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Lin gua 60 (1983) 183-214 183N o r t h - H o l l a n d
F R O M P R A G M A T IC S T O G R A M M A RDiach ron ic re f l
ec t i on s on comp lex p as t s an d fu tu res in Roman ceS uz an
ne F L E I S C H M A NUniversity of California at Berkeley, Dept. o
f French
R e c e i v e d N o v e m b e r 1 9 8 2
Th i s pa pe r r e e xa m ine s i n d i a c h r on ic pe r spe c
t ive tw o c om ple x ve r b s t r uc tu r e s i nR om a nc e a nd
Eng l i sh , t he so - c a l l e d pe r f e c t ( F t . j a i fa i
t , Eng . I have done) a n d t h ego - f u tu r e ( F r . je vais a
ire , Eng. I m going to do), w i t h a v i e w t o w a r d d e m o
n s t r a t i n g
t h e s tr i k i n g p a r a ll e li s m i n t h e i r d e v e l
o p m e n t f r o m e x p o n e n t s o f A S P E C T , w h o s ep
r inc ipa l f unc t ion w a s t o i de n t i f y t he s i t ua t i
on de sc r ibe d by the ve r b a s be ing o fp r e s e n t re l e v
a n c e , t o e x p o n e n t s o f T E N S E . I n t h e p r o c e
ss , t h e c o m p l e x s t r u c t u r es
bo th m ove d in to t he f unc t iona l t e r r i t o r y o f e
x i s t i ng s im p le x t e nse f o r m s , w h ic h inc e r t a
in d i a l e c t s t he y u l t im a te ly supp la n t e d o r a r
e i n t he p r oc e s s o f so do ing . The sede ve lopm e n t s in
t he ve r ba l sy s t em a r e u l t im a te ly b r o ugh t t o be
a r on the t op i c a lq u e s t i o n o f t h e p r a g m a t i c
o r i g i n s o f g r a m m a r .
1. Prel iminaries: the bas ic funct ions of tense and aspectI n
t he me ta l a ngua ge o f l i ngu i s t i c t he o r y pe r t a in
ing to c a t e go r i e s o f t he
ve rb the re ex ist f a i rly prec ise de f in i t ions o f
tense and aspec t an d fa i r lys t a nda r d de sc r ip t i ons o
f t he i r ba s i c f unc t ions , t hough ind iv idua l l a ngua
ge sma y d i f f e r w i th r e spe c t t o t he s e ma n t i c
oppos i t i ons g r a mma t i c a l i z e d unde rthese re spec t
ive ca tegor ie s . In addi t ion , language-pa r t icu la r pa rad
igms of tenc ombine t e nse a nd a spe c t , e ve n w he n one o r
t he o the r i s no t f o r ma l lye n c o d e d b y t h e g r a m
m a r .* S e c ti o n s o f t h i s p a p e r w e r e p r e s e n t
e d a t t h e 1 9 8 1 M o d e r n L a n g u a g e A s s o c i a t i
o n M e e t i n g( L a n g u a g e T h e o r y S e s s io n ) a n d
t h e T e n t h R o m a n c e L i n g u is t ic s S y m p o s i u m
, C a m b r i d g e ,Eng la nd . M y s inc e re t ha nk s t o R oge
r La s s , M a r t i n H a r r i s , G iu l io Le p sc hy , E l i z
a be th T r a u -go t t , a nd E l i z a G h i l f o r c om m e n t
s on a n e a r l i e r d r a f t . The r e se a r c h f o r t h i s
a r t i c l e w a ss u p p o r t e d b y a g r a n t f ro m t h e J
o h n S i m o n G u g g e n h e i m F o u n d a t i o n .
F o r t e x t o f f oo tn o te s s e e p . 204 f f.
0024-3841 /83/ 3 .00 198 3 Elsevier Science Pub lishers B.V.
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84 S F l e is c h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a
m m a r
1.1.D e s p i t e th i s m a r g i n o f v a r i a b i l it y ,
m o s t l in g u i s ts w o u l d l ik e l y c o n c u r
t h a t t e n s e is a d e i c t ic c a t e g o r y w h o s e p
r i m a r y f u n c t i o n i s t o r e l a t e t h et i m e o f a
n e v e n t (E ) o r s i t u a t i o n t p r e d i c a t e d i n a
n u t t e r a n c e o r d i s c o u r s et o s o m e o t h e r t im
e , t y p i c a l l y t h e m o m e n t o f t h e s p e e c h e v e
n t ( S ), o r , int h e c a s e o f r e l a t iv e t e n s e r e
la t i o n s h i p s , t o a r e f e r e n c e p o i n t ( R ) w h
i c h isi n tu r n s i t u a t e d i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e m
o m e n t o f sp e e c h . 2 T h e b a s i c f u n c t i o no f t e
n s e , t h e n , i s to s e q u e n c e e v e n t s i n a d i s c
o u r s e .1.2.
A s a u n i v e r s a l c a t e g o r y o f g r a m m a r , a s
p e c t is m o r e d i f f ic u l t t o c i r c u m -s c ri b e , s
o m e t h i n g o n e d i s c o v e r s q u i c k l y in t r y i n
g t o r e c o n c i l e t h e s p e c t r u mo f o p i n i o n s a
b o u t w h i c h d i s ti n c ti o n s a r e p r o p e r l y a s p
e c t u a l a n d f o r w h i chl a n gu a g e s . T h e s e o p i
n i o n s , i t s h o u l d b e n o t e d , a r e o f t e n f o r m
u l a t e d o n t h eb a s is o f l a n g u a g e - p a r t i c u l
a r o r g r o u p - p a r t i c u l a r d a t a . 3 T h e i ss u e
is f u r t h e rc o m p l i c a t e d , f i r st , i n t h a t a s
p e c t m a y b e e x p r e s s e d in w a y s o t h e r t h a n b
yt h e v e r b : l e x ic a l ly , f o r e x a m p l e , i n w h i
c h c a s e i t s h a d e s o f f i n to A k t i o n s a r t( cf .
B a c h e 1 9 82 ) o r w h a t t h e F r e n c h o f t e n r e f e
r t o a s m o d e d a c t i o n , a n ds e c o n d , i n t h a t a
s p e c t is n o w g e n e r a l l y c o n s i d e r e d t o b e s
e n t e n t i a l i n s c o p e( cf . D o w t y 1 9 7 2 ; V e r k u
y l 1 9 72 ), ir r e s p e c ti v e o f w h e r e i n t h e s e n t
e n c e - i fa n y w h e r e - i t is e x p l i c it l y m a r k e
d .
W i t h t h e w a t e r s n o w s u f f ic i e n t ly m u d d y
, I w i ll a t t e m p t n o n e t h e l e s s t of o r m u l a t e
a b a s ic w o r k i n g d e f i n it io n o f a s p e c t : C o m
r i e ( 19 7 6) a r g u e s t h a ta s p e c t is a n o n - d e i c
t i c c a t e g o r y i n v o l v i n g d i ff e r e n t w a y s o
f l o o k i n g a t t h e
i n t e r n a l t e m p o r a l c o n s t i t u e n c y o f a s
i tu a t i o n . G r a m m a t i c a l i z e d u n d e ra s p e c t
a r e m e a n i n g d i s t in c t i o n s p e r t a i n i n g t y
p i c a l l y t o ( n o n m o d a l ) f e a t u r e so f t h e s i
t u a t i o n d e s c r i b e d b y t h e v e r b o t h e r t h a n
i ts ' t i m e ' , s u c h a s d u r a t i o n ,b o u n d e d n e s
s , c o m p l e t i o n , r e p e t i t i o n , i n c e p t i o n ,
t e r m i n a t i o n , a n d t h e l i k e .Y e t C o m r i e p o
i n t s o u t ( p . 5 2) t h a t t h e a b o v e d e f i n i ti o n
a p p e a r s t o e x c l u d et h e c a t e g o r y o f p e r f e
c t ( t h e P e r f e c t . . . t e ll s u s n o t h i n g d i r e
c t l y a b o u t t h es i t u a t io n i ts e lf , b u t r a t h e
r r e l a te s s o m e s t a t e t o a p r e c e d i n g s i t u a
t i o n ) ,w h i c h i s n o n e t h e l e ss c o m m o n l y r e g
a r d e d a s a n a s p ec t . + T h i s a p p a r e n tc o n t r a
d i c t i o n m a y b e e l im i n a t e d , h o w e v e r , i f w
e d o n o t r e s tr i ct t h e r e f e r en t ia ld o m a i n o f
a s p e ct t o th e i n t e r n a l c o n s t i t u e n c y o f a s
i t u a t i o n ; t h a t i s, i f i na d d i t i o n t o t h o s e
f e a t u r e s o f t h e s i t u a t i o n c i te d a b o v e , w
e a l s o i n c l u d ew i t h i n t h e c o n f i n e s o f a s p
e c t t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f a s i t u a t i o n a s
b e i n g i ns o m e l o g i c a l ( i. e. n o t s t r ic t l y t e
m p o r a l , s e q u e n t i a l ) r e l a t i o n t o a r e f e r
e n c e
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S . F l ei sc h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a m
m a r 185p o i n t . I n a s m u c h a s s u c h r e f e r e n c e
p o i n t s a r e th e m s e l v e s e s t a b l is h e d t h r o u
g ha c o m b i n a t i o n o f t e n se a n d t i m e a d v e r b i
a ls , c e r t a i n a s p e c t s ( r e t ro s p e c t i v ea n d
p r o s p e c ti v e ) m a y b e v i e w e d a s r e la t iv e o r
s e c o n d a r y t en s es ( A n d e r s o n1 9 7 3 : 3 9 f ; c f
. a l s o S m i t h 1 98 0). T h e s e a r e d i s t i n c t f r o
m t e n s e s , h o w e v e r ,i n t h a t t h e y a r e n o t i n
h e r e n t l y d e i c ti c ; th e r e f e r e n c e p o i n t i n
r e l a t i o n t ow h i c h E is v i e w e d n e e d n o t b e S ,
n o r i s t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s i m p l y o n e o fa n t
e r i o r i t y o r p o s t e r i o r i t y .
W i t h o u r d e f in i ti o n o f a s p e c t n o w e x p a n
d e d t o a c c o m m o d a t e t h e p e rf e c t,i t s h o u l d
a t t h e s a m e t i m e b e p o i n t e d o u t t h a t p e r f e
c t s t y p i c a ll y o v e r l a pt h e b o u n d a r y b e t w e
e n a s p e c t a n d t e n s e ( t h e l o g i c a l c o n n e c t
i o n b e t w e e n t h et w o s i tu a t i o n s p r e s u p p o s
e s a t e m p o r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p o f a n t e r i o r i
t y ) , a n do f t e n u l t i m a t e l y d e v e l o p i n t o e
x p o n e n t s o f p a s t t e n s e ( s ee s e c ti o n 5 b e l o
w ) .
A f i n a l p o i n t c o n c e r n i n g a sp e c t . P e r s p
e c t iv e s o n a n e v e n t t h a t a r e e n c o d e di n t h e
f o r m o f a s p e ct s t e n d t o b e s u b j e c t i v e i .e .
t h e y r e f l e c t a p a r t i c u l a rs p e a k e r s v ie w o
f t h e e v e n t a t a p a r t i c u l a r m o m e n t , a n d , u
n l i k e A k t i o n s -a r t e n , d o n o t c o r r e s p o n d
t o i m m u t a b l e , i n t ri n s i c f e a t u r e s o f t h e
s it u a t i o nd e s c r i b e d b y t h e v e r b .1 . 3 .
