The Interplay of Synonymy and Polysemy

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4.3.5 Aspectual Directionals 
Some of the 
DIRECTIONALS
in the data are phrases that refer to time periods or to 
actions. These aspectual 
DIRECTIONALS
include elements that incorporate time as an inherent 
part of their meaning. For example, an attack takes place in time. It is understood as 
involving a span of time in which the attack occurs and then presumably ends. Contrast this 
with the floor; we do not understand floors as incorporating time in their meaning. The first 
of these is an aspectual 
DIRECTIONAL
,
whereas the later I will label a motion 
DIRECTIONAL
.
(Cf. Langacker (2008:104) distinction between prototypical verbs and prototypical nouns)
If we separate these aspectual 
phrases from motion 
DIRECTIONALS
, we 
find 
that 
the 
throw
-verbs 
show 
significantly distinct behaviors. Table 17 
shows the distribution. With a X-squared 
of 20.69, and a df of 3, the p-value is 
0.0001221. The Cramer’s V (0.2794) test 
represents close to a medium effect size (King & Minium 2008: 327-329). 
Arrojar 
and 
lanzar
do not show significant behavior. They mostly occur with motion 
DIRECTIONALS
, but still include several examples of aspectual 
DIRECTIONALS
. 
Tirar 
differs 
from the other by dispreferring aspectual 
DIRECTIONALS
. And 
echar 
differs for significantly 
preferring these aspectual 
DIRECTIONALS
.
Many researchers have argued that the words and concepts associated with space, 
including motion and spatial location, can be used to comprehend more abstract semantic 
notions (Jackendoff 1990, Lamiroy 1991). This is usually termed the localist hypothesis 
attributed to Gruber (1965) (cited in Jackendoff 1990:25). Lamiroy (1991:88) follows this 
hypothesis in her analysis of Spanish verbal periphrasis stating that time, which is an abstract 
concept, can be understood through the more concrete notion of (motion in) space. 
The conceptualization of time as a physical entity can be seen with some of the 
aspectual 
DIRECTIONALS
occurring with 
arrojar
. For example, one can throw oneself to the 
future.
(CdE:19-F, Salón de Té Volvoreta) 
(190) Y ambos se 
ARROJAN