{"paper_id":"46a8722e-5027-432f-9eea-4de4bfb5a39a","body_text":"Tense–Aspect Variation Across Oral Narrative Types: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study of Russian and Polish | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Tense–Aspect Variation Across Oral Narrative Types: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study of Russian and Polish Katrin Bente Karl This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8416355/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the distribution of tense and aspect in oral narratives in Russian and Polish, with a particular focus on the influence of narrative task type and cross-linguistic differences between two closely related Slavic languages. Drawing on a methodologically aligned corpus of elicited oral narratives, the analysis compares four narrative tasks – biographical narratives, picture descriptions, and two picture-based story tellings differing in addressee orientation – across the two languages. All analyses are based on aggregated corpus data and focus on finite verb forms annotated for tense and, in past contexts, aspect. Quantitative corpus-linguistic methods are combined with chi-square tests to assess the significance of task-related and cross-linguistic differences. The results demonstrate a robust effect of narrative task type on tense distribution in both languages and reveal systematic, task-sensitive variation in aspectual choice, particularly within past tense forms. While Russian and Polish both show a general preference for past tense in narrative discourse, Polish exhibits a consistently higher proportion of present tense forms, a pattern that can be partly explained by typological differences such as the overt marking of the present tense copula. Crucially, the study reveals that aspectual distributions vary significantly across narrative tasks and, in Polish, are additionally sensitive to addressee orientation. These findings challenge the assumption of a uniform tense–aspect distribution in narrative data and underscore the need for task-sensitive and pragmatically informed approaches in cross-linguistic research on Russian and Polish aspect and tense. Tense Aspect Narratives corpus-based empirical study Russian Polish Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Duisburg-Essen (approval ID: Ethik 2021-4). The committee classified the research project as ethically unobjectionable. Participant Consent Statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. Consent covered the recording of spoken data, transcription, inclusion in a research corpus, and anonymized publication. No participant took part without having provided informed consent. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 24 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 23 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 09 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 22 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 21 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {\"props\":{\"pageProps\":{\"initialData\":{\"identity\":\"rs-8416355\",\"acceptedTermsAndConditions\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"archivedVersions\":[],\"articleType\":\"Research Article\",\"associatedPublications\":[],\"authors\":[{\"id\":564385524,\"identity\":\"fc04f78c-c172-439d-9858-544d0ffabda9\",\"order_by\":0,\"name\":\"Katrin Bente Karl\",\"email\":\"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA2klEQVRIie3NsQrCMBCA4QuBTpWuVwr6CpFCdejDGLq7dBREKcRXEESfwbGbFsEp6AO4VArdhK5upgbBKXV0yD+EO8jHAdhsfxi2zwSAAdBlqXY1g9NB6IeQjP1OQBOB+mIH8VfXc3PPIfQ2hZj18vHUA1qXJhK4CV1zCRFeuLj1JKb+whkxE+lDQoELiEESRQTy/dF10Ei8SpOBImlLDl0kQH0lYorQ9xXoIP66ChXBcChJ5m8FpnhyIiPBK6/IU8TDnaRF8xDzqbfKaiP5yK+Z/vDfZrPZbOZe4Xk9ln8U/ocAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"University of Bern\",\"correspondingAuthor\":true,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Katrin\",\"middleName\":\"Bente\",\"lastName\":\"Karl\",\"suffix\":\"\"}],\"badges\":[],\"createdAt\":\"2025-12-21 09:38:16\",\"currentVersionCode\":1,\"declarations\":\"\",\"doi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8416355/v1\",\"doiUrl\":\"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8416355/v1\",\"draftVersion\":[],\"editorialEvents\":[],\"editorialNote\":\"\",\"failedWorkflow\":false,\"files\":[{\"id\":99794256,\"identity\":\"b56cd246-6476-47a6-a159-95519b80394f\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:34:22\",\"extension\":\"docx\",\"order_by\":0,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":543531,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"TenseAspectVariationsinNarrativesanonymised.docx\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/bfafab1867ad90c260beb46f.docx\"},{\"id\":99639893,\"identity\":\"9be149f0-ab42-450a-a6e0-19482b90e884\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"json\",\"order_by\":1,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":4031,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"44399a5c158c4ac6b229b4e142f18790.json\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/f79af6206b777c634dda5641.json\"},{\"id\":99639891,\"identity\":\"cb70e234-e25d-49fc-ae70-0f07f1a2c281\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"xml\",\"order_by\":2,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":208933,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"44399a5c158c4ac6b229b4e142f187901enriched.xml\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/015e5f59ccdfc6a37b23a776.xml\"},{\"id\":99795646,\"identity\":\"68fb46ab-4ca6-4d59-83a8-897cc94cf196\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:39:08\",\"extension\":\"jpeg\",\"order_by\":3,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":1019102,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage1.