Temporal relations: verbs
Langacker characterises finite verb forms (PROCESSES) in the following terms:
A processual predication involves a continuous series of states . . ., each of which profiles a relation; it distributes these states through a continuous span . . . of conceived time; and it employs sequential scanning for accessing this complex structure. A process contrasts with the corresponding atemporal relation by having a ‘temporal profile’, defined as the span of conceived time through which the pro filed relationship is scanned sequentially. (Langacker 2002: 81)
Although Langacker presents no direct psychological evidence that verbs are processed differently from other parts of speech, he does offer several motivations for this characterisation. Firstly, it captures the fact that verbs typically (although not always) express dynamic events. This in turn explains the ‘temporal’ nature of verbs, and explains why verbs are directly marked for time by means of the tense system, an issue to which we return in Chapter 18. Furthermore, Langacker argues that the schematic characterisation of verbs is in keeping with the objectives of the theory in the sense that ‘conceptual content is less import ant than how this content is construed and accessed’ (Langacker 2002: 81). In other words, recall that Langacker’s objective is not to provide a specific semantic characterisation for prototypical nouns and verbs (although we may observe that this falls out from his analysis). Rather, his aim is to provide a schematic characterisation for all members of the word classes, which relies crucially upon independently established cognitive operations and conceptual representations. Langacker also argues that this theory achieves descriptive adequacy by distinguishing different kinds of relational predications and by enabling generalisations to be made about the behaviour of certain grammatical categories. A model of language achieves descriptive adequacy if it accurately models the tacit know ledge that underlies speaker intuitions about what is possible in language.
Simple and complex temporal relations
Temporal relations (processes) can be divided into two subcategories: simple temporal relations and complex temporal relations. Consider the examples in (14).
Both examples involve temporal relations (PROCESSES) because they construe scenes that hold over a given span of time (in both cases, the span of time includes the time of speaking, hence the present tense). The difference between the two examples is that while (14a) designates a stative PROCESS, (14b) designates a dynamic PROCESS. The terms ‘stative’ and ‘dynamic’ refer to types of lexical aspect. ‘Stative’ means that the situation remains constant throughout the time span, while ‘dynamic’ means that the situation involves some change over time. In (14a), for example, love designates a PROCESS that involves a stable and constant relation between the TR she and the LM chocolate. In (14b), on the other hand, eat designates a PROCESS that involves inherent change in the relation between the TR she and the LM the chocolate. The PROCESS of eating involves initial, medial and final stages, and at each of these stages the relation between the TR and the LM is different. Processes that involve no internal change are therefore described as ‘simple’, while processes that involve internal change are described as complex. As this discussion indicates, the TR-LM organisation that is evident in the structure of clauses emerges from the schematic TR-LM organisation that is part of the meaning of a verb, given that a verb expresses a relation (see Table 16.1).
We will have much more to say about the properties of verbs in the next chapter, given their central status in the clause. We return there to a fuller characterisation of tense and aspect, as well as looking in more detail at the nature of the relations that hold between TR and LM in temporal relations. For the time being, the class schema for verbs is represented in (15).