C o m p a r i n g t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f t e n se a n d a
s p e c t , w e f i n d t h e l a t t e r to b ef a r m o r e w i d
e s p r e a d ( i. e. f o r m a l l y g r a m m a t i c a l i z e d
) a m o n g t h e la n g u a g e so f t h e w o r l d ; a s p e c t
is a ls o c o n s i d e r e d to b e a m o r e p r i m a r y c a t
e g o r y o n t o -g e n e t ic a l ly . 5 I n d i a c h r o n i c
p e r s p e c t iv e , h o w e v e r , a s p e c t m a r k e r s f
r e q u e n t l ye v o l v e t o t en s e m a r k e r s . E v i d e
n c e f o r t h is s h i f t is a v a i la b l e f r o m l a n g u
a g eh i s t o r i e s a s w e l l a s i n t h e a c q u i s i t i
o n l i t e r a t u r e . 6
2 The l ocus o f t ense and aspec t in l ingu i s ti c descr ip
t ion
2 . 1 .I n a t h o u g h t - p r o v o k i n g a r t i c l e o n
t h e s t a t u s o f t en s e , K r e s s ( 19 7 7 ) c a ll s
i n t o q u e s t i o n t h e e l e m e n t a r y te n e t o f E
n g l i s h g r a m m a r t h a t t h e p a s t t e n seo f t h i n
k is t h o u g h t . C l e a r l y i n s e n t e n c e s l i k e (
1 ) a n d ( 2 ) t h e s p e a k e r i s n o tr e p o r t i n g o n
t h o u g h t s o f a n e a rl ie r m o m e n t , b u t e x p r e s
s in g h i s c o n c e r n sa t t i m e - n o w :
(1) Here. I thought you m ight l ike to have one of these.(2) I
(just) w a n t e d to tell you that 1 can t com e to dinner
tomorrow.
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86 S F l e i sc h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t ic s t o g r a m
m a r
T h o u g h t a n d w a n t e d a r e n o t h e r e f u lf il li
n g t h e b a s i c p a s t - t e n s e f u n c t i o n( m a r k i
n g a n e v e n t as p r i o r to t h e m o m e n t o f s p e e c h
) ; r a th e r , t h e ir c o n t r i -b u t i o n t o th e u t te
r a n c e is m o d a l . U s e o f p a s t s o f t e n s t h e a b
r u p t n e s s o f th ec o r r e s p o n d i n g s e n t e n c e s
w i t h p r e s e n t - t e n s e v e rb s , a n d i n (1 ) s e rv
e s t o p r o t e c tt h e s p e a k e r f r o m a p o t e n t i a
l l y a w k w a r d c h a l l e n g e (e .g . a r e s p o n s e s u
c h a sNo thanks, I real ly don t w ant one o f those) .2.2.
E x a m p l e s o f th is t y p e l e a d K r e s s t o p o s e
t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r t en s eis p r i m a r i l
y c o n c e r n e d w i th t h e w o r l d o f p r o c es s e s a n
d e v e n ts o r a b o u t' i n t e r p e r s o n a l ' r e l a t
io n s , s p e c i fi c a ll y t h o s e b e t w e e n s p e a k e
r a n d h e a r e r a n db e t w e e n sp e a k e r a n d m e s s
ag e . T h e q u e s t i o n m a y b e r e f o r m u l a t e d i n
t e r m so f li n g u is t ic c a t e g o r i e s a s w h e t h e r
t e n s e s h o u l d b e l o c a t e d i n t h e ' i d e a t i o n
a l 'o r ' i n t e r p e r s o n a l ' c o m p o n e n t o f l a n
g u a g e s ( K r e s s o p e r a t e s w i t h t h e c a te -g o r
i e s o f H a l l i d a y ' s f u n c t i o n a l i s t sy s t e m
) , o r , t r a n s l a t e d i n t o a c o m p a r a b l ef r a m
e o f r e f er e n c e , w h e t h e r t e n s e b e l o n g s to t
h e d o m a i n o f g r a m m a r o rt o p r a g m a t i c s .
T r a d i t i o n a l l y th is q u e s t i o n w o u l d l ik e
ly h a v e b e e n a n s w e r e d b y a n u n -r e f le c t iv e a
s s ig n i n g o f t e n s e t o g r a m m a r . B u t t h e r e i
s i n c r e a s i n g e v i d e n c et h a t it s h o u l d - o r s
h o u l d a ls o - b e c o n s i d e r e d i n it s in t e r p e r
s o n a l o rp r a g m a t i c d i m e n s i o n . 72.3.
I n v i ew o f t h e p r o p e n s i t y o f t e n s e f o r m s
t o f u n c t i o n m o d a l l y , 8 K r e s s(p . 4 3) p r o p o
s e s a ' c o m p r o m i s e ' s o l u t io n t o t h e p r o b l
e m o f h o w to_ a c c o u n tf o r t e n s e , n a m e l y t o c
o l l a p s e t e n s e a n d m o o d i n t o a s i n g l e c a t e
g o r y c a l l e ds i m p l y ' m o d a l i t y ' . I t is n o t e
n t i r e l y c le a r h o w t h is s t r a t e g y s o l v e s th
ep r o b l e m - u n l e ss a si n g le c a t e g o r y w i t h m u
l t i p l e f u n c t i o n s is s o m e h o wp r e f e r a b l e
to , o r m o r e ' e l e g a n t ' t h a n , d i s c r e te c a t e
g o r i e s w i t h a m e a s u r eo f f u n c t i o n a l o v e r
l a p - , n o r d o e s i t i n a n y w a y h a n d l e t h e a n a
l o g o u so v e r l a p b e tw e e n t e n se a n d a s p e c t. M
y o w n c o n c e r n h e r e , h o w e v e r , i s n o tt o d e s
c r ib e - n o r m o d i f y - t h e f o r m a l c a t e g o r y s
t ru c t u r e o f th e g r a m m a r so f p a r ti c u l a r la n
g u a g e s , b u t m e r e l y t o u n d e r s c o r e t h e i m p
o r t a n t p r~ fg m a ticd i m e n s i o n o f c e r ta i n o f
th e s e ' g r a m m a t i c a l ' c a t e g o r ie s .
B y w a y o f e x a m p l e I h a v e in m i n d a d e v e l o p
m e n t w h i c h is c o n v e n i e n t l yi ll u s tr a te d w i
t h d a t a f r o m R o m a n c e a n d E n g l is h , b u t w h i
c h c l e a rl y o b t a i n so v e r a w i d e r c r o s s - l a n
g u a g e d o m a i n . T h i s i n v o l v e s u s e o f p a r t i
c u l a r p a s t
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5/32
S . F l e i sc hm an / From pragm at i c s t o g ram m ar 1 8
7
an d f u t u r e mar k e r s w h i ch g r ammar s o f t en l ab
e l , f o r b e t t e r o r w o r s e ( Isuspec t t he l a t te r )
, p rese n t per fec t a nd imm edia t e o r nea r fu tu re I wi
lla r g u e f o r a f o r ma l an d f u n c t i o n a l p a r a l l
e l i s m i n t h e d i ach r o n i c d ev e l o p men to f t h e s
e t w o f o r ma t i o n s , b o t h o f w h i ch ev o l v ed f r o
m co m p l ex ( o r p e r i-p h r a s ti c ) 9 ex p o n en t s o f
a s p ec t , w h o s e p r ag ma t i c f u n c t i o n w as t o i d
en t i fyt h e s i tu a t i o n a s b e i n g o f cu r r en t r e l
ev an ce , t o ex p o n en t s o f ten se . I n t h ep r o ces s ,
t h e co mp l ex s t r u c t u r e s i n b o t h ca s e s mo v ed i
n t o t h e f u n c t i o n a lo rb i t o f ex i s ti ng simplex t
ense fo rm s which in cer t a in c ases t hey u l t ima te lys u p
p l an t ed , th e p a r ad i g m ex am p l e s b e i n g t h e s t
an d a r d F r en ch , R o m an i a n ,an d C a t a l an s imp l ex
p as t s . l I co n c l u d e b y d is cu s si n g th e r e lev an
ce o f t h e s ed ev e l o p m en t s to t h e cu r r en t ly d eb
a t ed q u es t i o n o f t h e p r ag m a t i c o r i g i n s o fg
r ammar
3 Form al and func t iona l ca tegor i e s3 1
Th e p a r ad i g ms a t i s s ue h e r e a r e l is t ed i n t
ab le 1 ( th e a r g u m en t s d o n o tap p l y t o t h e s l o t
s i n s q u a r e b r ack e t s , w h e r e o n l y o n e s t r u c
t u r e , co mp l exor s implex , i s so l id ly doc um ented ) . I
t is im por t an t t o d i s t ingu i sh c l ear ly
T a b l e 1S i m p l e x a n d c o m p l e x f u t u r e s a n d
p a s t s
F u t u r e P a s tS i m p l ex C o m p l e x S i m p l e x C o
m p l e x
Fr j e f e r a i j e v a i s f a i r e j e f i s j a i f a i tS
p . h a t 6 v o y a h a c e r h i c e h e h e c h oP t g . f a r e
i y o u f a z e r f i z t e n h o f e i t o
~ h e f e tC a t . [ f a r 6 ? v a i g a f e r ] ( a ) f l u ~ v
a i g f e r ( b ) I t . [ f a r 6 O ] f e c i h o f a t t o
R o m . [ ( v ) o i f a c e] ( c ) f ~ c u i ~ a m f ~ c u tE n
g . I w i l l d o I m g o i n g t o d o I d i d I h a v e d o n e(
a ) R e g a r d e d b y p u r i s t s a s a C a s t i l i a n i sm
, b u t h e a r d n o t i n f r e q u e n t l y .( b ) V a ig f e r
i s f u n c t i o n a l l y e q u i v a l e n t t o t h e p r e t e
r i t ( fl u ), b u t m o r p h o l o g i c a l l y c o m p l e x l
i ket h e p e r f e c t he f e t .( c ) B e s i d e s t d . voi + i
n f i n , t h e v a r . i n oi < voi?) i s g e n e r a l l y r e
g a r d e d a s f a m i l i a r o r r e g i o n a l .(d ) S e e n .
9 .
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188 S. Fleischman / From pragmatics to grammar
f r o m t h e o u t s e t b e t w e e n f o r m a l a n d f unc
t iona l c a t e g o r y l a be l s. S i m p l e xa n d c o m p l e
x a r e f o r m a l l a b el s w h i c h r e fe r s o le l y t o m
o r p h o l o g i c a l s tr u c -t u r e , a n d m a k e n o a s s
u m p t i o n s a b o u t t h e s e m a n t i c o r p r a g m a t i
c f u n c t i o n so f a p a r a d i g m i n a p a r t i c u l a r
l a n g u a g e a t a p a r t i c u l a r t i m e . P r e t e r i t
a n d( p r e s e n t ) p e r f e c t a r e f u n c t i o n a l d e
s i g n a t i o n s . T o t h e e x t e n t p o s s i b l e I w i l
l
a v o i d t h e t e r m i n o l o g y u s e d b y th e g r a m m
a r s o f i n d i v i d u a l la n g u a g e s ( e .g .I t .
passato prossimo F r . fu tu r prochain pass~ d~ f in i P t g .
pret~rito perfeitoe t c . ) a s u s a g e i s o f t e n i n c o n s
i s t e n t f r o m o n e g r a m m a r t o a n o t h e r , a n d
,m o r e i m p o r t a n t , b e c a u s e t h e t r a d i t i o n
a l l a b e l s n o t i n f r e q u e n t l y m i s r e p r e s e n
tt h e f u n c t i o n s o f t h e p a r a d i g m s i n q u e s t
io n . P a r t i c u l a r l y i n f e l i c it o u s i n t h isr e
g a r d is t h e t e r m i m m e d i a t e f u t u r e a n d i ts
tr a n s l a t i o n e q u i v a l e n ts . A sI h a v e a r g u e
d e l s e w h e r e ( F l e i s c h m a n 1 9 8 2 a ) , t h e c o n
s t r u c t i o n s a s s o c i a t e dw i t h t h i s l a b e l -
w h i c h t y p i c a l l y i n v o l v e th e g o v e r b w i t h
a n i n f i n i t iv e -a r e i n n o s e n s e r e s t r i c t e d
t o m a r k i n g s i t u a t i o n s l o c a t e d i n t h e near
f u t u r e ,a s ( 3 )- -( 4 ) w i l l c o n f i r m :
(3) I f W i n t e r b o t t o m ' s c a l c u l a t i o n s a r
e c o r r e c t, t h i s p l a n e t & go ~g to burn itself
out2 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 y e a r s f r o m n o w .
( 4 ) U n j o u r v o u s allez vous faire ~craser p a r u n e v
o i t u r e" S o m e d a y y o u ' r e going to get yourself run
over b y a c a r '
T h e s e c o n s t r u c t i o n s w i l l h e n c e f o r t h
b e r e f e r r e d t o a s go-futures a p u r e l yf o r m a l d e
s i g n a t i o n w i t h n o f u n c t i o n a l c o n n o t a t i
o n s .3.2.
