Causativity and psychological verbs in Spanish
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José Luis Cifuentes Honrubia
Abstract
This paper analyzes the transitive/intransitive alternation in class 2 psychological verbs of Belletti and Rizzi. The transitive variant implies an agentive subject and an aspectual change of state. The intransitive variant implies a cause and a locative state. Spanish class 2 psychological verbs are causative due to the cause component conflated in the verbal structure which gives rise to the verb: most of the psychological verbs with a transitive/intransitive alternation are denominal or deadjetival causative verbs from Romance origin. Some others come from a Latin denominal or deadjectival structure or from a causative meaning which comes as a result of an evolution in their meaning (usually agentive and local). Psychological verbs result from a conflation process by means of which the verb semantically incorporates the psychological element – as it results from a verbal lexicalization of the emotional or psychological noun or adjective, thus shaping a complex predicate. Psychological verbs are consequently complex predicates with a semantically incorporated psychological element.
Abstract
This paper analyzes the transitive/intransitive alternation in class 2 psychological verbs of Belletti and Rizzi. The transitive variant implies an agentive subject and an aspectual change of state. The intransitive variant implies a cause and a locative state. Spanish class 2 psychological verbs are causative due to the cause component conflated in the verbal structure which gives rise to the verb: most of the psychological verbs with a transitive/intransitive alternation are denominal or deadjetival causative verbs from Romance origin. Some others come from a Latin denominal or deadjectival structure or from a causative meaning which comes as a result of an evolution in their meaning (usually agentive and local). Psychological verbs result from a conflation process by means of which the verb semantically incorporates the psychological element – as it results from a verbal lexicalization of the emotional or psychological noun or adjective, thus shaping a complex predicate. Psychological verbs are consequently complex predicates with a semantically incorporated psychological element.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors xvii
- The conceptualization of change of state in verbs coming from gentilicios 1
- Event structure and lexical semantics in a scalar approach to actionality 21
- Lexical synonymy and argumental structure 60
- Inner and outer prepositions with Spanish verbs of vertical movement 77
- Argumental comitative and reciprocity in Spanish 98
- Causativity and psychological verbs in Spanish 110
- Lexical agreement processes 131
- Variable aspectual coercion in Spanish fictive motion expressions 153
- Agent control over non culminating events 185
- The pseudo-copulative verbs verse and sentirse 218
- On events that express properties 238
- Some reflections on verbs with clitic increase 264
- Transitivity and verb classes 288
- Romance object-experiencer verbs 312
- Aspectual approach to causative-resultative denominal verbs 334
- Denominal parasynthesis and inchoativity from both lexical-semantic and aspectual points of view 357
- Diachronic prototypicity and stativity in Spanish physical affection verbs 378
- Negative imperatives with Spanish copulas ser y estar 412
- Index 439
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors xvii
- The conceptualization of change of state in verbs coming from gentilicios 1
- Event structure and lexical semantics in a scalar approach to actionality 21
- Lexical synonymy and argumental structure 60
- Inner and outer prepositions with Spanish verbs of vertical movement 77
- Argumental comitative and reciprocity in Spanish 98
- Causativity and psychological verbs in Spanish 110
- Lexical agreement processes 131
- Variable aspectual coercion in Spanish fictive motion expressions 153
- Agent control over non culminating events 185
- The pseudo-copulative verbs verse and sentirse 218
- On events that express properties 238
- Some reflections on verbs with clitic increase 264
- Transitivity and verb classes 288
- Romance object-experiencer verbs 312
- Aspectual approach to causative-resultative denominal verbs 334
- Denominal parasynthesis and inchoativity from both lexical-semantic and aspectual points of view 357
- Diachronic prototypicity and stativity in Spanish physical affection verbs 378
- Negative imperatives with Spanish copulas ser y estar 412
- Index 439
