Grammatical aspect is a grammatical category that refers to the internal temporal constituency of a situation or an event (Comrie 1976). Grammatical aspect is generally described in terms of a broad binary contrast between perfective and imperfective. Of these, the perfective aspect is used in language to refer to an event as bounded, unitary and without reference to any passage of time. The perfective is thus often said to denote a “complete” situation with the beginning, middle, and end presented in their entirety. In the standard dialect of Marathi, the perfective aspect is morphologically marked by the suffix [-l-] as in the sentence radha ɡhri ali (Radha home-to come-PFV). Here the verb form ali¬conveys that the event of Radha coming home is completed at the time of uttering the sentence. Regional variations in the dialects of Marathi for marking the perfective aspect are listed below.
1.0 Dialectal variation in marking the {Perfective}Four variants of {Perfective} were observed in the various regional dialects of Marathi: (1) [-l/lyan/lan-], (2) [-el], (3) [-n-], (4) [-vowel a/ə/i/e/u]. The geographical and social distribution and examples of the variant forms are given below.
1.1 Variant 1: [-l/lyan/lan-]The variant [-l-] was recorded in all the sampled districts in the state of Maharashtra. The use of [-lyan] as a marker of the perfective aspect was noted in the following districts:
| District | Taluka and Village |
|---|---|
| Kolhapur | Chandgad - Chandgad, Tudiye and Kodali,Gadhinglaj - Hebbal Jaldyal and Inchnal |
| Sindhudurg | Dodamarg - Ayee and Matne,Malwan - Katta, Deulwada and Dandi,Kudal - Kudal, Amrad and Mangaon,Vengurla - Vengurla,Devgad - Taramumbri and Jamsande,Vaibhavwadi - Nadavde, Sawantwadi - Kolgaon and Satarde |
| Ratnagiri | Ratnagiri - Malgund and Zadgaon,Dapoli - Dabhol, Rajapur - Kumbhavade |
The use of [-lan] as a marker of the perfective aspect was recorded in the following districts:
| District | Taluka and Village |
|---|---|
| Kolhapur | Radhanagari - Olavan |
| Ratnagiri | Khed - Jamge and Bahiravli,Dapoli - Dabhol and Palgad |
| Raigad | Mahad - Narwan-Bheloshi |
The variant [-el] was recorded in fourteen districts out of the sampled 34 districts in the state of Maharashtra. The geographical and social spread of this variant and examples are given below:
| District | Taluka and Village |
|---|---|
| Akola | Akola - Gopalkhed and Yeota |
| Washim | Risod - Chakoli and Ghonsar |
| Buldhana | Buldhana - Palaskhed Bhat,Jalgaon-Jamod - Wadgaon Patan and Nimkarad,Shegaon - Shirajgaon (Nile) and Padsul |
| Jalna | Jalna - Dhawedi |
| Aurangabad | Aurangabad - Bhikapur-Naigaon and Pimpalkhunta, Vaijapur - Nandgaon and Sawkhedganga,Soegaon - Ghosla and Palaskheda |
| Ahmednagar | Akole - Brahmanwada and Dongargaon,Newasa - Morgavhan |
| Nashik | Nashik - Vilholi, Malegaon - Kalwadi and Kaulane (GA.), Satana - Daregaon, Surgana - Kathipada and Surgana, Triambakeshwar - Goldari and Zarwad (Khurd), Yeola - Bokte and Nimgaonmadh |
| Jalgaon | Jalgaon - Dhamangaon and Wadli,Jamner - Wakod and Waghari,Raver - Mangalwadi, Chalisgaon - Hatle and Dahiwad, Chopda - Tandalwadi and Vaijapur |
