aspectwhether

Aspectwhether is a theoretical term in linguistic typology used to describe constructions where aspect marking and the status of embedded whether-clauses appear to merge into a single morphosyntactic realization. The label combines aspect, which encodes temporal structure or viewpoint of the verb, with whether, the complementizer used to introduce indirect questions and certain conditional or alternative-clause meanings. The concept is typically invoked in discussions of languages with highly integrated verbal morphology or with rich clause-type signaling.

In the proposed usage, aspectwhether may be realized in two broad patterns. One is a fused form, where a single marker on the main verb encodes both aspect and the presence or polarity of a following whether-clause. The other is a periphrastic pattern, in which an auxiliary or dedicated particle accompanies the verb to indicate aspect together with the semantic status of the embedded clause. In either case, the phenomenon is described as distinct from simply marking aspect independently of clause type or from marking whether-clauses in a separate layer.

Cross-linguistic claims about aspectwhether remain tentative and contested. Proponents cite languages with unusually tight coupling between aspect morphology and embedded question or conditional structures, while skeptics warn that apparent fusion can often be analyzed as interaction between existing aspect systems and a separate complementizer system. Because evidence is scant and methods vary, aspectwhether has not achieved wide consensus as a discrete, universally identifiable category.

See also: aspect, complementizer, indirect question, conditional clause, morphosyntax.