LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:12 December 2013
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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The Role of Grammar in Communication:
The Interpretation of Time, Tense and Aspect in English

Richard T. Torto, M.Phil., B. A. (Hons.), Dip. Ed.

Abstract

A vast majority of known languages have mechanisms which enable the speaker to express time (Comrie, 1985). Among these languages most of them also express time with a verb, and more specifically, with various verbal tenses (Smith, 1991). The verbal tense, a grammatical category which differs significantly from one language to another may also be considered a grammaticalization of time; in other words, chronological time is expressed with, and within, the verbal tense. Thus, we cannot understand the latter without focusing our attention on the former, and vice versa. Verbal tense can therefore provide us with a particular kind of insight into our perception of chronological time.

The current study is a contribution to the ongoing interpretation of the relationship between time, tense and aspect. The present paper also adds its voice to the connection between the three concepts. In general linguistic approaches, aspect and tense are treated as complementary ways of encoding time. However, tense differs from aspect in showing the time reference, while aspect shows how the action or state is envisaged or seen as happening or occurring. Knowledge in the distinction between the three concepts (time, tense, aspect) enables English speakers to communicate better, grammatically.

Key words: Time, Tense, Aspect, Grammaticalization, Verbal tense, Chronological time, Communication.

Introduction

In the western tradition, basic conceptions of chronological time and verbal tense have been inherited from the ancient Greeks. With regard to the verb, Aristotle maintained that a verb is a sound, which not only conveys a particular meaning but has a time reference also (Quoted in Binnick, 1991). This definition of a verb has not changed significantly in current times. Indeed, a verb denotes or marks time since time dimension cannot be entirely ignored in any action or state. A verb is thus a part of speech which is closely linked with time. It is evident from ancient works that in the classical age the verb/time relation was considered a simple relation of a spectacular type (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). In this theory, verbal tense fully overlaps with chronological time and accurately expresses it by linguistic means. There is a complete equivalence between verbal tense and chronological time. What exists as chronological time in an extra-linguistic reality is a verbal tense in a linguistic reality.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Richard T. Torto, M.Phil., B. A. (Hons.), Dip. Ed.
Department of Communication Studies
University of Cape Coast
Cape Coast
Ghana
rchrdtorto@yahoo.co.uk
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