l 7 qr tho field of theorotica,I lingu~tias the de o.de of the fihii.ls was one ef cre,;tive • co... more l 7 qr tho field of theorotica,I lingu~tias the de o.de of the fihii.ls was one ef cre,;tive • controversy, both withi-q aqd outside tlw Soviet Union, In the West, of 9ourse, cl ve!ne• ment i,l!ld refinement of the distinctive feature :ipproqch to phonemic theory was continuing, most notably ln th work~ of ]llkobson and Halle. ln Russia, the long.denied stucturali~t heritagq of L. V. Scerb,1 and Baui:lr uii1 d<i Courtenay was revived b S. K. Saumjan ip his pr1wooa• tive articl~ "The Proble1n of the Phoniimo'' (''Froblcmv. fonemy"), in th h ated polemic which nrosi: svb~equently
Michael К. Launer DECIPHERING CONTEXTUAL USAGE OF IMPERFECTIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN: КОНСТАТАЦИЯ ФАКТ... more Michael К. Launer DECIPHERING CONTEXTUAL USAGE OF IMPERFECTIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN: КОНСТАТАЦИЯ ФАКТА ДЕЙСТВИЯ AND ЗНАЧЕНИЕ ОБЩЕФАКТИЧЕСКОГО ДЕЙСТВИЯ IN NARRATIVE DISCOURSE One of the most difficult problems for students of Russian is the recognition and active use of a past tense imperfective verb form to designate a so-called "one time action" (единичное действие). Soviet grammarians, without much precision, sometimes call this use констатация факта действия or say that the verb designates an общефактическое действие. Forsyth speaks of "simple denotation." 1 KF, of course, is but one of many contextual nuances associated with imperfective verbs, and the teaching (learning) problem is part of the larger task of differentiating all these contextual nuances. This paper will attempt to describe the parameters that help one decipher imperfective usage in general and KF in particular. It will also attempt to distinguish subcategories of KF which do not overlap and to describe certain classroom techniques that have proven effective in transmitting this information to students. To illustrate some of the problems and to suggest possible solutions, I have chosen passages from a book of true detective stories, ^ the major advantage of which is that the informal narrative is couched almost exclusively in the past tense, where both aspects are used freely. The level of difficulty of the passages is beyond the capability of most students, but the intention here is to discuss techniques, not to present usable materials. Experience shows that the techniques are readily applicable to otherwise suitable materials at any level of student competence. 3 When the aspectual system is taught, attention is focused on the perfectivethe tacit assumption being that imperfective is somehow easier, or more natural, for speakers of English. Perhaps this is as it should be on the elementary level. But linguistically this cannot be true. In a privative binary opposition, such as aspect presents, the perfective as the marked member must be more predictable in usage and more precise in meaning than the imperfective. * Accordingly, it should be, and, given a reasonable presentation, it is, easier to learn to deal with perfectivity. The unmarked imperfective, on the other hand, is inherently ambiguous, and the "meaning of any specific instance of imperfective usage is contextually conditioned. 5 Emphasis will be placed here on the decoding process-on correctly interpreting KF when it is encountered in writing (or in speech). There are abundant reasons for this approach. To begin with, the student is likely to encounter KF in his reading, especially if contemporary Soviet materials are used in the curriculum, long before his productive capacity is well developed. ® In addition, 3
Michael К. Launer DECIPHERING CONTEXTUAL USAGE OF IMPERFECTIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN: КОНСТАТАЦИЯ ФАКТ... more Michael К. Launer DECIPHERING CONTEXTUAL USAGE OF IMPERFECTIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN: КОНСТАТАЦИЯ ФАКТА ДЕЙСТВИЯ AND ЗНАЧЕНИЕ ОБЩЕФАКТИЧЕСКОГО ДЕЙСТВИЯ IN NARRATIVE DISCOURSE One of the most difficult problems for students of Russian is the recognition and active use of a past tense imperfective verb form to designate a so-called "one time action" (единичное действие). Soviet grammarians, without much precision, sometimes call this use констатация факта действия or say that the verb designates an общефактическое действие. Forsyth speaks of "simple denotation." 1 KF, of course, is but one of many contextual nuances associated with imperfective verbs, and the teaching (learning) problem is part of the larger task of differentiating all these contextual nuances. This paper will attempt to describe the parameters that help one decipher imperfective usage in general and KF in particular. It will also attempt to distinguish subcategories of KF which do not overlap and to describe certain classroom techniques that have proven effective in transmitting this information to students. To illustrate some of the problems and to suggest possible solutions, I have chosen passages from a book of true detective stories, ^ the major advantage of which is that the informal narrative is couched almost exclusively in the past tense, where both aspects are used freely. The level of difficulty of the passages is beyond the capability of most students, but the intention here is to discuss techniques, not to present usable materials. Experience shows that the techniques are readily applicable to otherwise suitable materials at any level of student competence. 