I n th e b e s t o f al l p o s s ib l e g r a m m a t i c a l w
o r l d s , w h e r e b e s t e q u a l s m o s ts y m m e t r i c
a l a n d i s o m o r p h i c , s im p l e x p a s ts w o u l d e x
p r e s s t h e p r e t e r i t fu n c -t i o n a n d c o m p l e x
p a s t s t h e p e r f e c t f u n c t i o n , a n d t o a l a r g
e e x t e n t t h i s i st h e c a s e i n t h e l a n g u a g e s
u n d e r s u r v e y . B u t s i n c e r e a l - w o r l d s a r e
r a r e l yo p t i m a l , a n d g r a m m a r s r a r el y d i sp
l a y p e r f ec t s y m m e t r y , m u c h a s l in g u is tsm i
g h t li k e t h e m t o , t h e se f o r m a l - f u n c t i o n a
l c o r r e l a t i o n s d o n o t h o l d a b -s o l u t el y . I
n a d d i t i o n , t h e m e a n i n g s o f fo r m s t e n d t o
c h a n g e o v e r t i m e w h i let h e i r m o r p h o l o g i c
a l s t ru c t u r e c h a n g e s m u c h m o r e s l o w l y i f
a t a l l. ~ W i t hr e s p e c t t o th e p a s t s y s t e m i n
p a r t i c u l a r , s u b s t a n t i a l v a r i a t i o n e x i
st s e v e nw i t h i n a r e l a t iv e l y c l o s e- k n i t g r
o u p s u c h a s R o m a n c e .
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S F l e i s ch m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a m m
a r 89
4 The future systemI d i s c u s s e l s e w h e r e ( F l e i s
c h m a n 1 98 2a ) v a r i o u s p r o p o s a l s t h a t h a v e
b e e n
p u t f o r t h ( p r in c i p a l ly w i t h r e s p e c t to F
r e n c h a n d E n g l i s h ) f o r a b a s i cm e a n i n g 1 2
f o r t h e g o - c o n s t r u c t i o n . W h a t t h is a m o u
n t s t o is f i n d i n g af e a t u r e c a p a b l e o f d i f f
e r e n t i a t in g t he g o - f u t u r e f r o m t h e s i m p l
e x ( o r wi l l -f u t u r e in t h e m a x i m u m n u m b e r o
f c a s es - i d e a ll y a ll - i n w h i c h a c o n t r a s tis
p er c e iv e d , l a A n u m b e r o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n
s c a m e t o b e r e j ec t e d a s e i t h e re r r o n e o u s r
e a d i n g s o f t h e c o n t r a s t , o r , a l te r n a t iv e
l y , a s v a l i d b u t l i m i t e dr e a d i n g s ( i . e . o
v e r t o n e s ) , t o o n a r r o w t o a c c o u n t f o r a s i
g n i f i c a n t p o r t i o no f th e d a t a , a s d e t e r m i
n e d b y t h e e a se w i th w h i c h c o u n t e r e x a m p l e
s c o u l db e a d d u c e d . I w i ll o u t l i n e b r i e f l y
s e v e ra l s u c h a p p r o a c h e s ; f o r a m o r ed e t a i
l e d d i s c u s s i o n a n d e x a m p l e s s e e F l e i s c h
m a n 1 9 8 2 a : s e c t i o n 4 . 4 . 1 .4.1 .
T o b e g i n w i t h , t e m p o r a l p r o x i m i t y (i.e .
t h e i m m e d i a t e f u t u r e i n t er -p r e t a t i o n ) m
u s t b e r u l e d o u t , s i n c e c u r r e n t l y g o - f u t
u r e s c a n a n d o f t e n a r eu s e d t o d e s c r i b e s i
t u a t i o n s i n t h e i n d e t e r m i n a t e a n d p o t e n
t i a l l y d i s t a n tf u t u r e , a s in (3 ) a n d ( 4) . S i
m i l a r l y i n a p p r o p r i a t e , t h e r e f o r e , i s t
h e s u g g e s t i o no f F l y d a l ( 19 43 ) t h a t th e F r e
n c h g o - f u t u r e re f e r s t o a l o c a l i z e d f u t u
r es i t u a t i o n , i. e. o n e w h o s e p r e ci s e t e m p o
r a l l o c a t i o n h a s b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d , i nc o
n t r a s t t o t h e s i m p l e x f u t u r e w h i c h c a n s e
r v e t o d e s c r i b e e i t h e r l o c a l i z e do r n o n -
l o c a l i z e d s i t u a t i o n s .
I n a d e q u a t e a r e v a r i o u s d i s t i n c t i o n s
t h a t r e v o l v e a r o u n d t h e e p i s t e m i cn o t i o
n o f p o s s i b i l it y : f o r e x a m p l e , t h e i d e a t
h a t t h e g o - f u t u r e a s s u m e s t h ee x i s t e n c e
o f t h e f u t u r e s i t u a t i o n , w h e r e a s i t r e m a
i n s c o n t i n g e n t w i t h t h es i m p l e x o r w i l l -
f u t u r e ( J o o s 1 96 4; B i n n i c k 1 97 2) ; o r a d i s t
i n c t i o n b a s e do n i l l o c u t i o n a r y f o r ce s u c
h a s B o y d a n d T h o r n e s (1 96 9) d i s t i n c t i o n b
e t w e e nm a k i n g a s t a t e m e n t a n d m a k i n g a pred
ic t ion . 14 O t h e r s u g g e s t i o n s f o r ab a s i c m e
a n i n g f o r t h e g o - f u t u r e s u c h a s i m m i n e n c
e , i n t e n t i o n a l i t y o r p r e -m ed i t a t i on , i
ncep t i ve o r i nchoa t i ve a c t i o n f a il s i m i l a r ly
o n g r o u n d s o f i n -a d e q u a c y . C o u n t e r e v i d
e n c e is e a s y t o a d d u c e , t h o u g h t h e m a t t e r
w i ll n o tb e p u r s u e d f u r t h e r h e r e .
S u f f i ce i t t o s a y t h a t a l l o f t h e a b o v e o p
p o s i t i o n s o r d i s t i n c t i v e f e a t u r e sc a n a
c c o u n t f o r s o m e o f t h e d a t a , b u t n o n e b y i
ts e l f c a n a c c o u n t f o r a l lo f it . W h a t is c a ll
ed f o r i s a l o w e r c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r ; a s i
t t u r n o u t ,a ll o f t h e se f e at u r e s m a y b e s u b s
u m e d u n d e r t h e b r o a d e r u m b r e l l a o fp r e s e
n t r e l e v a n c e .
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190 s. Fleischman / From pragmatics to gram ma rI m p l i c i t
i n a ll t h e p r o p o s e d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f th
e g o - f u t u r e i s a c o n n e c -
t i o n b e t w e e n p r e s e n t a ~ a d f u t u r e a c c o
r d i n g t o w h i c h t h e f u t u r e s i t u a t io n ,i r r e
sp e c t i v e o f it s r e a l- t i m e d i s t a n c e f r o m '
n o w ' , is v i e w e d b y t h e s p e a k e ra s g r o w i n g o
u t o f , o r s o m e h o w i n r e l a t i o n t o , t h e p r e s
e n t w o r l d - s t a t e . T h ee s s e n t i a l p o i n t i s
t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l r a t h e r t h a n c h r o n o l o
g i c a l n a t u r e o f t h i sl in k t o t h e p r e s e n t , w
h i c h a c c o u n t s f o r t h e a b i li t y o f g o - f u t u
r e s t o d e s c r i b es i t u a t io n s l o c a t e d e v e n i
n t h e v e r y r e m o t e f u t u r e . I n ( 4) t h e a d v e r
b u n j o u rs i t u a t e s t h e e v e n t i n t h e n o n - l o
c a l i z e d a n d p o s s i b l y q u i t e d i s t a n t f u t u
r e .H o w e v e r , t h e e v e n t ' s r e a l i z a t i o n i s
r e p r e s e n t e d a s a p o t e n t i a l c o n s e q u e n c
eo f th e p r e s u p p o s e d c o n t i n u a t i o n o f a p r e
s e n t c o n d i t i o n , i . e . t h e a d d r e s s e e ' sh a
b i t u a l n e g l i g e n c e i n c r o s s i n g s t re e t s .
S i m i l a r l y i n ( 5 ) :
(5) I1 ava it l 'apparence d'un homm e qui va mourir.'He look ed
like a m an w ho is about to die. 't h e m a n ' s i m m i n e n t
d e m i s e is r e l a t e d b y t h e s p e a k e r t o h is s t a
t e o f i ll - h e a lt ha t r e f e r e n c e ti m e . H e r e t h
e s i m p l e x f u t u r e m o u r r a w o u l d o n l y r e n d e
r t h es t a t e m e n t p o i n t l e s s : s o o n e r o r la t e
r i t h a p p e n s t o e v e r y o n e .
W h a t t h e g o - f u t u r e c o n v e y s in s u c h e x a m
p l e s i s e ss e n t ia l l y p r a g m a t i ci n f o r m a t i
o n : i t e x p r e ss e s t h e s p e a k e r s s u b j e c t i v
e v i e w o f t h e s i t u a t i o n a tt h e m o m e n t o f u t
t e r a n c e . H i s p e rs p e c ti v e o n t h e s i tu a t i o
n m a y c h a n g e ,t h o u g h t h e s i t u a t io n i t s e lf
r e m a i n s f i x e d in t i m e , a s i l l u s t ra t e d i n (
6 ) - ( 7 ) :
(6) D6s qu'il viendra - car il va venir ...'as s oo n as he
comes - for he is going to com e.. .( 7 ) Nous allons jouer; tu
joueras d'abord, et m oi, je jouerai ensuite.~5'we're going to pla
y (now ); you'l l pla y first , the n I 'l l play. 'T h e a c t u a
l t i m e o f th e v i s it o r 's a r r iv a l o r t h e p e r i o
d o f p i a n o p l a y i n g d o e sn o t c h a n g e ; o n l y t
h e s p e a k e r 's w a y o f l o o k i n g a t , h e n c e o f r
e p re s e n t in gt h e s e e v e n t s .4 . 2 .
A n o t h e r w a y o f f o r m u l a t i n g t h e s u b j e c
ti v it y f a c t o r in h e r e n t in g o - f u t u r e sis in t
e r m s o f s p e a k e r i n v o l v e m e n t in t h e p r e d i
c a t e d e v e n t . T h e g o - c o n s t g u c t io np r e s u p
p o s e s a d e g r e e o f p a r t i c i p a t i o n , i n t e r e
s t , o r p e r s o n a l i n v o l v e m e n t int h e s it u a ti
o n t h a t g e n e r a l ly is n o t c o n v e y e d , o r m u s t
b e c o n v e y e d b y o t h e rm e a n s , w h e n a m o r e n e
u t r a l, p s y c h o l o g i c a l ly d e t a c h e d f u t u r e
is c h o s e n .A d m i t t e d l y , t h e s e n u a n c e s a r e
o f t e n e x t r e m e l y s u b tl e a n d h i g h ly c o n t e x
t -s e n s it iv e , i n a d d i t i o n t o v a r y i n g f r o m
o n e l a n g u a g e t o a n o t h e r .
-
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S. Fleischman / Fro m pragmatics to gramm ar 1914 .3 .
T o s u m u p o u r f i n d i n g s r e g a r d in g t h e tw o
f u t u r e s f o u n d i n m o s t o fW e s t e r n R o m a n c e
a n d E n g l i s h , i t a p p e a r s t h a t a l o n g a t e m p
o r a l a x is( u s in g t e m p o r a l a s d e f in e d a b o v e
) , t h e s i m p l ex f u t u r e a n d g o - f u t u r e a rec u
r r e n t l y e q u i v a l e n t, a n d i n m a n y c o n t e x t
s i n t e r c h a n g e a b le , w i t h m i n i m a li f a n y d i
f f er e n c e i n m e a n i n g . T h e y c a n b o t h b e u s e
d t o d e s c r i b e a l l m a n n e ro f s i tu a t i o n s lo c
a t e d o n t h e f u t u r e s id e o f n o w . L i k e w i s e, a
l o n g t h e r e l e v a n tm o d a l a x e s ( p r o b a b i l i
t y , s u p p o s i t i o n / i n f e r e n c e , v o l i t i o n ,
a t t e n u a t i o n , e t c . )t h e tw o c o v e r m u c h t h o
u g h n o t a l l o f t h e s am e g r o u n d (s ee F l e i s c h
m a n1982a).
