From Morpheme Studies to Temporal Semantics

This article surveys the development of second language acquisition research in the area of tense and aspect. Research in the area has grown from the incidental investigation of tense-aspect morphology as part of the morpheme-order studies to investigations of the construction of interlanguage temporal semantics. Going beyond verbal morphology, many studies investigate a full range of temporal expression, including the use of pragmatic and lexical means. Much recent research also draws on theories of inherent, or lexical, aspect. An emphasis on the relation of form and meaning characterizes both the form-oriented approach and the semantic-oriented approach, the competing research paradigms that currently guide our work. The increase in scholarly activity in this domain of second language acquisition, as reflected not only in the number of studies undertaken but in the number of target languages investigated, bodes well for the understanding of temporality in second language.