The aim of this master’s thesis is to present fictive motion, a phenomenon characterised by descriptions of static scenes as though being in some kind of motion. A particular manifestation of fictive motion is known as coextension paths, concurrently a category laboriously scrutinised and the focal point of this thesis, seeing that the pivotal idea is to determine how different types of motion verbs (within FM) are realised in terms of aspect.
With the theoretical segment, we commence by expounding the nature and attributes of construals, which stand as the broader term and integrate fictive motion in their classification. By analysing their properties, we acquire an initial understanding of fictive motion as well, thus a fundamental comprehension that shall serve us across the entire research. The thesis then proceeds to examine motion events and their internal structure, focusing on the distinctions between manner-of-motion and path-conflating motion verbs, before tackling fictive motion categories and lastly aspect – more precisely – the differences between the indefinite and the progressive form.
The subsequent empirical part consists of a corpus-based study (enTenTen15 via Sketch Engine), where selected verbs from both verb groups are inspected in order to ascertain the frequency of both mentioned aspectual forms in sentences featuring coextension paths (the table with examples containing the progressive form is attached in the Appendix). The provided data and interpretations offer an insight into the actual usage and appearance of fictive motion present in the English language.
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