T h e s e f a c t o r s , c o u p l e d w i t h t h e g o - f u
t u r e s s t e a d i l y in c r e a s i n g t e x t f r e -q u e n
c y w o u l d s e em t o a r g u e c o n c l u s i v e l y f o r r
e g a r d i n g t h e s e f o r m a t i o n sa s f u l l- f le d g
e d t e n se f o r m s . Y e t , m o s t n o r m a t i v e a n d p
e d a g o g i c a l g r a m m a r s ,a n d e v e n a n u m b e r o
f t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l a n a l y s e s , 16 h a v e b e
e n r e l u c t a n t t od o s o . T h e g o - f u t u r e , h o w
e v e r , h a s r e t a i n e d , a s a n i m p o r t a n t o v e r
t o n e o ni ts b a si c m e a n i n g a n o p t i o n a l c o n n
e c t i o n w i t h t h e s p e a k e r s p r e s e n t w h i c his
l a c k i n g i n th e s im p l e x f u t u r e a n d w h i c h t r
a n s l a te s i n t o g r a m m a r a s a na s p e c t o f p r o s
p e c t i o n .4 .4 .
W h a t h a s b e e n r e f e r r e d t o h e r e a s p r o s p
e c t i o n i s t h e f u t u r e - o r i e n t e dd i m e n s i o
n o f p r e s e n t r e l e v a n c e - - P R , c f . n o t e 2 5 )
. T h i s i s p r o b a b l y a sa p p r o p r i a t e a p l a c e
a s a n y t o d e f i n e t h i s n o t i o n .
W h i l e c e r t a in s c h o l ar s , R o m a n i s t s i n p
a r t i c u l a r ( P a i v a B o l e o 1 9 36 ; A l a r c o sL l o
r a c h 1 9 4 7 ; H a r r i s 1 9 8 2 ) a p p e a r t o r e g a r d
P R a s a t e m p o r a l c o n c e p t ,m y o w n v ie w is t h a
t w h e n P R i s g r a m m a t i c a l i z e d , it i s g r a m m
a t i c a l i z e di n i t ia l l y a s a s p e c t ( a s d e f i n
e d a b o v e ) , a l b e i t w i t h a t e m p o r a l o v e r t o
n e . W e r ei t e s s e n ti a ll y t e m p o r a l , P R w o u l
d i n v o l v e n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n a c h r o n o l o g i
c a lr e l a t io n s h i p b e t w e e n t w o e v e n t s ( e a r
l ie r t h a n / l a t e r t h a n ) . T h e t e m p o r a ll o c a
t i o n o f a n e v e n t c a n b e d e t e r m i n e d m o r e o r
l es s p re c is e l y in r e l a t i o nt o a n e s t a b l i s h
e d r e f e r e n c e p o i n t , w h i c h i s u l t i m a t e l y
S . T h e s p e a k e r c a n ,h o w e v e r , c h o o s e t o r e
p r e s e n t t h a t e v e n t i n v a r i o u s w a y s ( t h r o
u g h c o m -b i n a t i o n s o f t e ns e , as p e c t, m o d a l
s , t i m e a d v e r b s ) w h i c h i n v o l v e f a c t o r so
t h e r t h a n o r i n a d d i t i o n t o s e q u e n c e , a n d
w i t h o r w i t h o u t r e f e r e n c e t o S .O n e s u c h r
e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n v o l v e s p l a c i n g t h e e v e
n t i n a l o g i c a l o r c a u s a lr e l a t i o n t o a r e f
e r e n c e p o i n t . T h i s i s c l e a r l y a s u b j e c t i
v e d e t e r m i n a t i o n , n o tn e c e s s ar i ly s h a r e
d b y o t h e r s p e a k e r s d e s c r i b i n g t h e s a m e e
v e n t . T h e s u b -
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192 S F l e is c h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a
m m a r
ject ivi ty of current relevance is therefore not, I feel,
strictly temporal, butrather seems to correspond to what various
linguists (Anderson 1973;Comrie 1976) have labelled prospective and
retrospective aspects. These areways of viewing an event in which a
(non-chronological or not primarilychronological) connection is
established between the event and the referencepoint, in the case
of present relevance, between the event and now .-A non-present
situation is linked up in the speaker s mind to the here-and-now.
We shall consider the past and future varieties of PR to be
synonymousrespectively with retrospection (a past situation viewed
in terms of its sub-sequent [in this case present] repercussions)
and prospection (a future situ-ation viewed as resulting from,
determined by, or contingent upon prior[here present]
circumstances). These relationships are diagrammed in (8):
8 ) i r e t r o s p e c t i o n ) E S E p r o s p e c t i o n
)Reichenbach (1947) contrasts the French future forms je vais voir
and
je verrai as in (9):(9) j e va is voi r je ver ra i
SR E S RE
In its linearity this representation might suggest a temporal
contrast. Yet,what is captured by placing the reference point (R) -
or what has variouslybeen called the orientation (McIntosh 1966) or
speaker s point o f primaryconcern (Close 1977) - coincident with S
is precisely what is referred tohere as the PR of the
go-future.
As suggested above, in the languages that make use of both
future struc-tures, there are currently numerous situations in
which the two are virtuallyinterchangeable, according to speakers,
although appropriate contexts mayvary from language to language
(cf. (22) below). What this means in termsof diachrony is that the
go-construction has moved into the territory ofthe future tense and
is now operating in environments in which its aspectualfeature of
PR/prospection has been neutralized.4 5
Certain specialists in the Romance verbal system insist that
temporalrelations in Romance are expressed by s implex forms, and
that complexforms contribute something additional, in particular
aspectual nuances (Co-
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S F l e i s ch m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a m m
a r 93
ser iu 1976: 119) .17 Whi l e i n p r inc ip l e I wou ld ag ree
wi th t h i s pos i t i on andh av e a r g u ed f o r i t m y s e l
f ( F l e is ch man 1 98 2a ), I w o u l d n o n e t h e l e s s p
o i n to u t t h a t C o s e r i u s c a t eg o r i ca l f o r m u
l a t io n o f t h is g en e r a l i z a ti o n d o es n o tt a k e
in t o a c c o u n t a n i m p o r t a n t p h e n o m e n o n o f
d i a c h r o n y , n a m e l y t h a to v e r t i me p e r i p h r
a s t ic m o d a l s an d a s p ec t u a l s o f t en d ev e l o p
i n t o t en s efo rms . T h i s i s a wel l - a t t es t ed sh i
ft in l angu age h i s to ry ( see no t e 6 ), an dis th e pr e c
is e p a t h o f c h a n g e m a r k e d o u t b y t h e g o - c o
n s tr u c t io n i n R o m a n c e
a n d E n g li sh . T h i s f o r m a t i o n i s a c k n o w l
e d g e d t o b e t h e p r e d o m i n a n t f u t u ret en se f o
r m i n t h e s p eech o f a n u m b er o f ( r eg io n a l an d s
o c i a l) d i a l ect s o fEn g li sh , F r en c h , S p an i s h
, an d P o r t u g u es e .1 8 O n e co n s eq u en c e o f t h e d
ev e -l o p m en t o f t h e g o - co n s t r u c t i o n i n t o a
f u t u r e t en s e is t h a t i t is n o l o n g e robligatorily
m a r k e d f o r [ + P R ] . T h e c u r r e n t r e l e v a n c e
f e a t u r e h a s b e e nneu t ra l i zed , as i s s imi l a r ly
t he case fo r t he complex pas t i n s t andard( s p o k en ) F r
en ch an d R o m an i a n 19 ( d is cu s s ed in s ec t io n 5 b e
l o w ) .4 6
A b r i e f r ecap i t u l a t io n o f t h e r e l ev an t p o
i n t s w i t h r e s p ec t t o t h e g o - f u t u r e :l eav ing
as ide t he ear l i es t s t ages ( i t s o r ig in as a cons t ruc
t i on o f spa t i a lm ot ion - as i n I t a l ian s t il l t oday
- , an d i t s sub seq ue n t t r ans fer f rom thed o m a i n o f
s p ace t o t h a t o f ti me ) , 2 w e f i n d t h e g o - co n s
t r u c t i o n o p e r a t i n gea r l y o n a s a p r ag m a t i
c d ev i ce u s ed t o li n k a f u t u r e s i t u a t io n t o t
h e s p ea k e r sp r e s en t. I t en te r s th e f r amew o r k o
f g r am m ar i n it ia l ly a s an ex p o n en t o fp r o s p ec t
i v e a s p ec t , t h e f u t u r e - o r ien t ed d i m en s i o
n o f P R . O v e r t ime , h o w ev e r ,t h e P R r eq u i r emen
t may b e r e l ax ed a s t h e g o - f u t u r e d ev e l o p s i
n t o a t en s ef o r m an d m o v es i n to t h e f u n c ti o n a
l t e r r i t o r y o f t h e s imp l ex f u t u r e .
I t is o f cou r se wel l kno w n th a t sh i f t s o f t h is k
ind r a re ly o cc ur i n i so l a t i onw i t h n o co n c o m i t
an t ad j u s t m en t s t o th e sy s t em. W i t h o u t ap p ea
l i n g t o s u chq u as i - ex p l an a t o r y s t r a t eg i e s
a s p u s h - ch a i n s o r d r ag - ch a i n s , I me r e l y ad
dh e r e t h a t t h e R o man ce s i mp l ex f u t u r e s h av e
a l s o u n d e r g o n e ch an g e ( c f .no t e 8 ) , and in p
red i c t ab l e d i r ec t i ons ( see F l e i sc hm an
1982a).
5 The past systemO n e o f th e mo s t s tr ik i n g f ace ts o
f th is d ev e l o p m en t i n t h e f u t u r e s y s t em
is i ts quas i - r ep l i ca t i on on the o ther s i de o f no
w , i .e . i n t he pas t sys t emw i t h r eg a r d t o t h e s i
mp l ex an d co mp l ex f o r ma t i o n s ( s ee t ab l e 1 )
.
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194 S F l e is c h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a
m m a r5 . 1 . P e r f e c t v s. p r e t e r i t
I w i ll n o t a t t e m p t h e r e a n i n - d e p t h a n a l
y s i s o f t h e s e t w o p a r a d i g m s i nt h e v a r i o u
s l a n g u a g e s u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n . T h e l i
t e r a t u r e o n t h i s q u e s t i o ni s e x t e n s iv e , f
o r i n d i v i d u a l l a n g u a g e s a n d d i a l e c t s a s
w e l l a s c o m p a r a t i v e . 21A c k n o w l e d g i n g t h
a t t h e c o n t r a s t o p e r a t e s w i t h p er c e p t ib l
e d i f f er e n c e s f r o mo n e l a n g u a g e t o a n o t h e
r , a n d e v e n a m o n g d i al e ct s o f t h e s a m e l a n g
u a g e ,I w i l l a g a i n p r o p o s e s o m e b a s i c o p e
r a t i n g d e f i n i t i o n s ( a d a p t e d f r o m H a r r i
s ) .5.1 .1 .