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/4b04730a17ba54bbf53db90d.jpeg\"},{\"id\":99795138,\"identity\":\"2835972f-9713-44ba-b48e-1ffec5acd89e\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:37:05\",\"extension\":\"jpeg\",\"order_by\":4,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":147653,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage10.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/2623c627ccb407c49da8bd90.jpeg\"},{\"id\":99794935,\"identity\":\"a95a6d1f-00c7-473b-94fb-ea8ce9f10f39\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:36:40\",\"extension\":\"jpeg\",\"order_by\":5,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":160295,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage11.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/8e3cc906994084a111bc2b9d.jpeg\"},{\"id\":99639894,\"identity\":\"dcc35321-6fd4-4fc4-b09a-8967be509187\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":6,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":59714,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage2.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/4283f7b46690bc5aef399b1a.png\"},{\"id\":99794409,\"identity\":\"49245633-b22f-42c4-9734-dc772a2f22f9\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:34:55\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":7,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":58267,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage3.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/fc6c0c20fe74d6bdc04a7d4e.png\"},{\"id\":99639897,\"identity\":\"246ae8b9-6328-411e-92e0-bcf2d2f728e3\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":8,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":85239,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage4.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/41dc59dbf08c5098aa9a3fa8.png\"},{\"id\":99795086,\"identity\":\"30e400a5-1160-4cb9-acac-17e519af9248\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:36:56\",\"extension\":\"jpeg\",\"order_by\":9,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":160328,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage5.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/c0fd1586872f97def34da77a.jpeg\"},{\"id\":99795351,\"identity\":\"a4c872e8-6075-4d48-8a45-e6411f7356c8\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:37:48\",\"extension\":\"jpeg\",\"order_by\":10,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":150397,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage6.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/584f443c4c9ed535de012003.jpeg\"},{\"id\":99794342,\"identity\":\"a254e91b-9150-4761-a892-f2db13c6974e\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:34:37\",\"extension\":\"jpeg\",\"order_by\":11,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":149957,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage7.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/184abeda69c5420c5dbec9cc.jpeg\"},{\"id\":99793881,\"identity\":\"0f48546a-aff5-421f-b9c5-a43f77562b96\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:33:25\",\"extension\":\"jpeg\",\"order_by\":12,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":149282,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage8.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/48ea95fb0fb5cecbbb9e29fc.jpeg\"},{\"id\":99639915,\"identity\":\"52e0e672-2773-41ef-8757-7a58bb0ffc53\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"jpeg\",\"order_by\":13,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":152357,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"floatimage9.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/c7fc733c2456f20809b0d1c8.jpeg\"},{\"id\":99794234,\"identity\":\"3cf8f12e-d9e8-4af4-8b5b-f1124924d831\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:34:18\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":14,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":198807,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage1.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/f55e90f3f005f33d8a466393.png\"},{\"id\":99795377,\"identity\":\"cdc55e63-d77c-4fd0-b944-c428e6174561\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:37:50\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":15,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":23016,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage10.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/23d4128f8756e62cc3e7dcc2.png\"},{\"id\":99639903,\"identity\":\"92719914-e32e-4ce1-a5ea-5a2821efcfa7\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":16,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":25461,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage11.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/4918f41d9957eaf59b68c005.png\"},{\"id\":99794727,\"identity\":\"7d51b166-ca92-4532-9d10-70ccf44ebf4b\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:36:05\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":17,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":14895,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage2.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/590aa37ee23be86444669f4a.png\"},{\"id\":99639905,\"identity\":\"87a21ee5-33db-4bae-847d-ede69d4a9f87\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":18,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":14408,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage3.