Aspectual catenatives in three English and Norwegian registers (fiction, non-fiction, and academic prose)

What is it about?

The chapter discusses verb phrases with auxiliary-like verbs that express the beginning, continuation, or end of an activity. Examples of such 'aspectual catenatives' are begin/continue/cease. Two different corpora are used to compare English and Norwegian catenatives across three registers: fiction, non-fiction and academic prose. Results show that aspectual catenatives are generally more frequent in English than in Norwegian, especially those denoting continuation and end. The most frequently expressed aspect overall is beginning. In both languages aspectual catenatives are most widespread in fiction and least in academic prose. Register also influences lexical choice. In translation, non-congruent correspondences are most widespread with continuation and end, suggesting that the languages may prefer different expressions of these aspectual meanings.

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