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Title SEMANTICS OF TEMPORAL REFERENCE IN URDU AND ENGLISH SYNTAX

Author(s) Ms. Zohra Fatima

Abstract ABSTRACT Title: Semantics of Temporal Reference in Urdu and English Syntax This dissertation aims to present a cross linguistic analysis of Urdu and English aspectual systems. Aspect is a crucial yet complex facet of temporal reference. Temporal reference corresponds to the means employed by languages to associate situations with time. Human beings cannot express situations linguistically without situating them in time. Languages encode temporal reference through tense, aspect and temporal adverbials. Out of these three, this study focuses on aspectual reference as it allows speakers to express situations according to their orientation and perspective, and thus gains significance in terms of its semantic contribution. Aspect has special temporal characteristics that can vary across languages leading to the parametrization of aspect. In this background, by adopting a generative framework, this dissertation focuses on the realization of the core dimensions of aspect viz. perfectivity and imperfectivity in Urdu and English, and attempts to address the semantic issues associated with how perfectivity and imperfectivity are realized in both of these languages. This research is descriptive and exploratory and aims to develop theoretical propositions regarding parameterization of grammatical aspect in Urdu and highlight the constraints on aspectual reference in Urdu. The analysis focuses on how each of the two grammatical aspects interacts with different types of situations as aspectual choices are constrained by the temporal constitution of situation types. This dissertation firstly addresses the realization of perfect in Urdu and English, and based on the issues uncovered through the analysis of perfect, the meaning contribution of perfectivity is discussed. Lastly the realization of imperfectivity in Urdu and English is analyzed. The analysis highlights that Urdu and English aspectual systems differ along two major lines. Firstly, perfectivity in Urdu is realized through light verbs primarily, which form a verbal complex, especially in case of dynamic and durative situations in comparison to English which utilizes simple verb constructions. Secondly, Urdu and English present perfect constructions differ in their aspectual value; Urdu perfect constructions are not obligatorily perfective but English perfect constructions are. Urdu imperfectives pattern with English imperfective mostly and exhibit the same semantic issues as English except the patterning of Urdu habituals with counterfactuals which require a fake-tense interpretation in Urdu. This study adds to the existing knowledge about the meaning contribution of aspectual markers by shedding light on how two structurally different languages Urdu and English express the same temporal information through different forms.

Type Thesis/Dissertation PhD

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2022-06-28

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