Into-causatives in World Englishes

The paper analyses the frequency and use of the relatively rare, yet highly productive into-causative construction in twenty varieties of English on the basis of the 1.9-billion word Corpus of Web-based Global English (GloWbE; Davies 2013)1 and Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic Model. It hypothesises differences in frequency, variation in the preference for particularly frequent fillers as well as productivity differences in line with Schneider’s stages of linguistic evolution. However, it shows that only frequency differences reflect the Dynamic Model; with regard to the preference for frequent realisations and productivity, postcolonial varieties turn out to be very similar to British English. These results come as a surprise against the background of similar studies of the way-construction, where all of these effects have been documented convincingly. It is argued that the properties of into-causatives themselves (e.g. their idiomatic and semantic simplicity) might contribute to their more native-like usage patterns in postcolonial varieties of English.

CAUSATIVE CONSTRUCTION IN ASAHAN MALAY LANGUAGE: MORPHOLOGICAL CAUSATIVE ANALYSIS

This study attempts to describe morphological causative in Asahan Malay Language (AML). This research employed qualitative approach. This study followed the steps of data collection and data analysis. The data of this research were obtained through field linguistics method which covered direct elicitation, recording, and elicitation checking. The classified data were clarified with the native speakers of this language to improve the reliability of the data. From the analysis, it can be concluded that morphological causative construction in AML implies that the meaning of cause and effect. It is indicated by the use of suffix –kan and -i. In addition, causative markers of –kan and –i in AML can be attached to verbs, adjectives, nouns, and numerals.

Causal selection – the linguistic take

Causal Selection is a widely discussed topic in philosophy and the cognitive sciences, concerned with characterizing the choice of "the cause" among the many individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions on which any effect depends on. In this paper, we argue for an additional selection process underlying causal statements: Causative-Construction Selection, which pertains to the choice of linguistic constructions used to express causal relations. By exploring this phenomenon, we aim to answer the following question: given that a speaker wishes to describe the relation between one of the conditions and the effect, which linguistic constructions are available? We take CC-selection to be more crucial than causal selection, since the latter is in fact restricted by the linguistic options resulting from the former. Based on a series of experiments, we demonstrate that factors taken previously as contributing to causal selection should, in fact, be considered as the parameters that license the various linguistic constructions under given circumstances, based on previous knowledge about the causal structure of the world (the causal model). These factors are therefore part of the meaning of the causative expressions.

Linguodidactic Aspect of Transverbalization of the Semantics of the Causative Construction have something done

Introduction. The professional translator-like mode of thinking is an integral part of the translation competence of a graduate of the Faculty of Foreign Languages. Equivalent and adequate translation from English into Russian requires a systematic approach to overcoming grammatical difficulties associated, first of all, with the constructions which have no analogues in the recipient language, here belong constructions of causative semantics. The purpose of the article is to develop a prototypical model of the English non-equivalent construction have something done from the standpoint of the cognitive-discursive paradigm in the aspect of its transverbalization and translation linguodidactics. The methodological basis of the study is the use of prototypical modeling, which involves the reconstruction of the primary cognitive-interpretative model of the situation in which it was used, and in which this construction realizes its meaning in the most complete form; this allows us to interpret and adequately translate many cases of its non-prototypical usage. The results of the research. The contexts associated with the description of natural phenomena and natural disasters are the prototypical situations of the have something done construction, therefore, when transverbalizing sentences with this construction, the strategy should be aimed at the obligatory conveyance of the semantics of non-agentness. In conclusion, the developed approach should be employed to improve the skills of critical analysis and reflective activity of students in the process of tranverbalization and the search for a translation correlate (transverb).

When Is a Causative Situation not Mapped to a Causative Construction Proper? The Case of Hupa

This work interrogates why certain real-world events that meet criteria for being considered causative events cannot be expressed using Hupa’s morphological or syntactic causative constructions, but must be encoded using one of two periphrastic constructions in which the Causer or cause is not marked as an argument. Based on fieldwork with a native speaker, I probe into these two periphrastic constructions in depth, accounting for their distributions through an appeal to Næss’s (2007) account of semantic transitivity.

