States and changes-of-state in the semantics of result roots

Evidence from resultative constructions

Bibliographic Data

ID11293052
AuthorsJianrong Yu (0000-0002-3971-6749, KU Leuven), Josep Ausensi (0000-0002-0193-6594, Universitat Rovira i Virgili), Ryan Walter Smith (0009-0003-5627-3833, University of Manchester, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume41
Issue4
Pages1589-1628
Publication date2023-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNatural Language and Linguistic Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0167-806X • E-ISSN: 1573-0859
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s11049-023-09570-9
OpenAlexW4321615804
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited41

A major challenge for event structural theories that decompose verbs into event templates and roots relates to the syntactic distribution of roots and what types of event structures roots can be integrated into. Ontological Approaches propose roots fall into semantic classes, such as manner versus result, which determine root distribution (Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998, 2010). Free Distribution Approaches , in contrast, hold that root distribution is not constrained by semantic content and roots are free to integrate into various types of event structures (Borer 2005; Acedo-Matellán and Mateu 2014). We focus on two different classes of verbs classified as result verbs in Rappaport Hovav and Levin’s (1998, 2010) sense and their ability to appear in resultative constructions. We build on Beavers and Koontz-Garboden’s (2012, 2020) proposal that the roots underlying these verbs fall into two classes: property concept roots, which denote relations between individuals and states, and change-of-state roots, which on our proposal, denote relations between individuals and events of change. We show that change-of-state roots, but not property concept roots, are able to appear in the modifier position of resultative constructions by providing naturally occurring examples of such resultatives. Combining the proposed lexical semantics of these two classes of roots with a reformulation of an Ontological Approach solely dependent on a root’s semantic type, we show that this analysis makes novel and accurate predictions about the possibility of the two classes of roots appearing in resultative constructions and the range of interpretations available when change-of-state roots are integrated into resultative event structure templates

Causative · Epistemology · Linguistics · Metaphysics · Philosophy of language · Rappaport · Resultative · Semantic property · Syntax · Verb · Computer Science · Logic, Reasoning, and Knowledge · Mathematics · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation