PENSEE CONSTRUCTRICE ET POLYSEMIE VERBALE : LE CAS DE L’IMPARFAIT
CONSTRUCTIVE THOUGHT AND VERBAL POLYSEMY : THE CASE OF THE IMPARFAIT

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses the verbal polysemy of the French imperfect (imparfait) by trying to understand the creative mechanism of its principal uses (imparfait narratif, d’imminence contrecarrée, hypocoristique, d’atténuation and ludique). The role of aspect and the relevance of variation of the chronotypes that form this versatile tense are explained along with the relationship between incidence and decadence. Such a relationship is explored in order to identify its implications on discourse in terms of stylistic effects (ordinary, pseudo-allocutive and allocutive decadence).

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