A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF VERBS OF MOTION IN RUSSIAN AND POLISH

The dissertation studies the Russian and Polish paired imperfec- tive verbs of motion (of the type R , P chodzic/isc), perfective verbs formed by the addition of the prefix po- to the determinate stem (R , P pojsc), and perfective verbs formed by the addition of the prefix s- to the indeterminate stem (R , no Polish equivalent). The Russian language forms the base of the study. The verbs are examined in terms of semantic components which are defined by a combination of spatial and temporal features. The following differences between Russian and Polish usage are revealed: (1) Numerical quantifiers which signal that a motion occurred more than once demand an indeterminate verb of motion in Russian (e.g. R ), whereas a determinate verb (P isc) is admitted in Polish. (2) There is a strong tendency in Russian to use a determinate dependent infinitive where in Polish there is a tendency to use a perfective infinitive of the type pojsc. (3) In the past tense one frequently sees in Russian the use of an indeterminate verb to denote a single motion event directed to a goal and then back from that goal. In Polish, although this use is acceptable, use of the perfective verbs of the type pojsc is far more frequent. (4) In the nonpast with future reference, both Russian and Polish used determinate verbs of motion to denote nonrecur- rent events aimed at a goal or in a specific direction. In Polish, this same usage of determinate verbs is seen in the past tense. In these contexts Russian would require a perfective verb, and a Russian determinate would be interpreted as signaling a durative or processive motion.;It should be noted that, with the exception of the first difference listed above, these basic differences are found in the opposition imperfective verb to perfective, and not in the opposition indeterminate verb of motion to perfective.