Interaction and causation: Causative constructions in modern standard Dutch

Abstract

The Dutch verbs doen (‘do’) and laten (‘let’) categorize an event as involving either direct or indirect causation, respectively. The latter means that another force than the agent's is seen as more immediately involved in bringing about the effect, and is therefore especially suited to indicate interactions between humans: i.e. mind-to-mind causation. The difference between these verbs reflects the folk world view in which the mental world is seen as separate from the physical, each having distinct causal properties. We show how this explains the sharp difference, observable in usage, in the preferences of both verbs for animate and inanimate participants. Another cultural cognitive model playing a role in the use of doen vs. laten is the ‘folk model of the mind’, which governs our understanding of mental processes such as perception and belief. Against the background of this model, speakers exploit the choice between the two verbs for particular effects, e.g. to attribute particular causal powers to certain referents, such as God or government authorities, or, combining verb choice with case marking, to subtly indicate different degrees of autonomy and affectedness of causees. The study demonstrates the intimate relation between cognitive models, pragmatic contextual factors, and lexical semantics.