多标记时态系统与英语复合句过去时的解读

Multiple-index Tense System and the Interpretation of Past Tense in English Compound Sentences

过去时的解读问题一直是逻辑学家和语义学家研究的热门话题之一。单一标记的时态系统,如Prior时态逻辑,以及传统的辖域分析法,不足以解读英语复合句中复杂的过去时时态。只有采用多标记时态系统,以上问题,特别是"从句晚于主句"的解读问题,才能够得以解决。多标记时态系统具有以下特征:(1)谓词具有额外的时间论元位置;(2)时态语素是时间变量在谓词时间论元位置上的具体实现;(3)"先于"与"同时"等时间意义源自与时态语素具有某种关联的、语音为空的成分;(4)目标语言里的评估时间以时间变元t*的方式出现。多标记时态系统能够厘清由过去时时态产生的复合句歧义问题,解释复合句中存在的一句多义现象。

The interpretation of past tense has long been a hot topic for logicians and semanticians. Single-index tense system, like Prior tense logic, as well as traditional scope analysis, is not adequate in interpreting the past tense in English compound sentences. Only by adopting multiple-index tense system, can these problems, especially that of ＂later-than-matrix＂ interpretation, be solved properly. The following are the properties of multiple-index tense sys- tem： （ 1 ） Predicates have an extra argument slot for a time; （2） Tense morphemes are time variables that saturate the time argument slots of predicates; （3） The meanings of anteriority and simultaneity derive from phonologically null elements that stand in a certain relation with tense morphemes; （4） The evaluation times are represented in the object language with a phonologically null time variable, represented as t ＊. Multiple-index tense system can be used to disambiguate the meanings produced by the past tense morpheme in compound sentences, and to explain how ambi- guity arises.