Paper presented at SCLC 2015, Oxford. (Slavic Cognitive Linguistics Conference)

1. Czech without aspect:
Marrying cognitive schemas with functional representations
Dominik Lukeš
dominik@dominiklukes.net
MetaphorHacker.net
@TechCzech

2. The nature of constructional meaning and
constructional inventory

3. Je český vid jako Ježíšek?

4. A joke...

5. A: Tak jsme došli.
[So we’ve arrived]
B: …..

6. A: Tak jsme došli.
[So we’ve arrived]
B: Ahoj Babi!
[Hello Granny!]

7. To be revisited but now let’s look at

8. The traditional approach to Czech aspect
through maximally general meaning.

9. Croft, p44. 2012

11. A new approach to Czech without aspect

12. Czech has three event profiles (aspects) :
perfective (profiles event as a completed whole
with no time span), imperfective (profiles events
in progress without reference to beginning or end
but definite time span) and repetitive (profiles
whole events repeated).

13. Only verbs of motion have special forms for all
three aspects. Most other verbs use the same
form for imperfective and repetitive aspect.

14. Aspect mostly occurs with a tense (with the
exception of nouns formed from verbs –
boření vs. zboření, infinitives, etc.).

15. If the three aspects are combined with the
three tenses, Czech can be said to have 8
tenses (3×3-1 - perfective cannot combine
with the present tense).

16. Each of these new tenses has specific
functions which do not necessarily compute
from when definitions of the aspect and the
tense are combined together.

17. For most purposes, Czech can be treated as if
it didn’t have an aspect at all. And can still be
compared favourably with English 14 tenses.

18. For most purposes, Czech can be treated as if
it didn’t have an aspect at all. And can still be
compared favourably with English 14 tenses.

19. Perfective Imperfective Repetitive
Past Form: -l form of perfective
verbs .
Meaning: Actions
completed in the past
(often only happening
once).
Form: -l form of
imperfective verbs.
Meaning: Actions
happening for a certain
time/in parallel in the past.
Form: -l form of
imperfective verbs.
Meaning:
Habitual or repeated
actions in the past.
Present Form: Conjugated form of
imperfective verbs.
Meaning: Actions
happening now.
Form: Conjugated form of
imperfective verbs.
Meaning: Repeated,
habitual actions in the
present.
Future Form: Conjugated form of
perfective verbs.
Meaning: Future
completed, unrepeated
actions.
Form: budu + infinitive of
imperfective verbs.
Meaning: Future continuous
actions.
Form: budu + infinitive of
imperfective verbs.
Meaning: Future repeated,
habitual actions.

20. Event types
Past Perfective
Past Imperfective
Past Repetitive
Present Ipf.
Present Rpt.
Future Perf.
Future Ipf.
Future Rpt.
Tense Event Profile
Schemas
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N
N

21. This is not enough, aspect not only never
occurs without tense, it also never appears
outside some modal context.

22. Event structure
space
Tense/
Time
Aspect Modality
Present FuturePast
Statement
Condition
Emphasis
Disapproval
Command
Warning
Question
Narration
Habit
Completion
Repetition
Continuation
Possibility
Enumeration
Experience
Historicization
Linearity
Temporality
Iterativity
Determinedness

23. willingness vs. likes/dislikes
(rád to udělám – rád to dělám)
habit vs. attitude/emphasis
(vždycky sem chodí – vždycky [si] sem přijde)
experience vs. current state
(už jsem řídil auto – auto už řídím rok)
prohibition vs. warning
(nesedej si na to – nesedni si na to)
life experience vs. remembered experience
(já jsem do školy chodil –včera jsem šel do školy dvakrát)

24. Add it all together and you get Halliday’s
functionalism:

25. PAST Perfective
constructions Accomplished activity in the (recent)
past (with už [already])
Ten dopis jsem už napsal.
(I’ve already written the letter.)
Domácí úkol už jsem udělal.
(I’ve already done my homework.)
Completed condition for future or
action or state (with jestli or pokud)
Jestli to udělal, bude mít hodně peněz.
(If he has done it, he will have lots of money.)
Interruption to an ongoing activity
(expressed by past imperfective)
Díval jsem se na televizi [ipf.], když zazvonil
telefon.
(I was watching TV, when the phone rang.)
Departure for further activity (often
beginning with když)
Když jsem se nasnídal, šel jsem do školy.
(When I[’d] had my breakfast, I went to
school.)
Enumerated accomplishment in the
past
Přečetl tu knihu třikrát.
(He read the book twice.)
Několikrát vylezl na Sněžku.
(He climbed Sněžka several times.)

