Gnomic
Encyclopedia
A gnomic aspect sometimes called a neutral, generic or universal aspect or tense, is a grammatical aspect
that expresses general truths or aphorism
s—such as birds fly, sugar is sweet, a mother can always tell. It is one example of imperfective aspect
, which does not view an event as a single entity viewed only as a whole, but instead specifies something about its internal temporal structure.
Non-gnomic/generic aspects are called episodic. Episodic clauses are those that describe specific episodes and actual events, such as We had wine with dinner tonight (episodic) vs. We have wine with dinner (gnomic).
A grammatical gnomic aspect occurs in literary Swahili
, where the -a- form of the verb is gnomic (sometimes called 'indefinite tense') and the -na- form of the verb is episodic (sometimes called 'definite tense' or just 'present'). Spanish
does not have a gnomic inflection in its verbs like Swahili, but it does have lexical aspect in its be verbs ser (gnomic) and estar (episodic). For instance, estar enfermo means to be sick (episodic), whereas ser enfermo means to be sickly (gnomic).
However, most languages use other forms
of the verb to express general truths. For instance, English uses the simple (unmarked) present tense, as in the examples given above. In French
, Classical Greek
, Tongan
, and Dakota
, the future tense
is used. Biblical Hebrew
uses the perfective aspect
. In Japanese
, an imperfective clause with the wa (topic) particle is used for generic statements such as taiyo-wa higasi-kara nobo-ru [sun-TOP east-from rise-IPFV] "the sun rises in the east", whereas the ga (subject) particle would force an episodic reading.
has no means of morphologically
distinguishing a gnomic aspect; however, a generic reference is generally understood to convey an equivalent meaning. Use of the definite article
the or a demonstrative determiner
usually implies specific individuals, as in "the car he owns is fast", "the cars he owns are fast", or "those rabbits are fast", whereas omitting the definite article or other determiner in the plural creates a generic reference: "rabbits are fast" describes rabbits in general. However, the definite article may also be used in the singular for classes of nouns, as in "The giraffe is the tallest land mammal living today", which does not refer to any specific giraffe, but to giraffes in general.
English generally uses the simple present
tense as the equivalent of a gnomic aspect, as in "rabbits are fast" and "water boils at 212 °F", though the past tense ("Curiosity killed the cat
") is sometimes used. The auxiliary "will" can also be used to indicate gnomic aspect ("boys will be boys"). The simple present is used with specific references for the equivalent of a habitual aspect
, as in "I run every day"; likewise, the auxiliary "will" is used with specific references for the habitual aspect, as in "he will make that mistake all the time, won't he?". Thus in English the gnomic aspect takes the same form as the habitual aspect.
, a general truth may be expressed in the future
, present imperfective
, or aorist
, which are called in these cases the gnomic present, the gnomic future, and the gnomic aorist. There is also a gnomic perfect. These are not distinct tenses, but simply uses of the tense.
A gnomic future, the rarest of the three usages, similarly states that certain events often occur, and does not imply that an event is going to occur. A gnomic aorist (the most common of the three usages) likewise expresses the tendency for certain events to occur under given circumstances and is used to express general maxims. The gnomic aorist is thought to derive (as the English example does) from the summation of a common story (such as the moral
of a fable
).
Grammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
that expresses general truths or aphorism
Aphorism
An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
s—such as birds fly, sugar is sweet, a mother can always tell. It is one example of imperfective aspect
Imperfective aspect
The imperfective is a grammatical aspect used to describe a situation viewed with internal structure, such as ongoing, habitual, repeated, and similar semantic roles, whether that situation occurs in the past, present, or future...
, which does not view an event as a single entity viewed only as a whole, but instead specifies something about its internal temporal structure.
Non-gnomic/generic aspects are called episodic. Episodic clauses are those that describe specific episodes and actual events, such as We had wine with dinner tonight (episodic) vs. We have wine with dinner (gnomic).
A grammatical gnomic aspect occurs in literary Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
, where the -a- form of the verb is gnomic (sometimes called 'indefinite tense') and the -na- form of the verb is episodic (sometimes called 'definite tense' or just 'present'). Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
does not have a gnomic inflection in its verbs like Swahili, but it does have lexical aspect in its be verbs ser (gnomic) and estar (episodic). For instance, estar enfermo means to be sick (episodic), whereas ser enfermo means to be sickly (gnomic).
