мѣшати ‘mix’, просити/прашати ‘ask’

30. New Form > Contraction of Old Form
Meaning of Determined/Non-Determined expanded as Completable/Non-Completable
New means of expression: Perfectivization pattern vs. Old means of expression: lexical differentiation
Another example of new form leading to expansion of a distinction, while old form contracts (cf. Cz -ovi)
Dickey (forthcoming) suggests that the consolidation of the Determined/Non-Determined distinction is linked to development of modern Perfective vs. Imperfective

31. Completable situations
Verbs that had the Determined/Non-Determined distinction had parallel prefixation in OCS:
приити
приходити
‘come to’
вънести
въносити
‘carry in’
Scholars agree that parallel prefixation played
an important role in the grammaticalization
of aspect in Russian (Mayo 1985:9,
Schuyt 1990:412-14, Bermel 1997:109)

32. Non-Completable situations
Some Complex Act Perfectives are attested in Old Russian:
походити ‘walk a while’
посажати ‘sit a while’
Single Act Perfectives are attested already in OCS with the suffix –нѫ (доунѫти ‘blow once’ канѫти ‘drip once’), but are not attested with motion verbs
Modern distribtution may parallel historical development: See tables on handout

33. Possible changes Determinacy Completability
Grammaticalization Perfective/Imperfective
Formation of Complex Act Perfectives
Formation of Single Act Perfectives