Abstract
The interpretation of temporal adverbials is one of the most complex issues in semantics. It raises numerous questions, for example:
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(a)
What types of temporal adverbials are there?
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(b)
What functions do temporal adverbials have in sentence semantics, i.e. what can they specify and how do they contribute their interpretation to the semantics of their clause?
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(c)
How do the different types of temporal adverbials interact with each other?
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(d)
How can the semantics of particular temporal adverbials be characterized, i.e. what is their specific semantic contribution?
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(e)
How does the internal semantic composition of particular temporal adverbials work?
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(f)
Do they occupy different syntactic base positions, and if so, how do their base positions correlate with their semantic function? Which factors govern what syntactic surface positions they can take?
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(g)
How do they interact with information structural factors?
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Notes
Across these type distinctions, some finer-grained distinctions may be drawn, e.g. one between calendaric vs. context-dependently calendaric vs. context-dependent (nondeictic vs. deictic), distinctions concerning the syntactic realization, or other distinctions (cf. Ehrich) (1992:1080), Fabricius-Hansen (1986:171ff).
For details, see, for instance, Dowty (1979), Krifka (1989), Parsons (1990), and Vendler (1957), where situation types and the role of duration adverbials for identifying situation types are discussed.
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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Musan, R. (2002). Types of Temporal Adverbials. In: Musan, R. (eds) The German Perfect. Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy, vol 78. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0552-4_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0552-4_4
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