Italian causatives and the grammar of (in)direct causation

Bibliographic Data

ID4503877
AuthorsMarta Donazzan (0000-0002-2632-0526, University of Cologne, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume96
Publication date2017-10-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevista Letras (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0100-0888 • E-ISSN: 2236-0999
PublisherUniversidade Federal do Parana (PUBLISHER • BR)
DOI10.5380/rel.v96i0.50948
OpenAlexW2781358489
LanguageEN
References cited9

This paper tackles the issue of the relation between syntax and semantics in causative structures, and it concentrates on the empirical case offered by syntactic causative constructions in Italian. Italian exhibit two types of causative constructions (so-called faire-par and faire-infinitive constructions) that have been the subject of extensive inquiry in the literature. I argue that, in order to capture the semantic similarities and differences between the two types of syntactic causatives in Italian, it is necessary to relate their properties to the underlying causative structure that they express. This approach leads to the rejection of previous accounts that distinguish the two structural types based on the selectional properties of the first causative verb. An account in terms of Voice alternation is retained, and I present new empirical evidence for this approach, drawn from comparison with other causative constructions in Italian and from the discussion of the transitive/anticausative alternation in the infinitive clause

Alternation (linguistics) · Causation · Causative · Combinatorics · Construction Grammar · Epistemology · Grammar · Infinitive · Linguistics · Programming language · Semantics (computer science) · Subject (documents) · Syntax · Transitive relation · Verb · Computer Science · Linguistic Studies and Language Acquisition · Mathematics · Philosophy · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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