26. PAST
Imperfective
Constructions
Parallel continuous actions in the past
(Narrative) (often with zatímco
[while])
Ongoing actions in the past interrupted
by a perfective action (often with
když [when])
Včera večer Petr vařil večeři a zpíval si.
(Last night Peter was cooking dinner, and
singing.)
Díval jsem se na televizi, když zazvonil telefon [pf].
(I was watching TV, when the phone rang.)
Action continuing for a period of time in
the past
Včera jsem se díval na televizi od osmi do desíti.
(Yesterday, I was watching TV from 8 to 10.)
Recent and/or remembered experience
(can be enumerated, often in
questions)
Četl jsi tu knihu? (Did you read the book?)
Díval jsem se na to dvakrát. (I watched it twice.)
Sudden perception or realization [ADV] Přišel a viděl.
(He came and he saw.)
Najednou cítil, že ho někdo sleduje.
(Suddenly, he felt that someone is watching him.)
Emphatic questions about the
source/producer (optional) [ADV]
Kdo ti šil ten svetr?
(Who sowed the sweater for you?)
Kdo ti to říkal?
(Who told you that?)

27. PAST Repetitive
Constructions
Repeated action in the past Chodil jsem do školy každý den po tři roky.
(For three years, I went to school every
day.)
Domácí úkoly jsem si dělal každý den.
(I did my homework every day.)
Už tenkrát si děti pravidelně čistily zuby.
(Even then, children brushed their teeth
regularly.)
Life experience (with už) Petr to už dělal.
(Petr has done it before.)
Do školy jsem chodil.
(I’ve attended school.)
Už jsem řídil auto.
(I’ve driven a car before.)

28. PRESENT Imperfective
Construcitons
Narrative of present
action (Commentary)
Olda právě vchází do domu.
(Olda is entering the building.)
Novák střílí a dává gól.
(Novák shoots, and he scores!)
Future timetable Autobus odjíždí zítra v jednu hodinu
odpoledne.
(The bus leaves tomorrow at one pm.)
Historical narrative
[ADV]
Karel IV. zakládá univerzitu v roce 1348.
(Karel IV. founds the university in 1348.)

29. PRESENT
Repetitive
constructions
Personal habit Ruce si myji vždy před jídlem.
(I always wash my hands before meals.)
Present result of continuing past action Bydlíme v Praze už pět let.
(We’ve been living in Prague for 5 years now.)
Ability to do something Hrajete na piáno?
(Do/Can you play the piano?)
Likes and dislikes (with rád, ráda, rádi) Rád chodím do divadla, ale nerad hraju fotbal.
(I like going to the theater, but I don’t like playing
football.)
Statement of (scientific) fact [ADV] Ptáci odlétají na podzim.
(Birds fly away in the fall.)
Voda se vaří při 100 stupních.
(Water boils at 100 degrees.)
Prohibitions and negative imperatives
[ADV]
Ať si sem nesedá.
(Let him not sit here.)
Nezpívej tady.
(Don’t sing here.)
Tady se chodí pomalu.
(One walks slowly here.)

30. FUTURE
Perfective
Constructions
Statement of plan Zítra ráno vstanu a uvařím si kávu. (Tomorrow
morning, I’ll get up and make some coffee.)
Condition for future action/prediction
of result of completion with až (when)
Až to udělá, bude mít volno. (When he does this, he’ll
have time off.)
Instructions Nejdřív uvaříme rýži a potom nakrájíme zeleninu. (First,
we cook the rice and then we dice the vegetables.)
Emphatic prohibitions/warnings with
ať [ADV]
Ať si na to nikdo nesedne.
(Let nobody sit on this.)
Emphatic historical narrative
(combined with imperfective) [ADV]
A pak mu Pepa jednu vrazí a spadnou na zem, a … (And
then Pepa smacks him, they fall on the ground and …)
Polite acceptance / expression of
willingness (with rád) [ADV]
Rád přijdu zítra na večeři.
(I will be happy to come to dinner tomorrow.)
Repeated action with (often negative)
emphasis [ADV]
On si sem klidně každé ráno přijde a sedne si na židli.
He will come here every morning without so much
as by your leave and sit on the chair.)
Emphatic plan for enumerated future
action [ADV]
Příští rok půjdu do kina alespoň jednou týdně.
(Next year, I will go see a movie at least once a week.)