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/b186d7f32d9a04040149da84.png\"},{\"id\":99793188,\"identity\":\"044bc72d-6322-423b-9be3-ad542cff7e82\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:31:09\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":19,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":25000,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage4.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/409e3971a903f866ed6b9326.png\"},{\"id\":99794057,\"identity\":\"9f70612d-9af0-4a4c-bedd-40d77294d430\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:33:53\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":20,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":26942,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage5.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/1b02ebfc3fcd0911c606bc84.png\"},{\"id\":99639901,\"identity\":\"802eca29-c69d-4d36-90ec-ce6cde532386\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":21,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":24886,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage6.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/30588158bd388120d41791be.png\"},{\"id\":99639916,\"identity\":\"699cce19-7096-4418-bb05-c1f7648570fd\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":22,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":24783,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage7.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/eff9de2899e707027c66c9ab.png\"},{\"id\":99794421,\"identity\":\"1bf42dac-c8d7-43d4-8d02-f15eabb053c1\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:34:57\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":23,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":26004,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage8.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/4fb6d66527c5422f0024a7e7.png\"},{\"id\":99794921,\"identity\":\"9fa462f7-27f9-43c1-80c0-853f7beab89d\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 13:36:40\",\"extension\":\"png\",\"order_by\":24,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":25381,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"Onlinefloatimage9.png\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/6efba79fcec6506293b09ea3.png\"},{\"id\":99639917,\"identity\":\"8811221c-ee26-4ed3-9be2-7363d71babb1\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"xml\",\"order_by\":25,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":212032,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"44399a5c158c4ac6b229b4e142f187901structuring.xml\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/29bd8225a4c2d8103db15d1a.xml\"},{\"id\":99639918,\"identity\":\"f060e8e9-64f5-4f80-b7f8-4a920537415c\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:32\",\"extension\":\"html\",\"order_by\":26,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"acdc-reference\",\"size\":228886,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"earlyproof.html\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1/da7c2bf7911b6568c04e42b4.html\"},{\"id\":99804763,\"identity\":\"2ee1cc6b-ac67-4b65-a946-28293a49aada\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-08 14:14:24\",\"extension\":\"pdf\",\"order_by\":1,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"manuscript-pdf\",\"size\":1019067,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"TenseAspectVariationsinNarrativesanonymised.pdf\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8416355/v1_covered_ea07953f-edfa-4dd6-a6b2-f352e71c270d.pdf\"}],\"financialInterests\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eNo competing interests reported.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eEthics Approval Statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Duisburg-Essen (approval ID: Ethik 2021-4). The committee classified the research project as ethically unobjectionable.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eParticipant Consent Statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. Consent covered the recording of spoken data, transcription, inclusion in a research corpus, and anonymized publication. No participant took part without having provided informed consent.\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"formattedTitle\":\"Tense–Aspect Variation Across Oral Narrative Types: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study of Russian and Polish\",\"fulltext\":[],\"fulltextSource\":\"\",\"fullText\":\"\",\"funders\":[],\"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow\":false,\"hasManuscriptDocX\":false,\"hasOptedInToPreprint\":true,\"hasPassedJournalQc\":\"\",\"hasAnyPriority\":true,\"hideJournal\":false,\"highlight\":\"\",\"institution\":\"\",\"isAcceptedByJournal\":true,\"isAuthorSuppliedPdf\":true,\"isDeskRejected\":\"\",\"isHiddenFromSearch\":false,\"isInQc\":false,\"isInWorkflow\":false,\"isPdf\":true,\"isPdfUpToDate\":true,\"isWithdrawnOrRetracted\":false,\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"russian-linguistics\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"externalIdentity\":\"\",\"sideBox\":\"Learn more about [Russian Linguistics](https://link.springer.com/journal/11185)\",\"snPcode\":\"11185\",\"submissionUrl\":\"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/11185/3\",\"title\":\"Russian Linguistics\",\"twitterHandle\":\"\",\"acdcEnabled\":true,\"dfaEnabled\":true,\"editorialSystem\":\"stoa\",\"reportingPortfolio\":\"Springer Hybrid\",\"inReviewEnabled\":true,\"inReviewRevisionsEnabled\":false},\"keywords\":\"Tense, Aspect, Narratives, corpus-based