Trivial’nye pary e verbi trasformativi a confronto: il caso di prichodit’ e del corrispettivo italiano arrivare

Abstract

In studies on Russian verbal Aspect, aspectual pairs in which the imperfective verb is lacking its semantic feature considered prototypical, i.e. durativity, are defined ‘trivial’nye’ (trivial). According to the classification proposed by Bertinetto for Italian predicates (1986), the semantic class that comes closest to this group is that of transformative verbs. The aim of the present study is to investigate and compare, in terms of actionality, the behaviour of two predicates belonging to the above categories, i.e., the Russian verb prichodit’ (to come) and the corresponding Italian verb arrivare, in particular when they occur, respectively, in the present imperfective and in the progressive periphrasis (stare + gerund). A corpus-based analysis shows how both predicates present peripheral usages in these two forms, losing their typical trait of non-durativeness. What determines the occurrence of these particular uses are, for both verbs, metaphorical values and subjects’ lack of agentivity. As for the Italian verb arrivare, sometimes, contextual elements suggesting a processual interpretation also play a role.