Re. 'default' aorist

Rod Decker (rdecker@bbc.edu)
Thu, 24 Oct 1996 17:42:33 -0400

Welcome back Mari! You've been quiet on the list for some time.

Mari didn't mention it, but her diss. on aspect is worth perusing:

"A Semantic and Pragmatic Model of Lexical and Grammatical Aspect"
Ph.D., Northwestern Univ., 1994.

In regard to the terminology 'default', or better, 'unmarked', here is the
def. of 'Markedness' from _International Encyclopedia of Linguistics_, ed.
William Bright, 4 vols. (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1992).

Markedness is "the concept by which a particular quality is
regarded as neutral or expected, i.e., 'unmarked', whereas an alternative,
more unusual quality is considered 'marked' (2:390).

The term originated in Chomsky's generative grammar as related to phonology
and has only received significant attention in syntax in the 1980s.

Rod

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Rodney J. Decker, Asst. Prof./NT Baptist Bible Seminary
rdecker@bbc.edu Clarks Summit, PA
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