A CROSS LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION OF PLURACTIONALITY AS AN INTERNAL TEMPORAL COMPONENT OF EVENTS

Abstract The locus of Pluractionality within Event semantics is still equivocal. This paper aims to project Pluractionality – or the multiplicity of events – as a sub-component of Event Aspect in its own right, within a cross-linguistic context. For the purposes of this paper, the analytical description presented takes a functional approach to Pluractionality, pursuing the definition of its meanings, its classification that suits cross-linguistic studies, identification of the forms that encode its different types, supported with an extensive list of examples category-wise. Cross-linguistic descriptions of events find utility, among others, in translationally relevant studies including those dealing with the annotation of bilingual parallel and comparative corpora (Cyrus, 2006; Rabadan, 2006). Keywords: Pluractionality, Cross-linguistic studies, Event Aspect, Gnomic Imperfectives, Hyper-situation, Sub-situations, Macro-events, Micro-events