持续体与未完整体的类型学思考

Typological reflections on continuous and imperfective aspect

学界对Comrie(1976:25)体系统中持续体的有无充满争议。Bybee et al.(1994:139)认为“没有一致的持续体语法语素类型”,Chappell(1992)和Hintz(2011:51)分别认为汉语的“着”和盖丘亚语的-yka:是持续体的例证。本文认为这两个持续体的例证都可以分化为结果体、进行体和未完整体。未完整体的意义应与词汇手段表达的惯常体、广义的结果体和现在状态功能区别开来。英语进行体构式早期具有多种用法,部分状态性用法应视为广义结果体,进行体和完成体用法都是在结果体的基础上发展而来。结果体除了发展出完成体外,兼有从结果体到进行体的演变路径,这一路径虽然在世界各大洲都有零星分布,但主要集中在亚洲的东北部和印度、尼泊尔等地,可视为北亚语言区域的特征之一。

The notion of continuous aspect(Comrie 1976:25)has traditionally been a highly controversial one.Bybee et al.(1994:139)suggest that there is not a consistent gram type for the continuous aspect,while Chappell(1992)and Hintz(2011:51)respectively consider the Mandarin-zhe and the South Conchucos Quechua-yka:as examples of continuous aspect markers.The present study holds that these two continuous markers include resultative,progressive and imperfective functions.The imperfective meaning is to be distinguished from lexical strategies expressing habitual,resultative(in its broad sense)and present-state usages.At early stages of change,the English progressive construction comprised a variety of functions.Some of the original stative meanings of the construction can be analysed as‘broad’resultatives and can be seen as the source of the subsequent development of progressive,imperfective and perfect usages.Apart from being a source for the development of perfect,resultatives are also sources of progressives.Although the latter is a typologically sporadic phenomenon,it is yet concentrated across North East Asia,India,Nepal and neighbouring regions,and can be considered as one of the distinctive typological features of the languages of North Asia in general.