I n t h e c a s e o f PR E T ER IT , t h e s i t u a t i o n ( E
) d e s c r i b e d b y t h e v e r b o r t h er e f e r e n c e p
e r i o d ( R ) i n w h i c h i t i s l o c a t e d i s e n t i r e
l y p a s t , i s seen a s c o m -p l e t e d r a t h e r t h a n i
n p r o g r e s s a t t h e t i m e i n q u e s t i o n , a n d i s
n o t r e p r e s e n t e da s b e i n g r e l e v a n t t o t h e
s p e a k e r s p r e s e n t . B y c o n t r a s t , PRESENT)
PERFECTi s u s e d t o r e f e r t o a s i t u a t i o n t h a t b
e g a n o r f i r s t o c c u r r e d a t a n e a r l i e rm o m e
n t a nd i s s t i l l go ing on , o r a s i t u a t i o n w h o s
e r e f e r e n c e p e r i o d s a t i s f i e sth i s c r i t e r
ion (e .g . t o d a y , in t h e p a s t t e n y e a r s ; c f . a
l so no te 33 ) , o r a c o m -p l e t e d p a s t s i t u a t i o
n r e g a r d e d a s s t i l l r e l e v a n t a t t h e p r e s e
n t m o m e n t . 22 T h es a l ie n t s e m a n t i c f e a t u r
e o f R o m a n c e a n d E n g l i s h p e r f ec t s , i.e . th e
i r c o n n e c -t i o n w i t h t i m e - n o w , i s m o r p h o
l o g i c a l l y t r a n s p a r e n t i n t h e s e s t r u c t u
r e s w h i c hc o m b i n e a p r e s e n t - te n s e a u x i l i
a r y w i t h a p a s t p a r ti c ip l e . T h i s c o n s t r u c
t i o nt y p e i s, o f c o u r s e , n o t p e c u l i a r t o R o
m a n c e a n d G e r m a n i c ; i t is a f a i r lyc o m m o n s
t r a t e g y f o r e n c o d i n g t h e p e r f e c t ( e . g . i
n F i n n i s h , A l b a n i a n , A r m e -n i a n , c e r t a i
n G e o r g i a n f o r m s , H i n d i - U r d u , P u n j a b i ,
e t c . ) .5.1 .2 .
A c c o r d i n g to a n u m b e r o f i n v e s ti g a t o rs (
F r ie d r ic h 1 97 4; L i a n d T h o m p s o n1 9 8 2) t h e d i
s t i n c t i v e f e a t u r e o f p e r f e c t a s p e c t i s t
h a t i t b r i n g s s t a t e s o fa f f a i rs i n t o t h e c u
r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . I s e e n o n e e d t o d e m o n s t
r a t e t h i s c la i m ,a s I a t t e m p t e d t o d o v e r y s
u m m a r i l y f o r th e g o - f u t u r e , s in c e t h e re a
p p e a r st o b e c o n s e n s u s i n r e c o g n i z i n g P R
a s t h e d i s t i n g u i s h i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o
fp e r f e c t s . T h u s J e s p e r s e n ( 1 9 3 1 : s e c t i
o n 4 . 1 ) d e s c r i b e s o n e t y p e o f E n g l i s hp e r
f e c t a s c o n n e c t i n g t h e P r e s e n t t i m e w i t h
th e P a s t . . ., a r e t r o s p e c t i v eP r e s e n t , w h
i c h l o o k s u p o n t h e p r e s e n t s t a t e a s a r e s u
l t o f w h a t h a s h a p p e n e di n th e p a s t . 23 A l o n
g t h i s s a m e l i n e , b u t r e v e r s i n g t h e d i r e c
t i o n o f t h e e n t a i l -m e n t , L i a n d T h o m p s o n
( 19 82 ) g i v e a c o n v i n c i n g d e m o n s t r a t i o n t
h a t t h eb a s ic f u n c t i o n o f t h e M a n d a r i n s e n
t e n c e - f in a l p a r t ic l e le 24 i s a p r a g m a t i co
n e , n a m e l y t o s i g n a l ' c u r r e n t r e l e v a n c e
' . 25 F r o m t h is p o s i t i o n t h e y a r g u ef o r i ts b
e in g a m a r k e r o f p e r f e c t a s p e c t , e v e n t h o
u g h t h e p a r t i c le is n o ta s s o c i a t e d s p e c i f
ic a l ly w i t h t h e v e r b .
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S . F l e i sc h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a m
m a r 195
5 2 Development of the Romance complex pastsThe complex pasts
listed in table 1, particularly those deriving fromhabeo f a c t t
l 2 6 have all at one time conformed - and several still do
con-
form - to our working definition of perfects. Predictably,
however, a numberof these have developed, to greater or lesser
degrees, beyond the arche-typal perfect function retrospective
present) in the direction of pasts, justas the prospective
go-constructions have evolved in the direction of futures.The
history of the Romance complex pasts in relation to their
simplexcounterparts is discussed in detail in Harris 1982. Harris
distinguishes fourfunctional stages in this diachronic continuum,
all of which are currentlyattested in dialects of Romance.5 2 1
The common starting point is the state of affairs that prevailed
in VulgarLatin, given in table 2 as stage I: a simplex past with
both preterit andperfect functions alongside a new complex
structure used only to describethe present states resulting from
past actions; at this stage the complexformation cannot yet be used
to refer to past actions per se. This state of
Table 2Evo l u t i on o f R oma nc e pa s t sy s t e msS t age S
i mp l ex fo rm C om pl e x fo rm C ur re n t l y a t te s t ed i n
:I All past func tions On ly prese nt sta tes Sicil ian, Cala
brian
resul t ing f rom pas ts i tua t ionsBeginnings o f perfectfunc
t ion but l imi ted tos i tua t ions of a pa r t icula raspec tua l
prof i le
Preteri t Perfect (i .e . pas t act ion swi t h P R )
II
I I I
IV
Most pas t s i tua t ions( inc luding recent pas t ora t ime
period st i l l inprogress)
Res t r ic ted to formalregisters, eventuallye l imina ted
Al l pas t s i tua t ions(pre te r i t and pe rfec tfunc t
ions)
Gal ic ian , Por tuguese ,Ame r i c a n S pa n i sh
English (a), Cast i l ian,Spanish, vars. of Oc,Oi l , Ca ta
lanStd . French, N. I ta l ian ,s td . Ro ma nian (b) ,Ca ta lan
(c)
(a ) Inc luded he re so le ly for purposes o f com pari son .(b)
Though s tandard French and Romanian have reached s tage IV, s tage
I I I i s prese rved invarious regional dialects .(c) See n.
28.
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196 S . F l e i s c h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g
r a m m a r
affairs still obtains in Sicilian and dialects of Southern
Italy. Subsequently,the complex structure evolves in two stages,
according to Harris, towarda true perfect whose primary function is
to signal past events marked for[+PR]. At the earlier of these
intermediate stages (II), which we findcurrently attested in
Galician-Portuguese and varieties of American Spanish,the complex
formation begins to resemble a perfect as defined above, butcarries
with it aspectual restrictions; appropriate use of the form,
Harrisclaims, requires a durative or repetitive situation (i.e.
where English woulduse the progressive perfect hav e been doing ).
2~5.2 .2 .
By the third stage, currently represented in English, Peninsular
(Castilian)Spanish, and regional varieties of French and Occitan,
the complex struc-ture has become a canonical perfect, capable of
referring to all manner ofpast situations marked for [+PR]. As we
shall see, however, PR is notinterpreted in precisely the same way
in all languages. I omit details ofthese intermediate stages as
they are peripheral to the focus of our discussion.Harris s fourth
stage, however, merits a closer look.5.2 .3 .
In standard spoken French, Northern Italian, standard Romanian,
andCatalan (the last with respect to the go-past) 28 the
development has gonethe furthest. In these areas a complex past has
come to assume all t e m p o r a lfunctions of the simplex past,
such that the latter is now restricted toformal registers, and may
be eliminated entirely. Rather than express tenseor aspect, the
simplex past now serves primarily to identify a particularvariety
of discourse, i.e. third-person narrative. 29 The complex past
-inthese dialects functions as both a preterit and a perfect, and
the oppositionthereby ceases to be formally encoded. Such was the
state of affairs inClassical Latin also. However, in Latin it was
the simplex form f e c i )that did double duty, while in Romance,
in conformity with the prevailingsyntactic typology (SVO), it is
the complex form with a present-tenseauxiliary. This neutralization
of the perfect-preterit opposition is evidentin (10) and (11), if
we compare the French and Italian examples with theirEnglish
equivalents in which the contrast is still explicit:
(10a) J e n a i r i e n m a n g o d e l a j o u r n + e .(10b) O
g g i n o n h o m a n g i a t o p r o p r i o n i e n t e .I h a v
e n t e a t e n a t h i n g a l l d a y . 3 (1 la) J e n a i r i e
n m a n g o b i e r n o n p l u s .
(1 l b ) N o n h o r n a n g i a t o n i e n t e n e a n c h e i
e r i .I d i d n t e a t a n y t h i n g y e s t e r d a y e i t h
e r .
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S F l e i s c h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a m
m a r 197
5 3
I t s h o u l d n o t b e i n f e rr ed f r o m o u r d i s cu s
s io n t h a t t h e d ev e l o p m en t o u t -l in ed f o r p e r
f ec t s is co n f i n ed t o R o m an ce . S i mi la r ly in a n u
m b er o f G e r m an i c( Y i d d i sh , A f r ik aan s , v a r i
e t ie s o f G e r ma n ) a n d S l av o n ic ( m o s t ex cep t B
u l -g a r i an an d M aced o n i an ) l an g u ag es , f o r ms w
i th p r e s en t -t en s e au x i li a ri e s an dpas t par t i c
ip l es a re no l on ger spec i f i ca ll y per fec t in mea n ing
, bu t haveacq u i red a p re t e r i t d im ens ion as wel l (Co m
r ie 1976 107) . In a ll t hese lanzg u ag es t h e r e s u lt is a
' d i s c r ep an cy ' b e t w ee n F O R M , w h i ch co m p r i s
e s p r e s en tan d p as t , an d M EA N I N G , w h i ch i s o f
t en ju s t p a s t . I n o t h e r w o r d s , t h ech a r ac t e
r is t ic f o r m o f a p e r f ec t is co n v ey i n g t h e m ean
i n g o f a p r e t e r it
i f i t i s even l eg i timate t o i nvo ke th i s func t iona l
- sem an t i c d i s t i nc t ion fo ra l an g u ag e w h i ch h as
cea s ed t o en co d e i t f o r ma l l y ( s ee n o t e 4 0 ) . Th
e r ea r e l an g u ag es w h i ch a r e mo r e co n s i s t en t
an d i s o mo r p h i c i n t h e i r f o r ma lrep res en t a t i
on s o f th i s m ean ing d i s t i nc t i on , sx whi l e o ther s
r ever se t he ex -pec t ed co r re l a t i ons .5 4
I t h a s b een v a r i o u s l y o b s e r v e d ( J e s p e rs
en 1 9 3 1 : 2 7 ; A n d e r s o n 1 97 3 3 9 ;Co m r ie 1976 : 54
f ) t ha t a usefu l heur i s t i c fo r i den t i fy ing the per
fec t i nEng l i sh i s an app are n t co occ ur ren ce res t r i c
t ion , ope ra t i ve i n a ll bu t asca t t e r ing o f marg ina l
s i t ua t i ons , 32 on the use o f th i s fo rm toge ther wi than
exp l i c i t spec i f i ca t ion o f t he t ime o f the pa s t e
ven t . Th us , a sen t ence suchas (12) i s inadmissib le in Engl
i sh:
(12) *I have got(ten) up at seven o'clock this mor ning, asP u r
s u i n g t h i s o b s e r v a t i o n f u r t h e r , w e mi g h
t h y p o t h es i ze t h e r e s t r i c t i o n t obe a conseq
uen ce o f the f ac t t ha t t he Eng l i sh com plex p as t i s s
ti ll a ( s t ageI I I ) per fec t . On ly a t s t age IV, i . e .
once t he fo rm has come to func t ionsquare ly as a p re t e r i t
, migh t we expec t i t t o be compat ib l e wi th exp l i c i t l
ypas t - t ime adverb i a l s .
