Time and space: the analysis of aspect in selected Spanish and Polish verbs of motion

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present how time and space are expressed, analyzing aspect in both Spanish and Polish. This issue is very complex, which is why we have decided to focus only on the description of selected verbs of motion – ir, venir and llegar in Spanish as well as iść and jechać in Polish. At the beginning of this work we outline the differences in the process of conceptualization of movement in both languages and then commenting on the concept of the aspect based on the semantic grammar approach proposed by Karolak (1984 and later works) and developed and adapted by Wilk-Racięska (1995 and later works). Finally, the author discusses the aspect of the selected verbs of motion. It is also worth emphasizing that the problem of aspect is very important in expressing time in Polish, thus, a significant part of the work is dedicated to the analysis of the process of prefixation of verbs of motion in Polish as well as the resulting semantic changes. We look at 15 prefixes that can be added to Polish verbs iść and jechać and their derivatives. Dividing those prefixes in three general groups (prefixes that indicate approach, distance and prefixes that convey other types of information regarding the directionality), the author gives examples and describes the type of movement those prefixes imply.