Rolf:
On Sat, Feb 12, 2011 at 11:31 PM, Rolf Furuli <<mailto:furuli AT online.no>furuli AT online.no> wrote:
Dear Karl,
The SIL definition of the aspect is:
"Aspect is a grammatical category associated with verbs that expresses a temporal view of the event or state expressed by the verb."
I accept the definition, but it is so vague that it tells nothing.
I think the meaning was fleshed out, clarified in the subcategories linked to from the main definition.
Please look at the definitions I have given previously:
"TENSE represents deictic time, which means that it is the relationship between reference time and the deictic center (C).
The deictic center is in most cases speech time. An event whose reference time comes before (C) is past; when reference time comes after C, the event is future; when reference time coincides with C, the event is present.
The definition applies to languages that have grammaticalized tenses.
As I understand it, this gives the same meaning as I meant with my reference to the time line.
ASPECT represents non-deictic time, which means that the time of the aspect is not seen in relation to a deictic center. Aspect is the relationship between event time and reference time. In order to apply the definition, one must get a clear understanding of what "reference time" and "event time" are.
This definition I find a little bit vague.
However, you do agree that 'aspect' refers to time, just that it is a different measurement of time than tense.
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