3 When the aspectual system is taught, attention is focused on the perfectivethe tacit assumption being that imperfective is somehow easier, or more natural, for speakers of English. Perhaps this is as it should be on the elementary level. But linguistically this cannot be true. In a privative binary opposition, such as aspect presents, the perfective as the marked member must be more predictable in usage and more precise in meaning than the imperfective. * Accordingly, it should be, and, given a reasonable presentation, it is, easier to learn to deal with perfectivity. The unmarked imperfective, on the other hand, is inherently ambiguous, and the "meaning of any specific instance of imperfective usage is contextually conditioned. 5 Emphasis will be placed here on the decoding process-on correctly interpreting KF when it is encountered in writing (or in speech). There are abundant reasons for this approach. To begin with, the student is likely to encounter KF in his reading, especially if contemporary Soviet materials are used in the curriculum, long before his productive capacity is well developed. ® In addition, 3
The Rhetorical Rise and Demise of “Democracy” in Russian Political Discourse – Volume Two: The Promise of “Democracy” during the Yeltsin Years, 2022
At the tenth anniversary of its independence, the Russian Federation had done little to adopt the... more At the tenth anniversary of its independence, the Russian Federation had done little to adopt the principles of deliberative communication in politics or public policy that are characteristic of Western democracies. Nor had significant progress been made in reforming the educational system to inculcate such principles at any level. Building upon previous work by Robert V. Daniels and Jana Sackman Eaton, the authors describe the systemic barriers to progress in these areas and consider the consequences of the fact that sufficient attention had not been paid to the necessity of developing a culture of democratic communication that might provide the foundation for a new, pluralistic society.
l 7 qr tho field of theorotica,I lingu~tias the de o.de of the fihii.ls was one ef cre,;tive • co... more l 7 qr tho field of theorotica,I lingu~tias the de o.de of the fihii.ls was one ef cre,;tive • controversy, both withi-q aqd outside tlw Soviet Union, In the West, of 9ourse, cl ve!ne• ment i,l!ld refinement of the distinctive feature :ipproqch to phonemic theory was continuing, most notably ln th work~ of ]llkobson and Halle. ln Russia, the long.denied stucturali~t heritagq of L. V. Scerb,1 and Baui:lr uii1 d<i Courtenay was revived b S. K. Saumjan ip his pr1wooa• tive articl~ "The Proble1n of the Phoniimo'' (''Froblcmv. fonemy"), in th h ated polemic which nrosi: svb~equently
Michael К. Launer DECIPHERING CONTEXTUAL USAGE OF IMPERFECTIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN: КОНСТАТАЦИЯ ФАКТ... more Michael К. Launer DECIPHERING CONTEXTUAL USAGE OF IMPERFECTIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN: КОНСТАТАЦИЯ ФАКТА ДЕЙСТВИЯ AND ЗНАЧЕНИЕ ОБЩЕФАКТИЧЕСКОГО ДЕЙСТВИЯ IN NARRATIVE DISCOURSE One of the most difficult problems for students of Russian is the recognition and active use of a past tense imperfective verb form to designate a so-called "one time action" (единичное действие). Soviet grammarians, without much precision, sometimes call this use констатация факта действия or say that the verb designates an общефактическое действие. Forsyth speaks of "simple denotation." 1 KF, of course, is but one of many contextual nuances associated with imperfective verbs, and the teaching (learning) problem is part of the larger task of differentiating all these contextual nuances. This paper will attempt to describe the parameters that help one decipher imperfective usage in general and KF in particular. It will also attempt to distinguish subcategories of KF which do not overlap and to describe certain classroom techniques that have proven effective in transmitting this information to students. To illustrate some of the problems and to suggest possible solutions, I have chosen passages from a book of true detective stories, ^ the major advantage of which is that the informal narrative is couched almost exclusively in the past tense, where both aspects are used freely. The level of difficulty of the passages is beyond the capability of most students, but the intention here is to discuss techniques, not to present usable materials. Experience shows that the techniques are readily applicable to otherwise suitable materials at any level of student competence. 3 When the aspectual system is taught, attention is focused on the perfectivethe tacit assumption being that imperfective is somehow easier, or more natural, for speakers of English. Perhaps this is as it should be on the elementary level. But linguistically this cannot be true. In a privative binary opposition, such as aspect presents, the perfective as the marked member must be more predictable in usage and more precise in meaning than the imperfective. * Accordingly, it should be, and, given a reasonable presentation, it is, easier to learn to deal with perfectivity. The unmarked imperfective, on the other hand, is inherently ambiguous, and the "meaning of any specific instance of imperfective usage is contextually conditioned. 5 Emphasis will be placed here on the decoding process-on correctly interpreting KF when it is encountered in writing (or in speech). There are abundant reasons for this approach. To begin with, the student is likely to encounter KF in his reading, especially if contemporary Soviet materials are used in the curriculum, long before his productive capacity is well developed. ® In addition, 3
