Analyses of English verb meaning often rely on quasi-aspectual operators embedded in event structures to explain shared properties across classes. These operators scope over temporally basic meaning elements that make up the idiosyncratic semantic core of complex verbs. While the inventory of operators – or semantic primes – differ from proposal to proposal, they are generally presented as a closed class that includes at least CAUSE and BECOME, and their presence and location in event structures account for several alternation and ambiguity phenomena. In this study, I investigate a number verbs whose decompositions would include only operator(s) and event structure frames under most current decompositional lexical theories; in particular, the periphrastic causatives (cause, make, etc) and the verbs of becoming (become, get, etc). I account for differences in the selectional behavior of these verbs by positing incorporated meaning components beyond the purely aspectual or event structural. Based in part on regularities among corpus collocations, I propose additional meaning distinctions among these verbs along the parameters of causal patient complicity, sentiment, and register. / text

This dissertation explores the mechanisms behind the linguistic expression of causation in English, Hiaki (Uto-Aztecan) and Spanish. Pylkkänen's (2002, 2008) analysis of causatives as dependent on the parameterization of the functional head v(CAUSE) is chosen as a point of departure. The studies conducted in this dissertation confirm Pylkkänen's claim that all causatives involve the presence of vCAUSE. They further confirm that variation is conditioned by both the selectional and 'Voice-bundling' properties of the causative head. I show that this pattern triggers differences across languages, although other factors are also responsible for the existence of multiple causative configurations within languages. In some languages (e.g. English), causatives require the obligatory presence of an external argument (i.e., Causer). I provide additional data supporting Pylkkänen's proposal that causation (in certain languages) may also exist in the absence of a syntactic Causer. In particular, I offer data from Hiaki indirect causatives and Spanish desiderative causatives (e.g., .Te hace salir? '2sg.dat (expl)makes go.out, Do you feel like going out?’), and weather/temporal constructions (e.g., Hace mucho calor '(expl) makes much heat, It’s very hot') in support of this hypothesis. The results of this research, however, question Pylkkänen's claim that certain languages may allow the Root-causativization of transitives and unergatives. I show that this is not possible even in languages that exhibit Causer-less causatives (e.g., Hiaki). Moreover, certain unaccusatives (e.g., arrive) also resist (Root) causativization crosslinguistically, regardless of the 'Voice-bundling' properties inherent to the causativizing head. I claim that this happens in contexts in which unaccusative verbs exhibit 'unergative' behavior (i.e., whenever they involve syntactic elements that are base-generated in positions higher than the root). Cross-linguistic variation in the expression of causation is not always a direct consequence of the internal properties of the causative predicate. Because of language-internal requirements, different languages impose specific limitations on the syntactic realization of causative structures. For instance, English and Spanish heavily rely on Agreement relations among their constituents. The consequence of this is that it is difficult in these languages to discern what elements really are part of causation and what elements are not, as well as the nature of the elements involved in causatives (e.g., whether the dative in Spanish productive causatives is an external argument or an applicative). This dissertation addresses all these questions.

This thesis provides a comparison of causative mechanisms between two languages: Czech and French. The aim of this research is to reveal expressions that contain a causative meaning in Czech and to analyze which of them are truly equivalent to the French causative construction faire + infinitive. This work classifies general causative mechanisms, according to their nature, between synthetic (prefix, lexical expressions) and analytic (French complex predicate faire + infinitive, periphrastic constructions, separate clauses) and focuses on the French construction by describing its syntactical and semantic specificity. This causative construction is the basis of a parallel research in corpora InterCorp, a technical tool which helps excerpt authentic texts. Additionally, it is attempted to clarify and classify the usage of the Czech equivalents and search for factors that influence their choice with an eye on the source language.

