Influence
Vendler's 1957 Philosophical Review article "Verbs and times" first introduced a four-way distinction between verbs based on their aspectual features, a distinction which has had a major influence on theories of lexical aspect or aktionsart.
Under Vendler's model, events may be classified into one of four aspectual classes:
- states, which are static and do not have an endpoint ("know," "love");
- activities, which are dynamic and do not have an endpoint ("run," "drive");
- accomplishments, which have an endpoint and are incremental or gradual ("paint a picture," "build a house"); and
- achievements, which have an endpoint and occur instantaneously ("recognize," "notice").
Vendler also popularized the use of the progressive aspect as a diagnostic for distinguishing between these lexical classes; for example, activities and accomplishments are able to appear in the progressive (He is running, He is painting a picture), whereas states and achievements are not (*He is knowing French, *He is recognizing his friend). Vendler's categories are still widely used in current research in areas such as syntax, semantics, and second language acquisition. Linguist S.-Y. Kuroda has said that Vendler's terms achievement and accomplishment "have since become basic technical vocabulary in modern linguistics," and have been used to develop numerous theories and allow for "sophisticated and highly technical" research in a variety of areas.
Vendler's 1967 book Linguistics in Philosophy, a collection of some of his earlier articles, had a large influence on the field of linguistic philosophy, which attempts to use the study of language and linguistic structures to inform philosophical theory. The book has been described as an attempt to "reconcile the empirical basis of linguistic science with the a priori nature of philosophical reasoning." His 1972 Res Cogitans also dealt with the relationship between language and philosophy.
Overall, Vendler published over 30 widely cited journal articles and four monographs.
Read more about this topic: Zeno Vendler
Famous quotes containing the word influence:
“Perhaps I stand now on the eve of a new life, shall watch the sun rise and disappear behind a black cloud extending out into a grey sky cover. I shall not be deceived by its glory. If it is to be so, there is work and the influence that work brings, but not happiness. Am I strong enough to face that?”
—Beatrice Potter Webb (1858–1943)
“A healthy soul stands united with the Just and the True, as the magnet arranges itself with the pole, so that he stands to all beholders like a transparent object betwixt them and the sun, and whoso journeys towards the sun, journeys towards that person. He is thus the medium of the highest influence to all who are not on the same level.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The higher the state of civilization, the more completely do the actions of one member of the social body influence all the rest, and the less possible is it for any one man to do a wrong thing without interfering, more or less, with the freedom of all his fellow-citizens.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)