31. FUTURE Imperfective
Construcitons Future parallel or interrupted
action
Vy budete vařit polévku a my budeme
připravovat salát.
(You’ll be cooking the soup and we’ll be
preparing the salad.)
Plan for a block of time Zítra se budu učit od jedné do dvou.
(Tomorrow, I’ll study from one to two.)
Příští rok budeme celé léto cestovat.
(Next year, we’ll spend the whole summer
traveling.)
Background of future action
with když and až, zatímco
Když bude psát úkol, bude mu hrát hudba.
(While he[’ll be] is doing the homework, the
music will be playing.)
Až bude psát úkol, nebude s nikým mluvit.
(When he’s writing his homework, he won’t
speak to anybody.)

32. FUTURE Repetitive
Construcitons
Future repeated action
(Condition)
Příští rok budu každý týden chodit
do kina.
(Next year, I will go to the
movies every week.)
Time non-specific future
wish [ADV]
Snad příští rok nebude tolik pršet.
(Hopefully, next year, it won’t
rain so much.)
Příští týden budu více cvičit.
(I’ll exercise more next week.)

33. Analytic / pedagogic advantages:
1. Verbs of motions stop posing difficulties
2. -va- infix drops out of the aspect system as a separate
construction
3. Czech can be more easily compared with English

34. English with
aspect AspectTense Past Present Future
Simple V2nd
He swam.
V1st
He swims./I swim.
will + V1st
He will swim.
Continuous to be2nd + Ving
He was swimming.
to be + Ving
He is swimming.
will + be + Ving
He will be swimming.
Perfect Simple had + V3rd
He had swum.
to have + V3rd
He has swum.
will + have + V3rd
He will have swum.
Continuous had + been + Ving
He had been
swimming.
to have + been +
Ving
He has been
swimming.
will + have + been +
Ving
He will have been
swimming.
Including “going to” future, there are 14 tenses in English. These can all be active or
passive doubling the number of separate forms to 28.

35. Czech  English
correspondence
Czech English
tense – tense present imperfective present continuous
present simple
past perfective past simple (cont.)
present perfect simple
past perfect
function – function see below for 1-1
present narrative (pr. i.) present narrative (pr.pro.)
commentary (pr. smp.)
future timetable future timetable (pr. smp.)
future time-specific plan
(pr.pr.)

36. English  Czech
correspondence
English Czech
tense – tense present continuous present imperfective
past simple past perfective
past imperfective
past repetitive
function – function experience (pres. pf.) experience (past ipf.)
parallel actions (progr.) parallel actions (ipf.)
interrupting act. (simp.) interrupting action (pf.)
scientific fact (pr.simp) fact (pr. ipf.)
emphatic fact (pr.pf.)

37. Verbs of Motion
Verbs
Full: go, fly, crawl, run, carry, lead, chase, pull
Partial: swim, skip, grow
Grammatical specifics
Future formation
Prefixation
Two roots
on foot vs. by vehicle
Presence in many lexical entries
15 * 20 = 300

38. Verbs of Motion
Imperfective Repetitive
jít chodit to go (on foot)
jet jezdit to go (by vehicle)
běžet běhat to run
letět létat to fly
vést vodit to lead
nést nosit to carry (in arms/on foot)
vézt vozit to carry (in a vehicle)
hnát honit to chase
táhnout tahat to pull, drag
lézt lézt to crawl

39. The Prefix Hub
JÍT
ujít
najít
odejítnadejít
podejít
rozejít
přijít
projít
vyjít
vejít
zajít
dojít
pojít
sejít
přejít
obejít

40. Iterativity and habituality traditionally considered on
aspect axis but in fact a mostly modal distinction.
dělat – dělávat (modality) vs. dělat – dělat (aspect)
chodit – chodívat (modality) vs. jít – chodit (aspect)
číst – čítat (modality) vs. číst – číst (aspect)
Affective reduplication:
číst – čítávat – čítávávat – čítávávávávávávat

41. Verbs of motion in aspect
jít chodit
přicházetpřijít
Perfective Imperfective Repetitive
přicházet přicházet
jítpřijít

42. Pedagogic implications
Match adverbials with verbs
1. právě teď a. najdu
2. zítra b. odcházím
3. občas c. přijdu
4. už d. nacházím
5. až e. přijel jsem
Guess tense/aspect and function of these sentences
(draw a timeline when in doubt):
1. Ráno snídám v 7 hodin.
2. Už jsi viděl film Muži v černém II?
3. Když mi včera volal Milan, zrovna jsem večeřel.
4. Zítra půjdeme nakupovat a koupíme si počítač.
5. Až napíšu dopis, budu asi hodinu cvičit.