This dissertation investigates transitivity alternations, with particular reference to Amharic. The lexical-semantic and morphosyntactic properties of morphological causatives, experiencer predicates, applicative constructions and complex predicates formed by light verbs are examined in detail. It is claimed that transitivity alternations are an artefact of Event-type alternations and follow from universal principles such as Event Headedness. It is argued that the valency difference between various verb classes reduces to whether the Root of the verb is specified or underspecified for Event Headedness. / Two levels of phrase structure, l-syntax and s-syntax, are recognized in the study. It is argued that productive causatives are generated in s-syntax, whereas morphological causatives which are sensitive to the Event-type of the Root are generated in l-syntax. A unified structural analysis is given for a number of superficially unrelated constructions including Subject Experiencer predicates, perception verbs and possessive predicates. It is argued that the quirky Case and agreement properties of such predicates can be handled by motivating inherent Case assignment. This analysis is further extended to account for the benefactive applicative of unaccusatives. / The role of light verbs in transitivity alternation is explored in detail. It is shown that light verbs are independent verbs that spell-out Event-types. The study argues that the polysemous relationship between predicates is best accounted for by a single argument structure rather than by positing multiple lexical entries.

abstract: This thesis offers a contrastive analysis of the causative alternation phenomenon in English and Standard Arabic variety. This phenomenon has received a lot of attention in the literature on argument structure. It has traditionally been presented in terms of the causativization of inchoative verbs/unaccusatives. It is argued here that this analysis conflicts with the way the causative alternation is molded in Arabic. Causative alternation in Arabic is not only limited to inchoative verbs, but it incorporates unergative verbs as well, which play a vital role in this alternation. The implication of this observation is that the different syntactic behaviors between English and Arabic may reflect people’s different perception of events and lead to different syntactic computation. Therefore, this thesis highlights the role of this subset of intransitives/anti-causatives in the Arabic causative alternation and answers one of the highly considered questions on the causative alternation; that is, which version of the alternation is the lexical base, and which one is derived? This thesis also reveals that there is some significant difference between English and Arabic in terms of the alternatability of unaccusative verbs. Therefore, this study shows that most of the Arabic unaccusative verbs, except denominal verbs, have a causative alternant. This thesis also addresses the vital role of the Arabic verbal template in clarifying this phenomenon. In sum, this thesis provides an overview of the semantic, syntactic, and morphological properties of Arabic verbs undergoing the causative alternation. Besides employing the researcher’s native-speaker intuition, the English/Arabic Lexicon Dictionary and Arabicorpora are consulted to support the validity of the argument. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis English 2015

No description available.

he goal of this study is to provide an inventory of the Analytic Causative constructions that were in use in Peninsular Spanish from the 12 th to the 16 th centuries from the constructional perspective of Cognitive Grammar. A detailed profile of each construction was made including its constructional schema along with relevant semantic, syntactic, lexical, pragmatic, and socio-cultural information. Fifteen different constructions involving the verbs mandar 'command', fazer 'make/do', and enviar 'send' were recorded and described. Moreover, several of the evolution paths constructions followed and the way constructions influenced and interacted with each other forming constructional networks were identified. The importance of semantic factors triggering change, as well as the role that prototypical exemplars, collocations, and analogy play in the emergence and conservation of constructions are discussed.

