@article{BochnakHohausMucha2019, author = {M. Ryan Bochnak and Vera Hohaus and Anne Mucha}, title = {Variation in tense and aspect, and the temporal interpretation of complement clauses}, series = {Journal of Semantics}, volume = {36}, number = {3}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0167-5133}, doi = {10.1093/jos/ffz008}, url = {https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:mh39-93034}, pages = {407 -- 452}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In this paper, we investigate the temporal interpretation of propositional attitude complement clauses in four typologically unrelated languages: Washo (language isolate), Medumba (Niger-Congo), Hausa (Afro-Asiatic), and Samoan (Austronesian). Of these languages, Washo and Medumba are optional-tense languages, while Hausa and Samoan are tenseless. Just like in obligatory-tense languages, we observe variation among these languages when it comes to the availability of so-called simultaneous and backward-shifted readings of complement clauses. For our optional-tense languages, we argue that a Sequence of Tense parameter is active in these languages, just as in obligatory-tense languages. However, for completely tenseless clauses, we need something more. We argue that there is variation in the degree to which languages make recourse to res-movement, or a similar mechanism that manipulates LF structures to derive backward-shifted readings in tenseless complement clauses. We additionally appeal to cross-linguistic variation in the lexical semantics of perfective aspect to derive or block certain readings. The result is that the typological classification of a language as tensed, optionally tensed, or tenseless, does not alone determine the temporal interpretation possibilities for complement clauses. Rather, structural parameters of variation cross-cut these broad classes of languages to deliver the observed cross-linguistic picture.}, language = {en} }