Michael К. Launer DECIPHERING CONTEXTUAL USAGE OF IMPERFECTIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN: КОНСТАТАЦИЯ ФАКТ... more Michael К. Launer DECIPHERING CONTEXTUAL USAGE OF IMPERFECTIVE VERBS IN RUSSIAN: КОНСТАТАЦИЯ ФАКТА ДЕЙСТВИЯ AND ЗНАЧЕНИЕ ОБЩЕФАКТИЧЕСКОГО ДЕЙСТВИЯ IN NARRATIVE DISCOURSE One of the most difficult problems for students of Russian is the recognition and active use of a past tense imperfective verb form to designate a so-called "one time action" (единичное действие). Soviet grammarians, without much precision, sometimes call this use констатация факта действия or say that the verb designates an общефактическое действие. Forsyth speaks of "simple denotation." 1 KF, of course, is but one of many contextual nuances associated with imperfective verbs, and the teaching (learning) problem is part of the larger task of differentiating all these contextual nuances. This paper will attempt to describe the parameters that help one decipher imperfective usage in general and KF in particular. It will also attempt to distinguish subcategories of KF which do not overlap and to describe certain classroom techniques that have proven effective in transmitting this information to students. To illustrate some of the problems and to suggest possible solutions, I have chosen passages from a book of true detective stories, ^ the major advantage of which is that the informal narrative is couched almost exclusively in the past tense, where both aspects are used freely. The level of difficulty of the passages is beyond the capability of most students, but the intention here is to discuss techniques, not to present usable materials. Experience shows that the techniques are readily applicable to otherwise suitable materials at any level of student competence. 3 When the aspectual system is taught, attention is focused on the perfectivethe tacit assumption being that imperfective is somehow easier, or more natural, for speakers of English. Perhaps this is as it should be on the elementary level. But linguistically this cannot be true. In a privative binary opposition, such as aspect presents, the perfective as the marked member must be more predictable in usage and more precise in meaning than the imperfective. * Accordingly, it should be, and, given a reasonable presentation, it is, easier to learn to deal with perfectivity. The unmarked imperfective, on the other hand, is inherently ambiguous, and the "meaning of any specific instance of imperfective usage is contextually conditioned. 5 Emphasis will be placed here on the decoding process-on correctly interpreting KF when it is encountered in writing (or in speech). There are abundant reasons for this approach. To begin with, the student is likely to encounter KF in his reading, especially if contemporary Soviet materials are used in the curriculum, long before his productive capacity is well developed. ® In addition, 3
The Rhetorical Rise and Demise of “Democracy” in Russian Political Discourse – Volume Two: The Promise of “Democracy” during the Yeltsin Years, 2022
At the tenth anniversary of its independence, the Russian Federation had done little to adopt the... more At the tenth anniversary of its independence, the Russian Federation had done little to adopt the principles of deliberative communication in politics or public policy that are characteristic of Western democracies. Nor had significant progress been made in reforming the educational system to inculcate such principles at any level. Building upon previous work by Robert V. Daniels and Jana Sackman Eaton, the authors describe the systemic barriers to progress in these areas and consider the consequences of the fact that sufficient attention had not been paid to the necessity of developing a culture of democratic communication that might provide the foundation for a new, pluralistic society.
The Rhetorical Rise and Demise of "Democracy" in Russian Political Discourse - Volume One, 2021
Director of the Academic Studies Press, first conceived the idea of collecting our studies and ma... more Director of the Academic Studies Press, first conceived the idea of collecting our studies and making them available to a new generation of Slavists and rhetorical scholars. His letter to Marilyn Young in 2019 initiated this process. Ekaterina (Kate) Yanduganova, the ASP acquisitions editor for Slavic, East European, and Central Asian studies, has shepherded the publication process for this volume tirelessly and efficiently, as have the members of her copy editing team. Michele Pedro has been indispensable on our end proofreading and formatting the elements that have made up our manuscript.
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