T h i s h y p o th e s i s a p p e a r s t o b e s u p p o r t e
d b y a c o m p a r i s o n o f e q u i v a le n t so f (1 2) in o
t h e r l an g u ag es h e r e u n d e r s u r v ey . Th e co m p l
ex p as t is l ik ew i s eu n accep t ab l e i n P o r t u g u es e
, a l s o s t ag e I I I :
(13) *Hoje eu me t en h o leva n ta d o As sete da manhfi.w h e
r eas i n s t an d a r d F r en ch (1 4), N o r t h e r n I t a li
an ( 15 ), an d s t an d a r d R o -
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198 S . F l e B c h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r
a m m a r
manian (16) - all stage IV - not only is the complex past
acceptable, it isthe o n l y option in speech:
(14) F r . C e m a t i n j e m e s u i s l ev O f i s e p t h e
u r e s .1 5 ) I t . O g g i m i s o n o a l z a t o a l l e s e t
t e .(16) D a c o - R o m . A z i d i m i n e a t a m - a m s c u l
a t la ~apte. 34Further insight into this question might be gained
by looking at it in
the light of Anderson s (1973) localist interpretation o f the
observedtendency for prospective and retrospective aspect markers
to develop intofuture and past tenses respectively. Aspect markers,
Anderson contends,frequently collocate with point-of-time adverbs
to yield expressions of tem-poral location; it is ultimately the
adverbs - themselves often locative inorigin - that constitute the
source o f tense, 3s This, however, raises achicken-and-egg
question of whether co-occurrence with time adverbs iswhat serves
to move perfects in the direction of past tenses - in which casewhy
are (12) and (13) still unacceptable? - or, alternatively, whether
theachievement of tense status (i.e. stage IV), however this is
accomplished,is the necessary precondition for allowing complex
pasts to collocate withpast-time adverbials, as Anderson and our
data above seem to suggest.
I have deliberately reserved for last the relevant examples from
Catalanand Spanish. These appear to run counter to our hypothesis
that preteritsbut not perfects should co-occur with past-time
specification; they may,however, shed light on the question of
relative chronology posed above.The spontaneously elicited version
of (12) in Catalan (stage IV with respectto va ig f e r shows not
the preterit v a ig f e r but the perfect h e f e t :
(17) M h e l l e v a t a q u e s t m a t i a l e s s e t .My
informant attributes this usage to the particular adverb at issue,
thismorning being one of the classic cases in which individual
variation inthe use of preterit and perfect has been observed.
36Spanish seems to allow both possibilities:
(18) H o y m e h e l e v a n t a d o a l a s s i e t e .(19) H o
y m e l e v a n t ~ a l a s s i e t e .Yet, speakers of several
dialects (American and Peninsular) whom I haveconsulted tend to
prefer, and produce spontaneously (e.g. in response toa question
such as Comrie s W h y d o y o u l o o k s o t i r e d ? the
version of (19)with the preterit, though they find (18) entirely
acceptable.
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S F l e is c h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a m m
a r 99
S p an i s h mi g h t t h e r e f o r e r ep r e s en t t h e t
r an s it io n a l s i t u a t i o n o f a p e r f ec tw h i ch , u
n l i k e i t s En g l i s h an d P o r t u g u es e co u n t e r p
a r t s , c a n co - o ccu r w i t hex p l i c i t p a s t - t i me
s p ec i f i ca t i o n , an d w h i ch may t h e r e f o r e a l r
ead y b e h ead edd o w n th e p a t h t ak en b y i ts co n g en e
r s in F r en ch , N o r t h e r n I t a li an , an dR o m an i an
.3 7 Th e accep t ab i l i t y o f (1 8) mi g h t a l s o p r o v i
d e a p i ece o f ev i d en ceu s e fu l in r e s o l v in g t h e
q u e s t i o n p o s ed ab o v e co n ce r n i n g t h e r e l a t
iv e ch r o n -o l o g y o f t en s e s t a t u s an d c o - o ccu
r r en ce w i t h p a s t - t im e ad v e r b i a l s , t h o u g h
i tis no t a t a ll es t ab l i shed , as C om r ie (1976 : 54 )
cau t ious ly no tes , t ha t t heco-o ccu r renc e r es t r i c t
ion on per fec t s is a ne cessary s t a t e o f a f fa i r s i n l
an -guage . S til l, fo r ou r pu rp ose , t he opera t ion o r n
on-o pera t ion o f t h is r es tr i c -t io n m ay p r o v e t o b
e a d i ag n o s t ic i n d i ca t o r o f t h e ex t en t t o w h
i ch a p e r f ec th as m o v ed i n t h e d i r ec ti o n o f a p
a s t t en s e.5 .5 .
O p en i n g a b r i e f p a r en t h es is , I w o u l d p o i
n t o u t t h a t t h e s h i ft f r o m p e r f ec tto p re t e r
i t i s a p red ic t ab l e c ross - l anguage genera l i za t ion
which opera t esi n d ep en d en t l y o f mo r p h o l o g i ca l
s t r u c tu r e ( s imp l ex v s. co m p l ex , c f. n o t e 3
9).S implex p re t e r i t fo rms such as Eng . I wr o t e , G er .
i c h s c h r i e b a r e u l t i ma t e l yt r aceab l e t o t h e
I n d o - Eu r o p ean p e r f ec t , w h i ch acco r d i n g t o I
n d o - I r an i anan d G r ee k ev i d en ce o r i g in a l ly d e
n o t ed a p r e s en t s t a t e o r r e s u lt o f a c t i o n(Ku
ry tow icz 1972 : 181) . 38 Th e Ro m an ce s implex p as t s ( /
~c r i v i s , e s c r i b i )l ik ew i s e g o b ack t o a La t i
n an ces t o r w h i ch w as b o t h a p r e t e r i t an d ap e r
f ec t. A s t h e s e f o r ms d ev e l o p ed i n to ex p o n en t
s o f p a s t a c t i o n , t h e r e a r o s eb es i d e t h em n
ew ( co mp l ex ) p e r f ec t s : I h a v e wr i t t e n , i c h h
a b e g e s c h r i e b e n ,
j a i d c r i t, h e e s c r i t o , ce r ta i n o f w h i ch h
av e b y n o w r ecap i t u l a t ed t h e s h if tf r o m p e r f
ec t t o p r e t e ri t. 39 ( A n an a l o g o u s cy c l e f o r t
h e p e r i o d i c r emo d e l i n go f t he fu tu re is p ro po
sed in F l e i schm an 1982a .)5 .6 .
H a v i n g s k e tc h e d in o v e r v ie w th e d e v e l o p
m e n t o f R o m a n c e c o m p l e x p a s tst o t h e u l t ima
t e s tag e , rep r e s en t ed b y s t an d a r d F r en ch , N o
r t h e r n I ta l ian ,an d s t an d a r d R o m an i an , i n w h
i ch t h e p r e te r i t- p e r f ec t co n t r a s t is f o r m a
l l yo b l i te r a t ed , 4 I s h o u l d l i k e n o w t o r e t
u r n t o t h e n o t i o n o f P R a s t h e d is -t i ngu ish ing
m ark o f per fec t s .
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200 S. Fleischman / From pragmatics to grammar6 P r e s e n t r
e l e v a n c e
I n a d is c u s si o n o f t h e d e i c ti c d e m o n s t r a
t i v e s t h i s a n d t h a t , F i l l m o r e ( 1 9 7 5 )o b s
e r v e s t h a t t h e s e n t e n c e s i n ( 2 0 ) :
(20a) THIS has been an interesting course.(20b ) THAT was a
brilliant lecture.a r e c l ea r ly m o r e a c c e p t a b l e t h
a n t h o s e i n ( 2 1 ):
( 2 1 a ) T H A T has been an interesting course.(21b ) THIS was
a brilliant lecture.F i l lm o r e d o e s n o t c o m m e n t o n
t h e v e r b f o r m s ; h o w e v e r , o n e w o u l d e x p e c
tt h a t t h e p e r f e c t ( h a s b e e n ) w o u l d b e m o r
e c o m p a t i b l e w i th a d e ic t ic e l e m e n ts i m i l
ar l y m a r k e d f o r [ + P R ] , i n t h is in s t a n c e a d
e m o n s t r a t i v e c o n v e y i n gp r o x i m i t y o r r e
le v a n c e to t h e s p e a k e r / s p e e c h s i tu a t i o n
.
P r e s e n t r e l e v a n c e , h o w e v e r , i s a s u b j
e c t i v e n o t i o n w h i c h t e n d s t o b ei n t e r p r e
t e d d i f f e r e n t l y f r o m o n e l a n g u a g e t o a n o
t h e r a n d e v e n b e t w e e nd i a le c t s o f t h e s a m e
l a n g u a g e . I w a s m a d e p a r t i c u l a r l y a w a r e
o f s u chd i f fe r e n c e s in m y o w n l a n g u a g e u p o n
r e c e i v in g f r o m E n g l a n d a p r e - p r i n to f H a r
r i s 1982 w i t h a n a c c o m p a n y i n g n o t e t h a t b e
g a n : H e r e w i t h a d r a f to f t h e a r t ic l e w e h a v
e sp o k e n a b o u t . . . . S i n c e w e h a d s p o k e n a b
o u t i t s o m em o n t h s e a r li e r a n d h a d n o f u r t h
e r e x c h a n g e o n t h e m a t t e r s in c e, I w a s s t r u
c kb y th i s u s e o f t h e p e rf e c t. R u l i n g o u t t h e
r e a d i n g t h a t H a r r i s ' s a r ti c le w a sp e r h a p
s r e l e v a n t to h i m b u t i r r e l e v a n t t o m e , I o
f f e r th i s a n e c d o t a l e x a m p l es i m p l y a s e v i
d e n c e f o r t h e c l a i m t h a t d i a l e c ts o f a l a n
g u a g e d i ff e r w i t hr e s p e c t t o t h e i n t e r p r e
t a t i o n o f P R . T h i s s e e m s t o b e th e m o s t s a t
is f y in gw a y t o a c c o u n t f o r t h e c r o s s - l a n g
u a g e o r c r o s s - d i a l e c t d i v e rg e n c e o b s e r
v e di n t h e u se o f p e r f e c t v s . p r e t e r i t , o r o
f f u t u r e v s . g o - f u t u r e ( i l lu s t r a t e d i n(
22 ) b e l o w ) , w i t h o u t u n d e r m i n i n g t h e v a l
i d i t y o f d i s ti n c t io n s b a s e d o n P R .
C o m p a r e i n t h is re g a r d t h e F r e n c h a n d E n
g l i s h v e r s io n s o f th e s i t u a t i o ni n ( 22 ) i n w
h i c h s p e a k e r A i s h a v i n g d i f f i c u l ty o p e n
i n g a b o t t l e a n d s p e a k e rB o f f e r s h i s a s s i
s t a n c e :
(2 2a ) A: Je n'arrive pas h deboucher la bouteille.B :
Donne-la-moi, je vais le Jaire.[go-future](*Donne-la m oi, e le
Jerai)[simplex future]
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S . F l e i s c h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a
m m a r 201
(22b) A : I c a n t g e t t h i s b o t t l e o p e n .B : H e r
e , 1 1 1 d o i t f o r y o u .
[ w i l l - f u t u r e ]( * H e r e , I m g o i n g t o d o i t
f o r y o u ) 41[ g o - f u t u r e ]
7 Diae hron ic para l le l ism between past and future system s7
1
An interesting symmetry, both formal and functional, may be
observedin the evolution of the grammatical apparatus for past and
future referencein Romance and English. We have established that at
an earlier stage theessential feature contrasting simplex and
complex, pasts, likewise simplexand complex futures, was something
called present relevance, a pragmaticdevice by which speakers mark
a past or future situation as bearing onthe here-and-now. Thus, in
the appropriate context a speaker of CastilianSpanish could
conceivably use the perfect to refer to an event that occurredin
the indefinite, possibly quite distant past, as in (23), the line
with whichthe poet Miguel Hernfindez begins his elegiac lament over
the death ofa friend :
(23) E n C e r i h e u r a , s u t i e r r a y l a m i a , s e m
e h a m u e r t o R a m 6 n S i j 6 . . .I n C e r i h e u r a , h
i s l a n d a n d m i n e , R a m 6 n S ij 6 d i e d ( li t. h a s
d i e d t o m e ) 42
This pragmatic choice is grammaticalized initially as an aspect:
retro-spection or prospection. And while the languages under survey
differ in theextent to which the complex past has evolved from a
stage I (stative) pre-perfect to a stage IV preterit, in the most
advanced cases - standardFrench being a paradigm example - we
observe how in both past andfuture systems a complex formation
which began as a marker of aspect(or at last functioned as such by
stage II) acquired an additional temporalmeaning belonging to a
simplex rival. In the process the PR requirementin these languages
has been relaxed, with PR becoming an optional andno longer
explicitly encoded feature of the two complex constructions.