However, most languages use other forms
TAM
-Finance:* Total addressable market, a financial term used to reference the revenue opportunity available for a product or service- Military :* TAM – Transporte Aéreo Militar , an airline in Bolivia...
of the verb to express general truths. For instance, English uses the simple (unmarked) present tense, as in the examples given above. In French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Classical Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Tongan
Tongan language
Tongan is an Austronesian language spoken in Tonga. It has around 200,000 speakers and is a national language of Tonga. It is a VSO language.-Related languages:...
, and Dakota
Dakota language
Dakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Sioux tribes. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lakota language.-Dialects:...
, the future tense
Future tense
In grammar, a future tense is a verb form that marks the event described by the verb as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future , or to happen subsequent to some other event, whether that is past, present, or future .-Expressions of future tense:The concept of the future,...
is used. Biblical Hebrew
Biblical Hebrew language
Biblical Hebrew , also called Classical Hebrew , is the archaic form of the Hebrew language, a Canaanite Semitic language spoken in the area known as Canaan between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Biblical Hebrew is attested from about the 10th century BCE, and persisted through...
uses the perfective aspect
Perfective aspect
The perfective aspect , sometimes called the aoristic aspect, is a grammatical aspect used to describe a situation viewed as a simple whole, whether that situation occurs in the past, present, or future. The perfective aspect is equivalent to the aspectual component of past perfective forms...
. In Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, an imperfective clause with the wa (topic) particle is used for generic statements such as taiyo-wa higasi-kara nobo-ru [sun-TOP east-from rise-IPFV] "the sun rises in the east", whereas the ga (subject) particle would force an episodic reading.
English
EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
has no means of morphologically
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
distinguishing a gnomic aspect; however, a generic reference is generally understood to convey an equivalent meaning. Use of the definite article
Definite Article
Definite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
the or a demonstrative determiner
Demonstrative
In linguistics, demonstratives are deictic words that indicate which entities a speaker refers to and distinguishes those entities from others...
usually implies specific individuals, as in "the car he owns is fast", "the cars he owns are fast", or "those rabbits are fast", whereas omitting the definite article or other determiner in the plural creates a generic reference: "rabbits are fast" describes rabbits in general. However, the definite article may also be used in the singular for classes of nouns, as in "The giraffe is the tallest land mammal living today", which does not refer to any specific giraffe, but to giraffes in general.
English generally uses the simple present
Simple present
The simple present or present simple is one of the present tenses used in modern English, the others being the present continuous and the emphatic present. It is called "present" because it is often used in referring to the present time, and it is called "simple" because it consists of only a...
tense as the equivalent of a gnomic aspect, as in "rabbits are fast" and "water boils at 212 °F", though the past tense ("Curiosity killed the cat
Curiosity killed the cat
"Curiosity killed the cat" is a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation. A less frequently-seen rejoinder to "curiosity killed the cat" is "satisfaction brought it back"....
") is sometimes used. The auxiliary "will" can also be used to indicate gnomic aspect ("boys will be boys"). The simple present is used with specific references for the equivalent of a habitual aspect
Habitual aspect
In linguistics, the aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state. As its name suggests, the habitual aspect specifies an action as occurring habitually: the subject performs the action usually, ordinarily, or customarily...
, as in "I run every day"; likewise, the auxiliary "will" is used with specific references for the habitual aspect, as in "he will make that mistake all the time, won't he?". Thus in English the gnomic aspect takes the same form as the habitual aspect.
Ancient Greek
In Ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, a general truth may be expressed in the future
Future tense
In grammar, a future tense is a verb form that marks the event described by the verb as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future , or to happen subsequent to some other event, whether that is past, present, or future .-Expressions of future tense:The concept of the future,...
, present imperfective
Imperfective aspect
The imperfective is a grammatical aspect used to describe a situation viewed with internal structure, such as ongoing, habitual, repeated, and similar semantic roles, whether that situation occurs in the past, present, or future...
, or aorist
Aorist
Aorist is a philological term originally from Indo-European studies, referring to verb forms of various languages that are not necessarily related or similar in meaning...
, which are called in these cases the gnomic present, the gnomic future, and the gnomic aorist. There is also a gnomic perfect. These are not distinct tenses, but simply uses of the tense.
A gnomic future, the rarest of the three usages, similarly states that certain events often occur, and does not imply that an event is going to occur. A gnomic aorist (the most common of the three usages) likewise expresses the tendency for certain events to occur under given circumstances and is used to express general maxims. The gnomic aorist is thought to derive (as the English example does) from the summation of a common story (such as the moral
Moral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
of a fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
).