Lexical Argument Structure Research Articles

Lexical Argument Structure and Two Types of Denominals in Modern Mandarin

This paper accounts for the derivation of two types of denominals in Modern Mandarin under the framework of Lexical Argument Structure that is initiated by Hale and Keyser (1993, 2002, inter alia). The first type is derived with an internal argument such as in ni qiang (“to smear mud on the wall to strengthen it”). The second type, on the other hand, is derived without any internal arguments such as in hen jiaoqu (lit. “very suburb”). It has been observed that the first type of denominals is no longer productive in Modern Mandarin. In contrast, the usage of the second type in Modern Mandarin is on the rise. It is argued that while the first type of denominals is derived in a fashion similar to denominals in English, the second type is derived in a way that is peculiar to Modern Mandarin. The low productivity of the first type of denominals is attributed to the drastic decline of V-PP structure in Modern Mandarin and this hypothesis is supported diachronically by Archaic/Classic Chinese.

Dualist syntax

A dualist syntax has two components: (1) the lexicon, a structured set of formatives ('words'); and (2) rules for combining those formatives into utterances. This paper defends syntactic dualism against three 'monist' challenges. First, evidence for lexical argument structure can be found in deverbal nominalization, which preserves that structure systematically. Second, words represent the smallest units for idiom formation and contextual polysemy effects, which is expected on the dualist view but not if word meanings are composed in the syntax. Third, the count/mass properties of nouns suggest an interleaving of conceptual and grammatical information in semantic composition.

Charles Francis Hockett (1916-2000)

MIT, in Australia, and from the U.S. Southwest. Now we await the publication of Hale and Keyser, Prolegomenon to a Theory of Lexical Argument Structure (2002). His obituary in the Economist (November 3, 2001), and the feature Kenneth Hale ... an Extraordinary American, in Alistair Cooke's Letter from America (December 3, 2001) is a testament to his accomplishments and breadth of influence outside that of academia.

How report verbs become quote markers and complementisers

Abstract In many languages across the world, verbs reporting speech, thoughts and perceptions (also referred to as quotative verbs) grammaticalise into quote markers and/or complementisers. This paper analyses the change of the items kua and fen in the Austronesian languages Tukang Besi and Buru, as originally full lexical ‘report’ verbs that became open to reinterpretation as grammatical items after having undergone ‘semantic bleaching’. It is proposed that the ‘semantic bleaching’, which crucially involves loss of argument structure, is caused by a mismatch between linguistic levels — here between surface syntax and lexical argument structure. The mismatch involves a violation of universal constraints on ‘Semantic Transparency’ and ‘Structural Simplicity’, and results in a reduced lexical representation of the report verb as a predicate without arguments. The multifunctional, polysemous character of this ‘grammaticalised’ item is now a consequence of its interaction with particular surface syntactic constructions. In other words, ‘V to C’ grammaticalisation is a structurally determined variable interpretation of a lexically impoverished item, and does not involve a change in category (labels) (contra Harris and Campbell, 1995:63; Heine and Reh, 1984: 37–38: see also Haspelmath, 1998: 327–328). This view of grammaticalised verbs as lexical forms with reduced argument structure may be extended to other areas of verb-grammaticalisation. The similar path of grammaticalisation of report verbs across languages is explained by proposing a list of structural characteristics (of syntax and discourse) that appear to be relevant in allowing the grammaticalisation to take place. Genetically related languages may diverge because they differ in one (or more) of those characteristics: the report verb in Kambera, a language closely related to Buru and Tukang Besi, did not grammaticalise because of a different surface constituent order.

Predicate union and the syntax of Japanese passives

This paper presents a relational account of the Japanese constructions that are commonly referred to as ‘passives’. They are shown to all be multipredicate, monoclausal constructions, with the differences between them primarily attributable to optionality in the lexical argument structure of the ‘passive’ predicate. The proposed analysis explains the differences between passives and causatives, despite their sometimes identical case-marking. Further, evidence from the interaction of unaccusative verbs and passive is shown to lead to a formal revision of the 1-Advancement Exclusiveness law. Finally, the differences between Japanese and Korean with respect to passives is reduced to a simple lexical difference between the two languages.

Lexical argument structure representations and their role in translation across cognitive domains

Lexical argument structure representations and their role in translation across cognitive domains