Putting the argument back into argument structure constructions

This paper shows that low-level generalisations in argument structure constructions are crucial to understanding the concept of alternation: low-level generalisations inform and constrain more schematic generalisations and thus constructional meaning. On the basis of an analysis of the causative alternation in English, and more specifically of the theme (i.e., the entity undergoing the event denoted by the verb), I show that each construction has its own schematic meaning. This analysis is conducted on a dataset composed of 11,554 instances of the intransitive non-causative construction and the transitive causative construction. The identification of lower-level generalisations feeds into the idea that language acquisition is organic and abstractions are formed only gradually (if at all) from exposure to input. So far, most of the literature on argument structure constructions has focused on the verb itself, and thus fails to capture these generalisations. I make up for this deficit through an in-depth analysis of the causative alternation.

Investigating Indonesian EFL learners’ knowledge and use of English causative constructions

This paper explored Indonesian EFL learners’ explicit knowledge, processing, and use of English periphrastic causative constructions make, have, and get. 20 English L1 speakers and 20 Indonesian intermediate level EFL learners majoring in English Language Education at an Indonesian university took part in this study. Data were collected through a cloze task, a sentence completion task, an interpretation task, and a set of open-ended questions asking learners to provide descriptions about their knowledge of the constructions. Results showed that learners did not always use the first noun strategy to identify the agent in a passive causative construction. Also, their suppliances of the causative verbs in most items did not significantly differ from L1 speakers. However, the syntactic patterns were mostly non-target-like. They demonstrated insufficient explicit knowledge that could enable them to verbalize the formal and functional aspects underlying the constructions. Pedagogical implications along with suggestions to improve instruction are discussed.

Variable embedded agent in Sason Arabic

The paper investigates the syntax and semantics of an indirect causative construction, ‘make’ causatives, in Sason Arabic with a focus on the syntax of the embedded structure and the status of the implicit embedded agent. On the basis of several diagnostics, the study demonstrates that ‘make’ embeds an agentive VoiceP, which also manifests an active-passive alternation despite the absence of any morphological reflex. Regarding the nature of the implicit embedded agent, the paper argues that it is present as a free variable à la Heim (1982) generated on the Voice head itself. In so doing, it adds to the ontology of null arguments as well as suggesting that licensing of a grammatical object is dissociated from the projection of a specifier.

Особенности ассистивных каузативных конструкций в современном бурятском языке

Introduction. The paper raises the issues of semantics and functioning of the assistive in the Buryat language. The assistive as a special meaning of causative constructions finds its expression in different languages of the world. Goals. The paper aims to consider some distinctive properties inherent to the functioning of assistivity as a particular meaning of causativity in the Buryat language. The novelty of the work is that this problem has not been studied in the Buryat language. Materials and Methods. The study analyzes speech patterns and fiction texts included in the Electronic Corpus of the Buryat Language. The methods of contextual and distributive analysis are used. Results. The assistive in the Buryat language is identified in accordance with the continuum scale of semantic types of causation which implies three meanings of sociative causation: ‘joint action’, ‘assistive’, and ‘supervision’. The paper notes that the assistive in the Buryat language changes not only the actant structure but also the event-role structure of the causative construction. Our research has shown that a special feature of the role structure of the assistive is that the assistant takes the place of the causer, and the causer here gets the role of a supplement. The work also considers features of constructions with assistive semantics. It is revealed that assistivity in the investigated language is implemented both in mono- and poly-predictive sentence structures. Predicates in mono-predicative constructions are verbs with the affix -lsa, which seems poly-functional in the Buryat language and can express the meaning of sociative causation. The research has shown that polyp-predicative constructions are expressed mainly through the matrix predicate tuhalha and the predicate actant in the form of a future participle with indicators of the dative or accusative case.

Profiling the Chinese causative construction with rang (讓), shi (使) and ling (令) using frame semantic features

This behavioural profiling (BP) study examines the use of the near-synonyms rang (讓), shi (使) and ling (令), three ways to express cause-effect relationships in Chinese. Instead of using an out-of-the-box BP design, we present a modified approach to profiling that includes a range of frame semantic features that aim to capture variation of slot fillers of this construction. The study investigates the intricate semantic variation of rang, shi and ling through a comprehensive analysis of 38 contextual features (ID tags) that characterize the collocational, lexical semantic and frame semantic environment of the near-synonyms. Our dataset consists of around 100.000 data points based on the annotation of 1002 sentences of Mandarin Chinese of three varieties. The BPs of each near-synonym are compared using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. The results show that rang, shi and ling are each characterized by a combination of distinctive features and how different feature types contribute to setting the near-synonyms apart based on their usage patterns. Methodologically, this study illustrates how behavioural profiling can be modified to include frame semantic features in accordance with the method’s emphasis on producing empirically verifiable results and how these features can aid a comparative analysis of near-synonyms.