The Status of Generalizations: Valency and Argument Structure Constructions

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Herbst
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
The Status

scholarly journals Passives and impersonals

2003 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES P. BLEVINS
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Strong Tendency ◽  
Human Agent ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
The Status ◽  
Direct Objects

This paper argues that the term ‘passive’ has been systematically misapplied to a class of impersonal constructions that suppress the realization of a syntactic subject. The reclassification of these constructions highlights a typological contrast between two types of verbal diathesis and clarifies the status of putative ‘passives of unaccusatives’ and ‘transitive passives’ in Balto-Finnic and Balto-Slavic. Impersonal verb forms differ from passives in two key respects: they are insensitive to the argument structure of a verb and can be formed from unergatives or unaccusatives, and they may retain direct objects. As with other subjectless forms of personal verbs, there is a strong tendency to interpret the suppressed subject of an impersonal as an indefinite human agent. Hence impersonalization is often felicitous only for verbs that select human subjects.

scholarly journals German participle II constructions as adjuncts

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 309-321
Author(s):  
Ilse Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Relative Pronoun ◽  
Syntactic Position ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Propositional Operator ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Interpretative Flexibility

The present investigation is concerned with German participles II (past participles) as lexical heads of adjuncts. Within a minimalist framework of sound-meaning correlation, the analysis presupposes a lexicalist conception of morphology and the differentiation of Semantic Form and Conceptual Structure. It is argued that participles II have the same argument structure as the underlying verbs and can undergo passivization, perfectivization and conversion to adjectives. As for the potential of participles to function as modifiers, it is shown that attributive and adverbial participle constructions involve further operations of conversion. Participle constructions are considered as reduced sentences. They do not have a syntactic position for the subject, for an operator (comparable to the relative pronoun in relative clauses) or for an adverbial relator (as in adverbial clauses). The pertinent components are present only in the semantic structure. Two templates serve the composition of modifiers - including participle constructions - with the modificandum. It is necessary to differentiate between modification which unifies two predicates relating to participants or to situations and frame setting modification where the modifier is given the status of a propositional operator. The proposed analysis shows that the high degree of semantic underspecification and interpretative flexibility of German participle II constructions resides in the indeterminacy of participles II with respect to voice and perfect, in the absence of certain constituents in the syntactic structure and in the presence of corresponding parameters in the Semantic Form of the participle phrases.  

scholarly journals Alternation-based generalizations are stored in the mental grammar: Evidence from a sorting task experiment

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 601-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florent Perek,
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Sorting Task ◽  
Syntactic Form ◽  
Dative Alternation ◽  
The Status

AbstractAccording to constructional approaches, grammar consists of an inventory of symbolic pairings of a syntactic form with an abstract meaning. Many of such so-called constructions can be perceived as having highly similar meanings: such pairs have been discussed under the name of alternations, especially in the domain of argument structure, for example the widely documented dative alternation (e.g. John gave Mary a book vs. John gave a book to Mary). This paper explores what status such pairs of constructions can be given in construction grammar, on the basis of a sorting task experiment.Construction grammar traditionally recognizes generalizations of a common syntactic form over semantically similar sentences, but the status of higher-level generalizations of a common meaning over syntactically different forms is rarely discussed. In our study, we devised a sorting task that subjects could resolve by relying on generalizations of either of these two kinds. We find that subjects rely on alternation-based generalizations more often than purely constructional ones in their sorting behavior. We suggest these results show that generalizations of a common meaning between formally different constructions are plausible categories stored by speakers and should be given more attention in construction grammar research.

scholarly journals Partizip II-Konstruktionen des Deutschen als Modifikatoren

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 123-146
Author(s):  
Ilse Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Semantic Structure ◽  
Grammatical Subject ◽  
Syntactic Position ◽  
The Status ◽  
Propositional Operator

This contribution concerns the interaction of morphology, syntax and semantics. It treats German past participles and concentrates on their function as heads in attributive and adverbial modifier phrases. It is argued that participles have the same argument structure as the underlying verbs and can undergo passivization, perfectivization and conversion to adjectives. Since these three operations involve changes in the morphosyntactic categorization they are considered as zero affixation. Two affixless templates – without any categorical changes – convert participle constructions to modifiers relating to participants or to situations. These phrases do not have a syntactic position for the grammatical subject, an operator or an adverbial relator. The pertinent components are present only in the semantic structure. Two further templates serve the composition of participle constructions as modifiers with the modificandum. It is necessary to differentiate between modifiers which function as predicates and those which have the status of a propositional operator. In syntax, these different semantic functions correspond to different adjunct positions of the respective participle phrases.  

Women and Social Justice

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-350
Author(s):  
Mohja Kahf
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Present Treatment ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Status ◽  
Comprehensive Reform ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Ideal

