A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

38 aspect
aspect (n.) (asp) A category used in the grammatical description of verbs
(along with tense and mood), referring primarily to the way the grammar
marks the duration or type of temporal activity denoted by the verb. A wellstudied
aspectual contrast, between perfective and imperfective, is found in
many Slavic languages: in Russian, for example, there is a perfective/imperfective
contrast – the former often referring to the completion of an action, the latter
expressing duration without specifying completion (cf. the perfective form on
pro7ital, ‘he read (something)’, and the imperfective form on 7ital, ‘he used to
read/was reading (something)’. The English verb phrase makes a formal
distinction which is usually analysed as aspectual: the contrast between progressive
(or ‘continuous’) and ‘non-progressive’ (or simple) duration of action.
The contrast between I was living and I have been living, and other uses of the
have auxiliary, are also often analysed in aspectual terms, but this analysis
is more controversial. Other English constructions have sometimes been analysed
in terms of aspect, e.g. involving habitual contrasts (as in used to); and
in other languages further aspectual distinctions may be found, e.g. ‘iterative’
or ‘frequentative’ (referring to a regularly occurring action), ‘inchoative’ or
‘inceptive’ (referring to the beginning of an action). Aspectual be refers to the
use of the verb to be in some varieties (such as African-American English) to
express the recurrence of an eventuality, as in They be reading too fast. Aspectual
oppositions are sometimes viewed generally as semantic distinctions, but sometimes
the notion is restricted to those oppositions which have achieved a
grammaticalized status in a language. In this respect, a contrast is often drawn
between aspect and Aktionsart (German, plural Aktionsarten, ‘kinds of action’),
aspect referring to instances where the opposition has been grammaticalized,
Aktionsart to instances where it has been lexicalized (especially, in Slavonic
linguistics, to instances where the contrast is expressed using the language’s
derivational morphology). An influential classification derives from US
philosopher Zeno Vendler (1921–2004), who distinguished process and state
event types, dividing the former into accomplishment, achievement, and
activity types. See also realis.
Aspects model/theory A commonly used abbreviation for the approach to
generative grammar expounded in Noam Chomsky’s 1965 book, Aspects of
the Theory of Syntax; also known as the standard theory. models similar
in principle to this one are ‘Aspects-type’ models. See Chomskyan.
aspectual (adj.)
see aspect
aspectualizer (n.) A term used in generative grammar for a formative which
marks an aspectual relation.
aspirata, aspirate (n.)
see aspiration
aspiration (n.) A term in phonetics for the audible breath which may accompany
a sound’s articulation, as when certain types of plosive consonant
are released. It is usually symbolized by a small raised [ h ] following the main
symbol. In examples such as English pin [p h }n], the aspiration may be felt by
holding the back of the hand close to the mouth while saying the word;