Russian Aspect as Bidirectional Optimization

Notions like markedness, competition, underspecification, context sensitivity and pragmatic implicatures play an important role in traditional Slavic aspectology. I propose in this paper to give these somewhat vague theoretical constructs a more explicit status within the framework of bidirectional optimality theory (BiOT), introduced in (Blutner 1998, 2000). Blutner’s BiOT can merge these elements into a coherent theory of Russian aspect with strong predictions. In section 1, I introduce Horn’s division of pragmatic labor which corresponds to the phenomenon of partial blocking in BiOT (section 2). The bidirectional perspective is related to evolution, and I therefore start the discussion of the data with the emergence of the aspectual system (section 3). In section 4, I show how the synchronic situation favors a polarization between complete event readings of the perfective and the progressive interpretation of the imperfective. Finally, in sections 5 and 6, I turn to the problematic complete event interpretations (the factual Ipf) of the imperfective. I argue that these cases of deblocking give rise to further polarization and pragmatic strengthening. In order to account for deblocking, a context-sensitive version of BiOT is called for, and the ranking of forms and meanings must be reconsidered.