Another look at the interaction between verbs and constructions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-308
Author(s):  
Seizi Iwata
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Verb Meaning

Abstract Despite the wealth of literature on English resultatives, there still remain a number of issues that have not been squarely addressed. This paper addresses two of them through a case study of resultatives based on wipe. First, while the existence of resultatives with objects not selected by verbs is well-known in the literature (e.g., wipe the crumbs off the table/*wipe the crumbs), few studies have addressed the issue of exactly which entities may appear as non-selected objects. Second, there are resultatives whose form is to be analyzed as a mixture of the verb’s lexically-specified syntactic frame and the syntactic frame of resultatives (e.g. wipe the blade clean on his skin coat), but such resultatives have been neglected in previous studies. In order to find an answer to the first issue, this paper adopts a force-recipient account, according to which the post-verbal NP of a resultative is a force-recipient (cf. Croft 1990, 1991, 1998, 2012). It is shown that non-selected objects like crumbs are indeed force-recipients in a conceptual scene. As for the second issue, such resultatives can be accommodated by means of a constructional analysis which holds that verbs contribute the semantics of the resulting expression, and that argument structure constructions simply enable the verb meaning to take its form. Together, these findings indicate that verbs play a far more important role than argument structure constructions in effecting the syntax and semantics of the resulting expression.

Mapping meaning to argument structure

2021 ◽  
pp. 36-60
Author(s):  
James N. Collins
Keyword(s):  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
Case Marking ◽  
Detailed Case ◽  
Nominal Arguments

This chapter investigates the phenomenon of morphological case in so-called ‘ergative-absolutive aligned’ languages, with a detailed case study of the Polynesian language Samoan. The focus is on the interaction of morphological case marking and the lexical semantics of verbs, proposing that the case marking pattern on a verb’s arguments are closely linked to the verb’s entailments, especially those relating to how the participants denoted by the verb’s nominal arguments participate in the event being described. Through empirical investigation of novel Samoan data, the chapter argues that ergative morphological case marking is linked to the agent argument’s status as a ‘self directed initiator’ of the event. In providing an analysis of this phenomenon, this chapter proposes a formal model of how a verb’s lexical semantics interacts with the morphological case component of grammar, employing insights from Optimality Theory.

Framing terminology in legal translation

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Faber ◽  
Arianne Reimerink
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Specialized Knowledge ◽  
Text Type ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Technical Translation

Abstract Legal language and its translation are considerably more complex than scientific and technical translation because the legal object is a text that performs an action. For this reason it is not only necessary to consider the legal terminology but also the structure of the text itself as well as the verbs used and their performative act. In this paper, we explore how the analysis of terminological meaning in legal texts can be addressed from the perspective of Frame-Based Terminology (FBT), a cognitive approach to domain-specific language, which directly links specialized knowledge representation to cognitive linguistics and cognitive semantics. In a case study on international agreements in the context of environmental law, we analyze the argument structure of verbs as well as the conceptual categories of their semantic arguments providing insights into the semantic profile of this text type. The representation of the verb class and its semantic arguments can be considered a type of interlingua that could be used as a basis for translation.

The acquisition of the active transitive construction in English: A detailed case study

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna L. Theakston, ◽  
Robert Maslen, ◽  
Elena V. M. Lieven, ◽  
Michael Tomasello,
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
Event Semantics ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
Detailed Case ◽  
Verb Semantics ◽  
Levels Of Use ◽  
Simultaneous Move ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractIn this study, we test a number of predictions concerning children's knowledge of the transitive Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) construction between two and three years on one child (Thomas) for whom we have densely collected data. The data show that the earliest SVO utterances reflect earlier use of those same verbs, and that verbs acquired before 2;7 show an earlier move towards adult-like levels of use in the SVO construction and in object argument complexity than later acquired verbs. There is not a close relation with the input in the types of subject and object referents used, nor a close adherence to Preferred Argument Structure (PAS) before 2;7, but both early and late acquired verbs show a simultaneous move towards PAS patterns in selection of referent type at 2;9. The event semantics underpinning early transitive utterances do not straightforwardly fit prototype (high or inalienable) notions of transitivity, but rather may reflect sensitivity to animacy and intentionality in a way that mirrors the input. We conclude that children's knowledge of the transitive construction continues to undergo significant development between 2;0 and 3;0, reflecting the gradual abstraction and integration of the SVO and VO constructions, verb semantics, discourse pragmatics, and the interactions between these factors. These factors are considered in the context of a prototype for the transitive construction.

