Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of English, College of Languages, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate English Aspect from the viewpoint of cognitive dynamic construal of scanning. To achieve that, Langacker’s construal theory (1987, 1991, 2008, 2013) is used to provide a complete dynamic interpretation of the aspect system of English language. The two main types of aspects are the situational aspect and the viewpoint aspect. While the viewpoint component is focused on how people interpret events, the situation aspect deals with how events are composed. Based on their grammatical properties, English verbs can be divided into two fundamental categories: active (perfective) and stative (imperfective). The grammatical characteristics of verbs are regarded as "symptomatic" of a conceptual contrast since they are not stable and can be affected by a variety of construal-related circumstances. Therefore, it is hypothesized that Langacker’s construal of scanning is sufficient in providing a full picture of English aspect. Moreover, aspect cooperates with tense in the cognitive grounding of an event.
Keywords
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