Thecomplex tenses can now refer to situations completely detached
from now ,situations which at one time could be described using
only the simplexforms. 43 The current distribution of functions for
French is representedin table 3.
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2 0 2 S Fleischman / From pragmatics to grammar
T a b l e 3F u n c t i o n a l d i s t r ib u t i o n o f p a s
t s a n d f u t u r e s ( F r e n c h )F o r m C o m p l e x = S i
m p l e x +_ P r e s e n t r e l e v a n c eG r a m m a t i c a l T
e n s e / A s p e c t T e n s e A s p e c tc a t e g o r yP a s t j
a i f a i t = j e f i s +_ R e t r o s p e c t i o nF u t u r e j e
v a i s f a i re = j e f e r ai + P r o s p e c t i o n
7.2.Particularly with respect to French there have been various
attempts to
identify - or perhaps impose? - symmetries on the marking
systems forpast and future. According to the most common of these
matrixes (Flydal1943; Klum 1961; Vet 1980), the simplex future
correlates with the pass~compos~ and the go-future with the
recent-past construction with venir , asrepresented in the diagram
in (24):
(24) P A S T F U T U R ET e n s e j a i f a i t j e f e r ai[ +
p r o x i m a l ] j e v i e n s d e f a i r e j e v a i s f a i r
e
This set of correspondences appears to be motivated first, by a
desire tosee functional parallelism in structures that are
etymologically parallel (thosefrom the come and go verbs), and
second, by the erroneous assumptionthat both o f these originally
spatial constructions are marked for [+ proximal].While this is
true for j e v iens de fa ire , it is not the case for the
go-future,which is currently [+_proximal], nor is there any
compelling synchronicmotivation for correlating j e f e ra i with j
' a i f a i t . Within the verbal systemof French today the simplex
future (/ e f e ra l ) is preferably viewed as thecounterpart of
the passk s imple (je f i S , 4 4 while the pass~ composO ( l ai fa
i t)is analogous, both formally and functionally, not to the
simplex futurebut to the go-future. And if according to the above
matrix the venir-construction remains without a corresponding
immediate future, 45 wemust simply chalk this up to the perverse
asymmetry of grammars andto the fact that in prospective languages
(i.e. where the basic temporalopposition is past-nonpast) the
marking systems for past time are predictablymore finely graded
than those for future time. 46
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S F l e i sc h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a m m
a r 2 3
7 3It is neither assumed nor expected that in a given language
the complex
future and complex past structures will evolve at the same rate.
In standardItalian, for example, h o f a t t o has already reached
the preterit stage, whilevado a fa re remains an expression of
spatial motion. In Portuguese, bycontrast, y o u f a z e r is the
predominant future in conversation, while tenho
f e i t o is still a restricted perfect (see Thomas 1969). The
shift from pragmaticdevice --~ aspect ~ tense is simply a p r e d i
c t a b l e p a t h o f c h a n g e which onestructure may follow
independently of the other (or not at all), and withrates of change
varying within a single language as well as from one lan-guage or
dialect to another.7 4
The development of the Romance complex forms into past and
futuretenses is clearly related to the concomitant decline of the
simplex forms(for discussion see Fleischman 1982a). In French the
simplex past haseffectively disappeared from the spoken language
and now functions tosignal a particular variety of discourse, while
the simplex future is largelymodal. If the past should serve as a
guide to the future - as historiansoften claim - then we, or
generations to come, should not be altogethersurprised by an
analogous disappearance of the simplex Romance futuresfrom the
spoken language, or their confinement to exclusively modal
use.Presumably this has already occurred in certain dialects. 477
5
I conclude this discussion by moving from particular historical
develop-ments to a broader theoretical question, and to suggest
that the path ofchange described here for go-futures and complex
pasts might shed somelight on the debated issue of the pragmatic
origins o f grammar.
8 . O n t h e p r a g m a t i c o r i g i n s o f t e n s e a s
p e c tThere have been a numt~er of recent claims in the
literature, perhaps
the most vigorous and broad-ranging by Giv6n at various points
in hiswritings, 48 to the effect that much of the appara tus of
grammar has its
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2 0 4 S F l e is c h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r
a m m a r
source in the pragmatics of discourse. Specifically in regard to
tense-aspect,this position is also argued in Hopper 1979 in
reference to strategies forforegrounding and b~fckgrounding in
narration.
Hopper observes (p. 239) that one finds frequently in languages
an aspectmarker specialized for foregrounding, or one for
backgrounding, or both,and that superimposed on these aspectuals
there may be indicators of tenge.In French, for example, the p a s
s d s i m p l e / i m p a r f a i t contrast has been inter-preted
as one involving narrative focus (Reid 1 9 7 6 , 4 9 and Hopper (p.
217)insists on viewing this and analogous aspectual distinctions as
DERIVINGFROM discourse rather than as ready-made devices 'deployed
' in discoursebecause they happen already to exist .
According to the opposite view, as argued in Traugott 1979,
rather thanoriginate in discourse, tense and aspect come to express
discourse functionsonly a f t e r they have served a purely
referential, non-discourse function,in the same way as, for
example, certain discourse organizing devices canbe shown to have
developed out of the referential meanings of the respectiveterms
(locative interrogative wh ere --~ relative wh ere --~ concessive w
h e r e a s ) ;time-adverb whi le - -~ adversative conjunction
while ) , rather than the otherway around (Traugott forthcoming).
5
Without wishing to debate the theoretical merits of these
contrastingviews, I would simply point out that my own findings
with respect to thetense-aspect phenomena here at issue appear to
support the 'source-pragmatic'rather than the 'target-pragmatic'
position. The development of complexfutures and pasts marks out a
progression from a p r a g m a t i c notion of'current relevance',
which is encoded initially as a s p e c t (prospection or
retro-spection), to a t e m p o r a l stage at which the forms may
be used to describefuture and past situations with or without the
aspectual/pragmatic color-ation of PR. 51 The parallel developments
of the go-future and complexpast may thus be seen as providing an
additional piece of evidence in favorof the pragmatic origins of
tense and aspect.
o t e s
1 E v e n t a n d s i t u a t i o n w i ll b e u s e d i n t e r
c h a n g e a b l y h e r e , a l t h o u g h t h e r e l a t i o n
s h i p i st e c h n i c a ll y o n e o f h y p o n y m y : s i t u
a t i o n i s a c o v e r t e r m t h a t i n c l u d e s e v e n t
s , s t a t e s , a n da c t i o n s / p r o c e s s e s .2 T h i s
t h r e e - p a r t s t r u c t u r e o f t e n s e r e l a t i o n
s h i p s g o e s b a c k u l t i m a t e l y t o R e i c h e n b a
c h ( 19 4 7) ,a n d h a s b e e n r e f o rm u l a t e d - a n d r
e f u r b is h e d - i n m u c h o f t h e s u b s e q u e n t l i
t e ra t u r e o n t i m ea n d i ts li n g u i s ti c r e p r e s
e n t a t i o n . S e e f o r e x a m p l e , , ~ q v i s t 1 9 7
6; S m i t h 1 98 0. W h i l e n o - o n e
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S F l e i sc h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g r a m m
a r 205
w ou ld l i ke ly d i spu te t ha t t he S - R r e l a t i onsh
ip i s one o f t e n se , c e r t a in l i ngu i s t s ( B inn ic
k1976 ; T r a ugo t t 1975 , f o l l ow ing A n de r s on 1973 ) i
n t e r p r e t t he E - R r e l a t i onsh ip no t a s one o fr e
l a t i ve t e n se , bu t o f a spe c t . A n de r s on ( 1973 :
40 ) i n e ff e c t a c know le dge s t ha t w h a t he c a l ls' p
r o spe c t ive ' a nd r e t r o spe ct ive ' a s p e c t s a r e e
s se n t i a l l y r e l a t i ve o r s e c onda r y t e nse s ( d
i s c us se df u r the r be low ) .3 The l i t e r a tu r e on a
spe c t i s e x t e ns ive . A m ong r e c e n t s t ud i e s w i
th p a r t i c u l a r r e f e r enc e t oR om a nc e , s e e D ie
t r ic h 1973 : c h . 2 f o r a su r ve y o f po in t s o f v i e w
, a l so V e t 1980 , a nd thec om p r e he ns ive , i f a l r e a
dy da t e d b ib l iog r a phy in M a r t in 1971 .4 Th i s d i f
fe r e nc e be tw e e n the pe rf e c t a nd o the r a spe c t s ha
s l e d c e r t a in a na ly s i s t o que s t i onthe a spe c tua
l s t a tu s o f t he pe rf e c t. Eve n C om r ie ( p . 52 ) a c
know le dge s t h a t i t i s a n a spe c t i na r a the r d i f f
e re n t s e nse t ha n , s a y , im pe r f e c t ive , pe r f e c
ti ve , punc tua l , d u r a t i ve , e tc . M os tl i ngu i s ts ,
how e ve r , c ons ide r t ha t t he pe r f e c t , i f i t i s no
t so l i d ly a spe c tua l , i nvo lve s a t l e a s t a na s p e
c t u a l c o m p o n e n t .s Cf . Cass i re r 1953 : 218, 223f f
, Ly ons 1977: 68, Kurylow icz a t va r iou s poin ts in h is wr i
t ings ,a nd f o l l ow ing h im , M c C r a y 1979 . The de ve
lopm e n t o f c r e o l e ve r ba l sy s t e m s p r ov ide s a c
l a s s i ci n s t a n t i a t i o n o f t h e o n t o g e n e t i
c p r i m a c y o f a s p e c t , w h i c h m a y e v e n t u a l l
y d e v e l o p i n t o , o rha ve supe r im pose d on i t, som e
th ing r e se m b l ing te nse . C f . H a l l 1952 ; G oo dm a n
1964 ; B e n -to l i la 1970; Va ldman 1977; B icker ton 1977.6 The
sh i f t f rom a spe c t ~ t e n se a s i l l u s tr a t e d in d i
a c h r ony i s t a ke n up in s e c t i ons 4 a nd 5be lo w; c f .