| Dhule | Dhule - Laling, Songir, Khede and Khordad,Shirpur - Ambe, Shingave and Boradi,Sakri - Dighave and Dhadne |
| Nandurbar | Nandurbar - Ghotane and Dhanora,Navapur - Khandbara and Chinchpada,Shahada - Prakasha and Shahada |
| Palghar | Dahanu - Murbad and Pimpalshet and Veti,Talasari - Udhwa and Girgaon,Jawhar - Hateri and Khambala,Mokhada - Dandwal and Karegaon |
| Thane | Murbad - Madh (Katkari community) |
| Raigad | Alibag - Baple, Roha - Chinchawli (Katkari community) |
| Pune | Mulshi - Kasar-Amboli (Katkari community) |
The variant [-n-] as a marker of perfective aspect in six of the sampled 34 districts in the state of Maharashtra. The geographical and social spread of this variant and examples are given below:
| District | Taluka and Village |
|---|---|
| Jalgaon | Jalgaon - Dhamangaon and Wadli,Raver - Mangalwadi,Chalisgaon - Hatle and Dahiwad,Chopda - Tandalwadi and Vaijapur |
| Dhule | Dhule - Laling, Songir, Khede and Khordad,Shirpur - Ambe, Shingave and Boradi, Sakri - Dighave and Dhadne |
| Nandurbar | Nandurbar - Ghotane and Dhanora,Navapur - Khandbara and Chinchpada,Shahada - Prakasha and Shahada |
| Nashik | Malegaon - Kalwadi and Kaulane (GA.),Satana - Daregaon, Surgana - Kathipada,Triambakeshwar - Goldari |
| Palghar | Dahanu - Veti, Talasari - Udhwa, Mokhada - Karegaon |
| Raigad | Akole - Brahmanwada and Dongargaon,Newasa - Morgavhan |
| Nashik | Nashik - Vilholi, Malegaon - Kalwadi and Kaulane (GA.), Satana - Daregaon, Surgana - Kathipada and Surgana, Triambakeshwar - Goldari and Zarwad (Khurd), Yeola - Bokte and Nimgaonmadh |
| Jalgaon | Jalgaon - Dhamangaon and Wadli,Jamner - Wakod and Waghari,Raver - Mangalwadi, Chalisgaon - Hatle and Dahiwad, Chopda - Tandalwadi and Vaijapur |
| Dhule | Dhule - Laling, Songir, Khede and Khordad,Shirpur - Ambe, Shingave and Boradi,Sakri - Dighave and Dhadne |
| Nandurbar | Nandurbar - Ghotane and Dhanora,Navapur - Khandbara and Chinchpada,Shahada - Prakasha and Shahada |
| Palghar | Dahanu - Murbad and Pimpalshet and Veti,Talasari - Udhwa and Girgaon,Jawhar - Hateri and Khambala,Mokhada - Dandwal and Karegaon |
| Thane | Murbad - Madh (Katkari community) |
| Raigad | Alibag - Baple, Roha - Chinchawli (Katkari community) |
The variant [-vowel a/ə/i/e/u] is used for indicating the perfective aspect in six of the sampled 34 districts in the state of Maharashtra. The geographical and social spread of this variant and examples are given below:
| District | Taluka and Village |
|---|---|
| Jalgaon | Jalgaon - Wadli, Raver - Mangalwadi,Chalisgaon - Hatle and Dahiwad,Chopda - Tandalwadi and Vaijapur |
| Dhule | Dhule - Laling, Songir, Khede and Khordad,Shirpur - Ambe, Shingave and Boradi,Sakri - Dighave and Dhadne |
| Nandurbar | Nandurbar - Ghotane and Dhanora,Navapur - Khandbara and Chinchpada,Shahada - Prakasha and Shahada |
| Nashik | Malegaon - Kalwadi and Kaulane (GA.),Satana - Daregaon, Surgana - Kathipada, |
| Palghar | Dahanu - Veti, Talasari - Udhwa, Mokhada - Karegaon |
| Raigad | Karjat - Salokh (Katkari), Roha - Chinchawli (Katkari),Mahad - Bheloshi (Katkari) |