empirical study, Russian, Polish\",\"lastPublishedDoi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8416355/v1\",\"lastPublishedDoiUrl\":\"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8416355/v1\",\"license\":{\"name\":\"CC BY 4.0\",\"url\":\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\"},\"manuscriptAbstract\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eThis study investigates the distribution of tense and aspect in oral narratives in Russian and Polish, with a particular focus on the influence of narrative task type and cross-linguistic differences between two closely related Slavic languages. Drawing on a methodologically aligned corpus of elicited oral narratives, the analysis compares four narrative tasks \\u0026ndash; biographical narratives, picture descriptions, and two picture-based story tellings differing in addressee orientation \\u0026ndash; across the two languages. All analyses are based on aggregated corpus data and focus on finite verb forms annotated for tense and, in past contexts, aspect.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eQuantitative corpus-linguistic methods are combined with chi-square tests to assess the significance of task-related and cross-linguistic differences. The results demonstrate a robust effect of narrative task type on tense distribution in both languages and reveal systematic, task-sensitive variation in aspectual choice, particularly within past tense forms. While Russian and Polish both show a general preference for past tense in narrative discourse, Polish exhibits a consistently higher proportion of present tense forms, a pattern that can be partly explained by typological differences such as the overt marking of the present tense copula. Crucially, the study reveals that aspectual distributions vary significantly across narrative tasks and, in Polish, are additionally sensitive to addressee orientation.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThese findings challenge the assumption of a uniform tense\\u0026ndash;aspect distribution in narrative data and underscore the need for task-sensitive and pragmatically informed approaches in cross-linguistic research on Russian and Polish aspect and tense.\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"manuscriptTitle\":\"Tense–Aspect Variation Across Oral Narrative Types: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study of Russian and Polish\",\"msid\":\"\",\"msnumber\":\"\",\"nonDraftVersions\":[{\"code\":1,\"date\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:23\",\"doi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8416355/v1\",\"editorialEvents\":[{\"type\":\"communityComments\",\"content\":0},{\"type\":\"decision\",\"content\":\"Revision requested\",\"date\":\"2026-02-24T07:45:50+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorInvitedReview\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2026-02-23T22:35:15+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorInvitedReview\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2026-02-02T07:33:34+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewerAgreed\",\"content\":\"228607343763884827810833513865949436256\",\"date\":\"2026-01-11T18:02:15+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewerAgreed\",\"content\":\"307231396632578938901477919024136725930\",\"date\":\"2026-01-10T19:24:27+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewersInvited\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2026-01-09T12:23:28+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorAssigned\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2025-12-23T00:27:53+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"checksComplete\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2025-12-23T00:27:29+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"submitted\",\"content\":\"Russian Linguistics\",\"date\":\"2025-12-21T09:24:07+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"}],\"status\":\"published\",\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"russian-linguistics\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"externalIdentity\":\"\",\"sideBox\":\"Learn more about [Russian Linguistics](https://link.springer.com/journal/11185)\",\"snPcode\":\"11185\",\"submissionUrl\":\"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/11185/3\",\"title\":\"Russian Linguistics\",\"twitterHandle\":\"\",\"acdcEnabled\":true,\"dfaEnabled\":true,\"editorialSystem\":\"stoa\",\"reportingPortfolio\":\"Springer Hybrid\",\"inReviewEnabled\":true,\"inReviewRevisionsEnabled\":false}}],\"origin\":\"\",\"ownerIdentity\":\"a4605ad8-5fae-4043-8765-2c7038a361bd\",\"owner\":[],\"postedDate\":\"January 6th, 2026\",\"published\":true,\"recentEditorialEvents\":[],\"rejectedJournal\":[],\"revision\":\"\",\"amendment\":\"\",\"status\":\"under-review\",\"subjectAreas\":[],\"tags\":[],\"updatedAt\":\"2026-04-08T09:42:39+00:00\",\"versionOfRecord\":[],\"versionCreatedAt\":\"2026-01-06 18:14:23\",\"video\":\"\",\"vorDoi\":\"\",\"vorDoiUrl\":\"\",\"workflowStages\":[]},\"version\":\"v1\",\"identity\":\"rs-8416355\",\"journalConfig\":\"researchsquare\"},\"__N_SSP\":true},\"page\":\"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]\",\"query\":{\"redirect\":\"/article/rs-8416355\",\"identity\":\"rs-8416355\",\"version\":[\"v1\"]},\"buildId\":\"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd\",\"isFallback\":false,\"isExperimentalCompile\":false,\"dynamicIds\":[84888],\"gssp\":true,\"scriptLoader\":[]}","source_license":"CC-BY-4.0","license_restricted":false}