Grammaticalisation through constructions

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 159-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Ziegeler
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
Repeated Use ◽  
Verb Meaning ◽  
Diachronic Development ◽  
Over Time

Recent arguments by Langacker (2003) on the nature of verb meanings in constructions claim that such meanings are created by entrenchment and frequency of use, and only with repeated use can they become conventionalised and acceptable. Such a position raises the need for a diachronic perspective on Construction Grammar. The present paper investigates the evolution of constructions through the example of thehave-causative in English, which appears to have had its origins as a transfer verb in telic argument structure constructions. When the construction contains a transfer verb, construction meaning reinforces verb meaning and periphrastic causatives may grammaticalise as output; this is a gradual development over time. In one way, then, the verbhavegrammaticalises across a succession of constructions, but in another, the telic argument structure construction itself is seen to have a progressive diachronic development.

scholarly journals The causative–instrumental syncretism

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (04) ◽  
pp. 751-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
KYLE JERRO
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Causal Chain ◽  
Traditional View ◽  
Bantu Language ◽  
General Constraints ◽  
Argument Realization ◽  
Semantic Notion ◽  
Verb Meaning ◽  
Insight Into

Causative and applicative morphemes have been central in work on the morphosyntax of argument structure. However, several genetically unrelated languages use a single, syncretic form for both functions, which complicates the traditional view that a causative adds a new subject and an applicative adds a new object. In this paper, I propose an analysis of a morphological syncretism found in the Bantu language Kinyarwanda where the morphological causative and instrumental applicative are both realized by the morpheme –ish. I argue for Kinyarwanda that both causation and the introduction of an instrument are analyzable as two outgrowths of the same semantic notion of introducing a new link into the causal chain described by the verb. The different causative and instrumental readings derive from underspecification of the position of the new link in the causal chain, although its placement is restricted via general constraints on possible event types as well as constraints on verb meaning and argument realization. This analysis provides an explanation for the presence of the causative–instrumental syncretism as well as provides insight into the interface between verb meaning and valency-changing morphology.

The locative alternation in verb-framed vs. satellite-framed languages

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 864-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Lewandowski
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Corpus Study ◽  
Token Frequency ◽  
Locative Alternation ◽  
Change Of State ◽  
Type Frequency ◽  
Verb Meaning

I propose a comparative analysis of the locative alternation in Polish and Spanish. I adopt a constructional theory of argument structure (Goldberg (1995)), according to which the locative alternation is an epiphenomenon of the compatibility of a single verb meaning with two different constructions: the caused-motion construction and the causative + with adjunct construction. As claimed by Pinker (1989), a verb must specify a manner of motion from which a particular change of state can be obtained in order to be able to appear in both constructional schemas. However, I show through a corpus study that the compatibility between verbal and constructional meaning is further restricted by Talmy’s (1985, 1991, 2000) distinction between verb-framed and satellite-framed languages. In particular, Talmy’s lexicalization patterns theory systematically explains why both the token frequency and the type frequency of the alternating verbs are considerably higher in Polish than in Spanish.

INTRODUCTION

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Thematic Issue ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Lexical Knowledge ◽  
Lexical Information ◽  
Verb Meaning ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
Linguistic Approaches

Due to the recognition of the centrality of the lexicon for SLA theory (see the 1987 thematic issue of SSLA, edited by Susan Gass), the last few years have witnessed an increased interest in understanding lexical knowledge. As Gass (1999) reminded us, learning vocabulary in a second language is a complex task that involves much more than learning sound-meaning pairings; it also involves learning how lexical information is morphologically expressed and syntactically constrained. The present issue provides a natural sequel to the 1999 SSLA thematic issue, “Incidental L2 Vocabulary Acquisition,” by addressing some of the questions raised in that volume, in particular the questions related to the intimate relationship between syntax and semantics at the lexical interface. This issue is devoted to the L2 acquisition of verb meaning and argument structure crosslinguistically, and it explores in detail the nature of linguistic systems that L2 learners acquire in this particular domain. The six central articles offer a coherent approach to the topic, using linguistic theory to help us understand the characteristics of learner grammars. Until recently, linguistic approaches to SLA have placed a strong emphasis on understanding the acquisition of functional categories, for example, and the acquisition of the lexicon has received less attention. Understanding how the lexico-syntactic interface is mentally represented, and how it evolves during the second language acquisition process, is crucial for developing an adequate theory of L2 knowledge in general, as well as for informing theories of the lexicon.

Indeterminiertheit, Valenzvariation und Verbbedeutung vom Gesichtspunkt der funktionellen Syntax / Indeterminateness, valency variation and verb meaning from a functional syntax perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaas Willems
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Semantic Variation ◽  
Verb Meaning ◽  
Functional Syntax ◽  
The Way

AbstractThis paper deals with the problem of how inherent verb meanings are to be assessed in a synchronic theory of verb valency, given that verbs usually occur in different syntactic patterns and display considerable semantic variation. Moreover, in a recent paper, Fischer (2003) claims that valency is essentially “indeterminate”, because the way verbs build up constructions is subject to various interpretations by different speakers. In the present paper, the variability problem is approached from the point of view of “functional syntax”, a non-generative and non-cognitive theory of grammar developed by Eugenio Coseriu. The paper focuses on the question whether indeterminacy not only holds for valency, but for verb meanings as well. The empirical account is based on a case study of a set of sentences in which the German verb

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