Starčević’s grammatical description of verbal aspect

• Main Author: Željka Brlobaš
• Format: Article
• Language: Croatian
• Published: Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje 2005-01-01
• Series: Rasprave: Časopis Instituta za Hrvatski Jezik i Jezikoslovlje
• Subjects: verbal aspect; perfective and imperfective verbs; Šime Starčević, Nova ričoslovica ilirička (1812); Ričoslovje (1849–1850)
• Online Access: http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/14380

The paper analyzes the grammatical description of verbal aspect in Nova ričoslovica ilirička (1812) and Ričoslovje (1849–1850) by Šime Starčević. Starčević had an indirect approach to verbal aspect in Nova ričoslovica ilirička (A New Illyrian Grammar) since the concept of verbal aspect arose as a product of the primary description of verbal tenses (imperfect and aorist), while the description of perfective and imperfective verbs surfaced as a secondary element. In Ričoslovje (Grammar) Starčević explicitly distinguishes and defines perfective and imperfective verbs. The analysis of Starčević’s grammatical discourse renders several fundamental determinants of verbal aspect distinctive in two different author’s approaches to the grammatical description of verbal aspect: perfective and imperfective verbs, verbal aspect and verbal tense, verbal aspect formation (imperfectivization/perfectivization), the relationship between verbal aspect and Aktionsart.