43. Back to the joke and constructions...

44. form:meaning
organized in an inventory
no pragmatics vs. semantics
no rules vs words
meanings organized through
frames
(schemas, metaphors, rich images,
scenarios, etc.)
combined through the process of
conceptual integration

45. [MEANING]
Time location: Immediate
past>Present
Event status: Completed
Speaker attitude: Negative
(semantic prosody)
Communicative intent:
Announcement of failure
[FORM]
Verb form: -l marking (past
prototype)
Verb version: completion prefix
(perfective prototype)
Intonation/stress pattern: pattern
(complaint/frustration prototype)
Textual context: particle inventory
{tak, no tak, tak to, tak teda, no a}
Usage context: conversation
Medium: speech or simulated speech
Tak jsme došli. < Failure

46. [MEANING]
Time location: Immediate
past>Present
Event status: Completed
*Speaker attitude: Positive
*Communicative intent:
Announcement of failure
[announcement]
[FORM]
Verb form: -l marking (past prototype)
Verb version: completion prefix
(perfective prototype)
*Textual context: particle inventory
{tak, no tak, tak to, tak teda, no a}
*Intonation/stress pattern: pattern
(statement)
*Usage context: conversation,
[propositional neutral narrative]
*Medium: [written], speech or
simulated speech
Tak jsme došli. <*Completion

47. [MEANING]
Time location: Repeated present
Event status: Indeterminate
Speaker attitude: Emphatic
(negative semantic prosody)
Communicative intent: Narrative
[FORM]
Verb form: inflection (present
prototype)
Verb version: perfective (perfective
prototype)
Intonation/stress pattern: pattern
(emphatic narrative)
Textual context: profiled agent {on,
ona, etc.}
Usage context: conversation
Medium: speech or simulated speech
On sem přijde, sedne si, a... < (annoying) repetition

48. On sem přijde, sedne si, a... < (annoying) repetition
*On sem přichází, sedá si…
*Slunce vyjde, probudí mě a zajde (každé ráno)

49. Different levels of schematicity and
knowledge of the world are required.

50. *?They build a statue next to my house. [dig a
ditch, build a bridge]
They run the marathon next to my house.

51. I was about to break up with him and then he goes
and buys me beautiful flowers. [Complaint!]
We're having dinner and she gives me
flowers. [Narrative]
*Look at this. She gives me flowers right now.
[Description of current events] (Change orientation
and intonation: 'Would you look at that. She gives
me flowers. Right now?!)

52. I had a great view. And guess what they do!
They build a statue next to my house.
* Come quick. Look out the window. They run
a marathon next to my house.

53. What is the abstract (schematic) aspectual
meaning?

54. Where is this?

55. It is more than just the event schemas.
Fundamental event profile orientation of the
generic space serving as the source for
constructional blends involving verbs.

56. Generic space
Integrated space
Tak jsme došli
< Failure
jít[F:M]
dojít[F:M]
tak[F:M]

57. This mental space orientation needs to work within
the constraints of the constructional inventory.
Otherwise we would not get gaps in competence
from native speakers such as.
I hit him. ?Who did you hit?
He came. *Whom came?

58. Czech trying to learn Russian aspect vs.
American trying to learn Russian aspect.
Czech trying to learn English indefinite article
vs. Kennedy trying to learn German indefinite
usage for 'a Londoner' vs. '*ein Berliner‘.

59. The existence of the joke also seems to point
to some general aspectual meaning. BUT, this
is in itself another construction which uses
hypostasis to profile other potential
meanings.

60. A. 'My father died.'
B. 'I'm sorry'
C. 'It's not your fault.'
A. 'Why don't you love me anymore.'
B. 'But just yesterday, I told you I loved you.'
A. 'You see, loved. Not love anymore.'

61. 'We are so shallow. We ask people 'How are
you' and just move on.'
A: The window broke.
B: It didn't break itself.
(vs. the computer broke)

62. Conclusions

63. Consistent treatment of constructions as
form-meaning pairs organized in a
patterned inventory is important.

64. Aspect interacts with time, modality,
collocations, etc. and cannot be studied
entirely in isolation.

65. In fact, for many purposes aspect is not even
a necessary explanatory concept.

66. Thank you
dominik@dominiklukes.net
http://metaphorhacker.net
@techczech