Elouazizi, Noureddine, & Trnavac, Radaslava (2008). Identification and syntax of semantic prime MOMENT in Tarifyt Berber. In Cliff Goddard (Ed.), Cross-linguistic semantics (pp. 241-258). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/slcs.102.15elo
This study contributes to our understanding of the status of the newly proposed NSM semantic prime MOMENT using data from Tarifyt Berber. The syntax of the primary Tarifyt Berber exponent ġar is exclusively adverbial and requires a biclausal construction. We argue that this reflects the universal “conceptual syntax” of MOMENT, because the aspect-like modification provided by MOMENT requires the implicit presence of an “eventive” frame. The English sentence It happened in one moment, for example, is elliptical for a semantically equivalent,
but more explicit, expanded version: When it happened, it happened in one moment. English expressions such as at that moment and for a moment also lack direct equivalents in Tarifyt Berber.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