La présente recherche doctorale traite des constructions causatives dans une perspective développementale et contrastive. Elle poursuit un double objectif. D'une part, démontrer que la complexité morphosyntaxique des mécanismes causatifs joue un rôle important dans le processus de leur acquisition par les enfants. D'autre part, prendre en considération plusieurs habiletés langagières (production, compréhension, imitation) pour explorer pleinement les divers niveaux de maitrise des constructions causatives. Les deux langues que nous étudions – le français et le bulgare – n'utilisent pas les mêmes mécanismes pour encoder la notion de causativité. Le français privilégie le prédicat complexe faire + Vinf, mais accepte également quelques causatifs lexicaux (nourrir X). Le bulgare fait appel à trois procédés : lexical (xranja X – nourrir X), morphologique (le préfixe ‘raz-' : razsmivam X – faire rire X) et périphrastique (karam X da V présent – inciter X à ce que V présent). Un total de 113 francophones (71 enfants et 42 adultes) et de 96 bulgarophones (56 enfants et 40 adultes) participent à cette étude contrastive ; tous sont des locuteurs natifs monolingues. Les enfants sont répartis en trois tranches d'âge (3-4 ans, 4-5 ans et 5-6 ans) et ils participent à trois tâches expérimentales (production, compréhension, imitation). Les adultes sont enregistrés uniquement en tâche de production. Notre recherche aboutit à quelques résultats intéressants. Premièrement, entre 3 et 6 ans, la conceptualisation de la causativité ne pose pas de problèmes particuliers aux enfants francophones et bulgarophones ; ils comprennent les mécanismes causatifs de leur langue. Deuxièmement, l'ordre d'acquisition des formes causatives est étroitement lié à leur degré de complexité morphosyntaxique. Dans les deux langues étudiées, les causatifs lexicaux sont complètement maitrisés par les enfants. En revanche, malgré son caractère compact et sa simplicité formelle, le causatif morphologique du bulgare semble apparaitre tardivement. La présence d'erreurs par surgénéralisation chez les enfants âgés de 5 à 6 ans révèle que l'acquisition de ce mécanisme causatif n'est pas achevée. La construction périphrastique karam X da V présent, quant à elle, peut être considérée comme maitrisée, puisqu'entre 4 et 5 ans, les habiletés des enfants bulgares à la produire sont déjà très proches de l'usage adulte. Enfin, le prédicat complexe faire + Vinf est en voie de stabilisation ; les enfants français doivent faire quelques ajustements au niveau de l'intégrité de la séquence faire + Vinf et de l'usage de l'argument causataire (sa fonction syntaxique et sa présence dans les énoncés). Troisièmement, le rappel de la structure des mécanismes causatifs en tâche d'imitation améliore les performances productives des enfants. En conclusion, par la prise en compte de trois habiletés langagières, cette étude apporte un éclairage dans la recherche sur les constructions causatives. Dans l'esprit du Modèle de compétition et des approches basées sur l'usage, notre travail valide également la pertinence de trois principaux facteurs déterminant l'ordre d'acquisition des unités linguistiques : 1/ fréquence dans l'input (ou disponibilité) ; 2/ fiabilité (ou spécialisation dans l'expression d'une fonction communicative) ; 3/ complexité (formelle et conceptuelle). / The present study investigates the causative constructions from a developmental and cross-linguistic perspective. On the one hand, it aims to show the important role of the morphosyntactic complexity of causative mechanisms during language acquisition. On the other hand, it aims to examine different language skills (production, comprehension, imitation) in order to explore various levels of mastery of the causative constructions in two languages, French and Bulgarian. The two languages under investigation, French and Bulgarian, do not use the same mechanisms to express causativity. French uses the faire + Vinf complex predicate and some lexical causatives (nourrir X – feed X). In Bulgarian, the causativity is expressed using three mechanisms: lexical (xranja X – feed X), morphological (prefix ‘raz-': razsmivam X - make X laugh) and periphrastic construction (karam X da V pres – make that X + V pres). A total of 113 L1 French speakers (71 children and 42 adults) and 96 L1 Bulgarian speakers (56 children and 40 adults) took part in this cross-linguistic study. The children were divided into three age groups: 3-4, 4-5 and 5-6 years of age; they all participated in three experimental tasks (production, comprehension and imitation). The adults took part in one experimental task (production). Our cross-linguistic study provided some interesting results. Firstly, the conceptualization of causativity is equally understood in both languages, each child group globally understands the causative mechanisms available in their own language. Secondly, the order of acquisition of the causative mechanisms is tightly linked to its degree of morphosyntactic complexity. In both languages, lexical causatives are already mastered by all the children groups. Surprisingly enough, in Bulgarian, the morphological causative appears to be a late language development, as children as old as 5 to 6 years produce overgeneralizations of this mechanism, that means it is not yet mastered. In the Bulgarian data, we found that the periphrastic construction is acquired between the ages of 4 to 5 years; the children of this age group already show an adult-like ability in producing this analytical causative mechanism. In the French data, we found that the production of the faire + Vinf complex predicate begins to stabilize; however, children have to adjust both the integrity of the faire + Vinf structure and the usage of the causee argument (its syntactic function and its presence in the utterance). Thirdly, in instances when the structure of causative mechanisms is present during the imitation task, the children's production is improved. In conclusion, by including various language skills (production, comprehension and imitation), this study brings a new perspective in investigating the causative constructions. Our research is also consistent with both the Competition model and the usage-based approaches; it validates the relevance of three major factors determining the order of acquisition of the linguistic structures: 1/ input frequency (or ‘cue availability'); 2/ cue reliability; 3/ formal and semantic complexity (or ‘cue cost').

Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit psychologischen Verben, d.h. Verben, die dadurch charakterisiert sind, dass eines ihrer Argumente Träger eines psychischen Prozesses (Experiencer) ist. Diese ‚Psych-Verben’ nehmen seit mindestens 30 Jahren eine zentrale Rolle in linguistischen Diskussionen zu Syntax, Semantik und deren Schnittstellen ein und werden häufig als eine besondere Verbklasse mit spezifischen (Psych-)Eigenschaften angesehen. Dabei ist nicht nur die Analyse dieser Verben, sondern bereits ihre korrekte empirische Charakterisierung Auslöser starker Kontroversen in der Literatur. Der erste Teil dieser Arbeit widmet sich deshalb der Untersuchung der empirischen Eigenschaften von Objekt-Experiencer-Verben wie Agentivität, aspektuelle Eigenschaften, Passiv sowie ihrem Verhalten in Bezug auf eine Reihe anderer grammatischer Phänomene. Ein Fokus liegt dabei auf dem Vergleich von Verben, die basierend auf derselben Wurzel unterschiedliche Formen bilden wie z.B. ärgern/verärgern/sich ärgern, wundern/verwundern/sich wundern etc. Die Ergebnisse der empirischen Untersuchung zeigen, dass weder ObjExp-Verben noch Experiencer eine homogene Gruppe mit kohärenten Eigenschaften darstellen. Folglich können Psych-Verben nicht als eine einheitliche (besondere) Gruppe von Verben analysiert werden, da ihre Eigenschaften zu unterschiedlich sind und sie vielmehr in verschiedene Verbgruppen fallen. Im theoretischen Teil der Arbeit wird deshalb eine dekompositionelle Analyse im Paradigma von Distributed Morphology vorgeschlagen, die die unterschiedlichen Gruppen von Psych-Verben als solche analysiert und ihre Eigenschaften auf der Basis allgemeiner grammatischer Prinzipien (aspektuelle Eigenschaften sowie Präsenz/Absenz eines externen Arguments) erklärt, und besonders die stativen Kausativa diskutiert. Als Resultat muss konstatiert werden, dass ‚Psych-Verben’ als grammatisch relevante Gruppe nicht existieren, sondern diese Verben vielmehr unterschiedlichen bekannten Verbmustern folgen. / This thesis is concerned with German psychological verbs, i.e. verbs characterized by the fact that one of their arguments is associated with a psychological process. These psych verbs have been prominent in linguistic discussion on syntax, semantics, and their interfaces for at least 30 years, and are often considered to form a special group of verbs with specific ‘psych properties’. Not only the theoretical analysis but also the correct characterization of their empirical properties is a matter of controversy in the literature, and no consensus has been established with respect to either. Therefore, in the first part of this thesis, the empirical properties of object-experiencer verbs such as agentivity, aspectual properties, passive, and the behaviour of these verbs with respect to a number of other grammatical phenomena are examined. Special focus is placed on alternating verbs formed on the basis of the same Root, such as e.g. ärgern/verärgern/sich ärgern, etc. The results of the empirical analysis show that neither ObjExp verbs nor experiencers form a homogeneous group with coherent properties. On the contrary, these verbs fall into several different groups of verbs with clearly different properties. Consequently, psych verbs cannot be analysed as one (special) group of verbs. The theoretical part of this thesis therefore puts forward a decompositional analysis couched in the paradigm of Distributed Morphology, which analyses the different psych verbs as different groups of verbs, and explains their properties as the consequence of general grammatical principles (their aspectual properties, and the presence/absence of an external argument), not special psych properties. The discussion of stative causative ObjExp verbs plays a major part. As a result, the conclusion has to be drawn that ‘psych verbs’ do not constitute a grammatically relevant (special) group of verbs, but that these verbs follow different general patterns known from the study of other verbs.