This thesis aims to provide an overview of relevant research on the -te iru form. Having summarised research by scholars such as Vendler, Dowty and Kindaichi, it proceeds to compare and contrast...Show moreThis thesis aims to provide an overview of relevant research on the -te iru form. Having summarised research by scholars such as Vendler, Dowty and Kindaichi, it proceeds to compare and contrast literature on the -te iru form itself. There appear to be two types of analyses for the -te iru form: polysemous and monosemous analyses. After comparing several accounts and providing some new data, I conclude that a monosemous account, which analyses -te iru as a pragmatically ambitious stative expression, is the most likely analysis.Show less
This thesis will discuss how the final vowel of the subject concord has merged with the TAM paradigm in shiYeyi (R.40). In addition, shiYeyi expresses merely aspect and modality on the verb phrase,...Show moreThis thesis will discuss how the final vowel of the subject concord has merged with the TAM paradigm in shiYeyi (R.40). In addition, shiYeyi expresses merely aspect and modality on the verb phrase, where absolute tense is expressed lexically. In contrast to previous research, the final vowel of the subject concord is not determined by prefix-to-stem vowel harmony, nor does it express the notion of past versus non-past. The subject concord’s final vowel shows a discrete aspectual or modal function and occurs in discrete environments. At the same time, the final vowel of the verb phrase expresses modality, rather than a reduplication of the stem vowel to express absolute tense. For this analysis a previously published data set was used (Sommer, 1995).Show less