a lso Fr iedr ic h 1974; S i lve r s te in 1974; B inn ick 1976; M
cC ray 1979; Tr aug ot t 1979,for t hco mi ng ; F le ischm an 1982a
(esp. pp . 99t' , 128t, 133 n . 82). On aspec t ~ tense in languag
ea c qu i s i t i on , s e e S t e r n a nd S t e r n 1928 ; F e r
r e i r o 1971 ; B r onc ka r t a n d S inc l a i r 1973; A n t
inuc c ian d M il le r 1976; B loom e t a l. 1980.7 C o nc e r n in
g the m oda l u se o f pa s t f o r m s i l l u s t r a t e d i n
(1 ) a nd ( 2 ), K r e s s ob se r ve s (p . 45 )tha t i n a spe e
c h s i t ua t i on suc h f o r m s w i l l be u se d d i f f e r e
n t i a l l y i n i n t e r a c t i on : one pa r t i c ipa n tw i
l l be m or e l i ke ly t o u se t he m tha n the o the r , e i t
he r be c a use o f t he a w kw a r dne s s o f ar e que s t , i f
one i s be ing m a de , o r a pe r c e ive d ine qua l i t y b e tw
e e n the p a r t i c ipa n t s . Th i s p a r t i c u l a r'm oda
l ' u se o f t e n se f o r m s m igh t t he r e f o r e s e r ve a
s a u se f u l d i a gnos t i c de v i c e f o r t hep r a gm a t i
c a na ly s i s o f soc i a l r e l a t i ons i n l i ngu i s t i c
i n t e r a c t i on ( i b id . ) . The p r a gm a t i c r o l e o
ft e nse ha s a l so be e n looke d in to , f r om d i f f e r e n
t a ng le s , i n La ko f f 1970 a nd R idd le 1976 .A l t h o u g
h n o n e o f th e p a p e rs f r o m t h e S t u t t g a r t C o n
f e r e n c e o n t h e L o g i c o f T e n s e a n dQ u a n t i f
i c a t i on (1979 ) a c tua l ly p r e se n t s a fo r m a l f r a
m e w o r k th a t m igh t a c c oun t f o r t he p r a gm a t i c
so f t e n se f o r m s , t he e d i to r o f t he P r oc e e d
ings ( R ohr e r 1980 ) a c know le dge s t he w ide sp r e a df e
e ling a m ong c on f e r e nc e pa r t i c ipa n t s t h a t a n a
de qu a te de s c r ip t i on o f t e n se r e q u i r e s a p r a
gm a t i cc o m p o n e n t .8 K r e s s is c onc e r ne d m a in
ly w i th the m oda l i t y o f pa s t t e n se s , s e c onda r i
l y p r e se n t. A lon gthe s a m e l i ne , i t i s a r gue d in
F l e i s c hm a n 1982a tha t m oda l u se i s c om ing to be , i
f i t i s no ta l r e a dy , t he p r e do m in a n t u se o f s im
p le x f u tu r e s ( se e n . 9 ) i n W e s te r n R om a nc e .9
The t e r m s ' s im p le x ' a nd ' c om p le x ' u se d he r e t
o de sc r ibe m or pho log ic a l s t r uc tu r e a r esyno nym ous
w i th ' syn the t i c ' a nd ' a na ly t i c ' , al so es se n t i
a l ly w i th t he t r a d i t i on a l l a be l s ' s im p le 'a
nd ' c om pound ' . U sa ge o f t he se c onc e p t s i n t he l i
t e r a tu r e , how e ve r , i s no t c ons i s t e n t ( s e
eTaul i 1945-49) . O n overa l l syn the t ic an d ana ly t ic ten
den c ies in langu age , see Tau l i 1958,1966 ; al so P u lg r a m
1963 ; A s hby 1977 . F o r c on ve n ie nc e a nd to unde r sc o r
e f unc t iona l pa r a l l e li sm ,the w i l l -f u tu r e w i ll
be subsum e d u nde r s im p le x f u tu r e s ( a s i n t a b l e
1 ), no tw i th s t a nd in g it st r a nspa r e n t ly c om ple x
s t r uc tu r e .l o The hypo th e s i z e d d i a c h r on ic sh i
f t a nd the pa r a l l e l i sm be tw e e n pa s t a nd f u tu r e
sy st e m sha ve bo th be e n c a r r i e d ou t t o d i f f e r e
n t de g r e e s i n t he d i f f e r e n t l a ngua ge s unde r c
ons ide r a t i on
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2 0 6 S . F l e i sc h m a n / F r o m p r a g m a t i c s t o g
r a m m a r
( se e s e c ti o n 7 ). H o w e v e r , n e i t h e r t h e f a
c t t h a t t h e s h i ft h a s n o t e v e r y w h e r e r u n i
ts c o u r s e ,n o r t h a t b o t h E n g l i s h f u t u r e s a
r e c o m p l e x , c o m p r o m i s e s t h e p o s t u l a t i o
n o f t h is d i a c h r o n i cs h i f t .1~ T h u s t h e re f le
x e s o f L . . [ a c e r e h a b eo s y n t h e si z e d e a r ly
o n i n t o t h e R o m a n c e s i m p l e xf u t u r e s , w h i
l e t h e r e f l e x e s o f t h e h a b e o f a c t u p a s t h a
v e r e m a i n e d c o m p l e x . A n e x p l a n a t i o nf o r
th i s c o n t r a s t i v e d e v e l o p m e n t i s p r o p o s
e d i n F l e i s c h m a n 1 9 8 2 a : s e c t io n 5 .4 . T h e r
e h a sa l s o b e e n s p e c u l a t i o n t h a t t h e g o - f
u t u r e a n d c o m p l e x p a s t m a y e v e n t u a l l y a g
g l u t i n a t e ( P u l g r a m1 9 6 3 , 1 9 6 7 ; A s h b y 1 9
7 7 ) .12 T h e ' b a s i c m e a n i n g ' ( cf . G e r m a n G r
u n d b e d e u t u n g ' ) is t h e s e m a n t i c n u c le u s o
f a c a t e go r y ,a k i n d o f lo w e s t c o m m o n d e n o m
i n a t o r o f a ll e x a m p l e s, f or t h e d e t e r m i n a
t i o n o f w h i c h c o n t e x ti s i n p r in c i pl e u n n e
c e s s a r y . 'O v e r t o n e s ' ( c f. G e r m a n ' N e b e n
b e d e u t u n g e n ' ) a r e s u b s i d i a r ym e a n i n g s
d e r i v e d o r i n f e r ra b l e f r o m t h e b a s ic m e a n
i n g , b u t a d d i n g a c o l o r a t i o n o f t h e i ro w n
. N o o v e r t o n e e x t e n d s t o a ll t o k e n s o f a c a
t e g o r y (i t w o u l d t h e n b e a b a s i c m e a n i n g )a
n d a l l a r e c o n t e x t u a l l y c o n d i t i o n e d . I n
c e r t a i n c a s e s th e e x is t e n c e o f b o t h b a s i c
m e a n i n g sa n d o v e r t o n e s c a n b e s h o w n to b e
th e r e s u lt o f a n h i s t or i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t i
n w h i c h t h e b a s i cm e a n i n g i s t h e o r i g in a l o
n e , w i t h o v e r t o n e s b e i n g a c q u i r e d a s e x t
e n s i o n s t h e r e o f. U l t i m a t e l yt h e f o r m m a y
a c q u i r e a n e w b a s i c m e a n i n g , b r o a d e r i n s
c o p e t h a n t h e o r i g i n a l , a n d i n c o r -p o r a t
i n g w h a t w e r e o n c e o v e r t o n e s . S u c h a s t a t
e o f a f f a i r s m i g h t a ls o b e i n t e r p r e t e d f r
o mt h e s t a n d p o i n t o f m a r k e d n e s s : i n c e r ta
i n c a s e s th e u n m a r k e d v a l u e o f a f o r m o r p a
r a d i g mc a n e n c o m p a s s th a t o f it s m a r k e d c o
u n t e r p a r t ( cf . ta b l e 3 ). A s w e s h a l l s ee b e l
ow , t h i sp r o c e s s - h o w e v e r w e c h o o s e t o d e s
c r i b e i t - i s c l e a rl y e x e m p l i f ie d i n t h e e v
o l u t i o n o f g o -f u t u re s a n d a n u m b e r o f c o m p
l e x p a s t s.~3 M o r e p r e c i s e ly th i s w o u l d d i s
t i n g u i s h t h e g o - f u t u r e f r o m a l l o t h e r c o
n s t r u c t i o n s a n ds t r a te g i e s u s e d i n t h e l a
n g u a g e ( s ) f o r r e f e r r in g t o f u t u r e s i t u a
t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g t h e s o - c a l l e df u t u r a t
e c o n s t r u c t i o n p r a e s e n s p r o f u t u r o ) , w h
i c h w i ll n o t b e d i s c u s s e d h e r e .~4 S t r ic t ly
s p e a k i n g , t h e s t a t e m e n t s - p r e d i c t i o n s
o p p o s i t i o n w a s p u t f o r t h t o c o n t r a s t t h
ef u t u r a t e u s e o f t h e E n g l i s h s i m p l e p r e s
e n t J o h n G O E S t o L o n d o n t o m o r r o w ) a n d t h e
w i l l -f u t u r e J o h n W I L L G O t o L o n d o n t o m o r
r o w ). B u t s i n c e t h e c o n t r a s t i s b a s e d o n l
i k e l i h o o d /p o s s i b il i ty , w h i c h i s s c a l a r
r a t h e r t h a n a b s o l u t e , i t is a s i m p l e m a t t
e r t o i n t e g r a t e t h e g o - f u t u r ea t s o m e p o i
n t a l o n g t h e e p i s te m i c c o n t i n u u m .i s I n a s
e n t e n c e c o n t a i n i n g a s e r ie s o f v e r b s d e s
c r i b i n g a f u t u r e e v e n t o r s e q u e n c e o f f u t
u r ee v e n t s i t i s n o t u n c o m m o n f o r t h e s p e a
k e r t o s h i ft f ro m a n i n it ia l g o - f u t u r e t o s i
m p l e x / w i l lf u t u r e s f o r t h e r e m a i n i n g v e
r b s , a s i n (7 ).16 F o r d i s c u s s i o n se e P o s n e i
1 9 72 ; F l e i s c h m a n 1 9 8 2 a: 2 5 f.17 C f . a l s o D i
e t r i c h 1 9 7 3 : s e c t io n 0. 3 o n t h e R o m a n c e t e
n d e n c y t o e x p r e s s a s p e c t s t h r o u g hv e r b a
l p e r i p h r a s e s . D i e t ri c h t r a c e s t h i s s t r
a t e g y b a c k to G r e e k , v i a C o m m o n R o m a n c e o
rV u l g a r L a t i n , b u t b y p a s s i n g C l a s s i c a l
L a t i n a l t o g e t h e r .18 F o r f u r t h e r d i s c u s s
i o n a n d l a n g u a g e - s p e c i f i c r e f e r en c e s ,
s ee F l e i s c h m a n 1 9 8 2 a : 10 1 f, a l s oC h a m p i o n
1 97 8 ( r e v ie w e d i n F l e i s c h m a n 1 98 1) .~9 H a l v
o r s e n ( 1 9 7 3 : 5 4 ) c l a i m s t h a t R u m a n i a n l a
c k s t h e m e a n s f o r e x p r e s s i ng a f u t u r ew i t h
o u t P R ( s a n s u n r a p p o r t a v e c l e - p r 6 s e n t )
. I n l in e w i t h t h i s is t h e fa c t t h a t t h e s e v e
r a lo p t i o n s f o r e x p r e s s i n g f u tu r i t y i n t h
a t l a n g u a g e v ) o i + i n f i n ., o s h + s u b j u n c t
. ; a m s h +s u b j u n c t . ) a r e a l l c o m p l e x s t r u
c t u r e s i n v o l v i n g p r e s e n t - t e n s e a u x i li
a r ie s .20 P e r h a p s t h e m o s t w i de l y a c c e p t e d
t e n e t o f t h e 'l o c a l i s t' h y p o t h e s i s is t h e
n o t i o n t h a ts p a t ia l t e r m s w i ll t y p ic a l ly s
e r v e a s s t r u c t u r a l t e m p l a t e s f o r t e m p o r
a l e x p r e s s i o n s b u t n o tt h e r e v e r s e . C f . C
a s s i r e r 1 9 5 3, A n d e r s o n 1 9 73 , T r a u g o t t 1 9
75 , 1 97 8. O n t h e m o t i o n v e r b s' c o m e ' a n d ' g o
' a s s o u r c e s o f te n s e , se e F l e i s c h m a n 1 9 82
b .
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S. Fleisehman / From pragmatics to grammar 207
21 A n u p - t o - d a t e c o m p a r a t i v e t r ea t m e n
t o f t h e q u e s t i o n i n R o m a n c e ( w i t h c o m p r e
h e n s i v eb ib l iog r a phy ) a ppe a r s i n H a r r i s 1982
.22 A s the se ve r a l c om pon e n t s o f ou r w or k ing de f
in i t i on m igh t sugge s t, t he c a t e go r y o fpe r f e c t
is f r e que n t ly subd iv ide d in to t ype s, w h ic h C om r ie
( 1976 : 52 - 61 ) l a be l s : ( l ) pe r f e c to f r e su lt ( J
e spe r se n ' s r e t r o spe c t ive ' p r e se n t ) : John has
arrived vs. John arrived ( t he f o r m e rimplying the pe rs is
tence of the resul t , i . e . tha t he i s s t i l l he re ) ; (2)
exper ient ia l pe r fec t : Billhas BEEN to Europe (exper ient ia
l ) vs . Bill has GONE to Europe ( resul t ) ; ( cf . n . 36 be low
) ;( 3) pe r f e c t o f r e c e n t pa s t ( A nde r son ' s a b l
a ti ve r e t r o spe c t iv e ' ) : I ve just learned o f the
snow-storms in the Midwest; a nd ( 4) pe r fe c t o f pe r s i s t
e n t s i t ua t i on ( J e sp e r se n ' s i nc lu s ive ' p r e
se n t ) :1 have lived/been living in Berkeley since 1970. ( T he l
a s t o f t he se i s e xp r e s se d in m a ny l a n -gua ge s by
the s im p le nonpa s t f o r m o f t he ve r b , e . g . S p .
VIVO en Berkeley desde hace 1970.)W e ne e d no t pu r sue t he se
d i s t i nc t i ons