The task undertaken in this book, the development of a “third approach”to the issue of women’s oppression superceding both feminism and traditionalism,is much needed and much neglected in the Islamic movement.Specifically, Ahmad analyzes the impact of the introduction of hudud (Islamicpenal code) laws in Pakistan and makes policy recommendations for theirreform. Although his analysis is not limited in usefulness to Pakistan, it islimited, however, by several shortcomings in argument, structure, and language.Ahmad’s strong points emerge in his empirical study of Pakistani familylaw. While he attempts to refute the criticism that the hudud laws discriminateagainst women, he also recognizes that the application of these laws in alegal patchwork fraught with contradictions has not helped women. For example,the Family Laws Ordinance of 1961 requires all marriages to be officiallyreported but, with common and Islamic opinion being contrary, thislaw is frequently neglected. So when the hudud laws of 1979 made adulterypunishable, women living in Islamic but unreported marriages were reportedfor adultery by vengeful ex-husbands. This particular problem would be solved,Ahmad argues, by punishing such men for slander, a neglected aspect ofthe Shari‘ah’s approach to adultery which is to women’s advantage. He arguesfor an end to “this vicious circle of immediacy, adhocism and temporarysolutions” (p. 48) in the application of the Shari‘ah, and for a more creative,comprehensive reform. His use of statistics from Pakistani courts is an attemptto ground his analysis in the living reality of Pakistani women, anattempt which is only infrequently made by Islamist writers on women’s issues,who usually hide behind obscure generalizations about the ideal society.It is also edifying to see an Islamist writer admit that “we should notdoubt the intent and motive of those who talk on these issues and take adifferent position” (p. 11). Too often this debate over the status of womenresults in bitter and useless finger-pointing in which the advocates of changein women’s conditions are labelled “Western,” as if one had to be Westernto see anything exploitative about the present treatment of Muslim women.Unfortunately, Ahmad does not stick to his promise and succumbs to a defensivediatribe against his ideological opponents, calling them ‘‘crypto-colonialists’’and emphasizing their emergence from the upper classes. The same charge ...

Rise and be surprised: Aspectual profiling and mirativity in Odia light verb constructions

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-164
Author(s):  
Maarten Lemmens ◽  
Kalyanamalini Sahoo
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Coherent System ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Light Verbs ◽  
Light Verb Constructions ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
The Status ◽  
Main Verb

AbstractIn this paper, we present our Construction Grammar account of light verb constructions in the Indo-Aryan language Odia (earlier known as Oriya). These light verb constructions are asymmetric complex verb predicates that combine a main verb (MV) with a light verb (LV). While the LVs are form-identical with a lexical verb, they are “light” because they have lost their lexical content as well as their argument structure. We argue that LV constructions present a coherent system: (i) they all modulate the interpretation of the event encoded by the main verb by adding a particular aspectual (phasal) profile on the event (i.e. profiling the ONSET, DURATION or COMPLETION of the event) and (ii) some of these light verbs further add a mirative interpretation. The present paper focuses on this subset of “aspectuo-mirative LVs” which can be characterised as non-parasitic expressions of mirativity; in particular, it presents new work on the light verb -uʈh ‘-rise’ that combines a profile on ONSET with mirativity. The constructional view that we present here offers an account of light verbs that is both descriptively and theoretically innovative. Its descriptive value resides in its systematic and fine-grained corpus-based analysis of the formal and semantic features of LVs beyond what is found in the existing literature. The theoretical contribution of our paper not only resides in offering a better understanding of the status of LVs in the grammar, but by situating the semantic value of some of these in the complex category of mirativity, it offers a more unified answer of quite disparate observations in the literature. Finally, we also address the question of whether this mirative value of the aspectuo-mirative LVs is semantic or pragmatic. As we will show, such a strict dichotomy cannot be maintained, which gives further support for a constructional approach.

Nonpassive Verbal Periphrases in the Romance Languages

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Laca
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
The Other ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Functional Categories ◽  
Semantic Classification ◽  
The Status ◽  
Viewpoint Aspect ◽  
Relative Tense ◽  
The One ◽  
Nonfinite Clauses

Verbal periphrases combine two verbal forms that share their arguments. One of the forms, [V2], lexically determines most of the argument structure of the whole construction, whereas the other, [V1], contributes the sort of abstract meaning usually associated with functional categories in the realms of tense, aspect, and modality and is often classified as a (semi-)auxiliary. In most cases, [V2] appears in a fixed nonfinite form (infinitive, gerund, or participle), whereas the inflection on [V1] is variable; the periphrastic pattern may also include a preposition introducing the nonfinite form. Research on verbal periphrases has concentrated on the differences between periphrastic patterns and free patterns of complementation or adjunction involving nonfinite clauses, on the syntactic analysis of those patterns, and on their semantic classification. The renewed interest in the field in recent years has two sources. On the one hand, research on grammaticalization has emphasized the importance of periphrases for our understanding of the way in which exponents for grammatical meanings emerge diachronically from lexical constructions. On the other hand, work in generative syntax (in the so-called cartographic approach) has taken periphrases as evidence for the postulated existence of highly articulated functional layers above a core verb phrase headed by a lexical verb. The bulk of nonpassive verbal periphrases either modify Aktionsart or express viewpoint aspect or relative tense. Research has revealed considerable differences in their inventory and in the status of cognate periphrases across Romance, as well as some parallel or convergent developments.

La Structure Argumentale des Verbes Locatifs a Base Nominale

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Labelle
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Conceptual Structure ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Object Position ◽  
The Status

This paper presents an analysis of a subclass of denominal verbs in French, more specifically those which are interpreted as involving an entity which is located with respect to a location. It is shown that (1) when the N on which the verb is formed is a descriptor for a displaced entity, the location where this entity ends up appears in direct object position; (2) When the N on which the verb is formed is a descriptor for a location, the entity which is located appears in direct object position. An analysis of these verbs is developed which accounts for the relation between their conceptual structure, their morphological structure and their argument structure. This analysis relies crucially on the existence of a semantic predicate AFFECT, which is defined as follows: an entity is AFFECTED if the nuclear information of the verb describes a modification of the status of that entity. Real and apparent counterexamples to the analysis are discussed.

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