Valency alternations between inflection and derivation
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Livio Gaeta
Abstract
Valency alternations are usually treated either as a lexical phenomenon resulting from the manipulation of the argument structure of a verb or as a context-conditioned variation resulting from the insertion of a verb into a certain syntactic configuration or construction. In the paper, the attempt is made to give support to the lexical view by discussing valency alternations along the inflectional / derivational continuum. In particular, the contrastive analysis of Italian and German valency alternations shows that several different types can be observed which range from patterns clearly belonging to the inflectional pole such as the passive, the resultative and the reflexive to patterns of a lexical nature which can be treated on a par with their corresponding derivational analogues. Accordingly, valency alternations can be arguably considered as a type of conversion – i.e. as a process of lexeme formation – with a basically modifying value in which the base undergoes a sub-classification in hyponymic terms.
Abstract
Valency alternations are usually treated either as a lexical phenomenon resulting from the manipulation of the argument structure of a verb or as a context-conditioned variation resulting from the insertion of a verb into a certain syntactic configuration or construction. In the paper, the attempt is made to give support to the lexical view by discussing valency alternations along the inflectional / derivational continuum. In particular, the contrastive analysis of Italian and German valency alternations shows that several different types can be observed which range from patterns clearly belonging to the inflectional pole such as the passive, the resultative and the reflexive to patterns of a lexical nature which can be treated on a par with their corresponding derivational analogues. Accordingly, valency alternations can be arguably considered as a type of conversion – i.e. as a process of lexeme formation – with a basically modifying value in which the base undergoes a sub-classification in hyponymic terms.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu In Memoriam vii
- Introduction. Issues in contrastive valency studies 1
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Part I. Argument coding
- Multiple case binding – The principled underspecification of case exponency 27
- Infinitives 83
- A labeling system for valency 109
- Non-canonical valency patterns in Basque, variation and evolution 151
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Part II. Valency rearranging alternations
- Exploring the domain of ditransitive constructions 177
- Cognate constructions in Italian and beyond 219
- Object omission and the semantics of predicates in Italian in a comparative perspective 251
- On animacy restrictions for the null object in Brazilian Portuguese 275
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Part III. Voice and valency changing (uncoded/coded) alternations and markers
- Between Passive and Middle 297
- Valency alternations between inflection and derivation 327
- Pronominal verbs across European languages 375
- Semantic constraints on the reflexive/non-reflexive alternation of Romanian unaccusatives 407
- Circumfixed causatives in Polish against a panorama of active and non-active voice morphology 431
- Language index 471
- Subject index 473
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu In Memoriam vii
- Introduction. Issues in contrastive valency studies 1
-
Part I. Argument coding
- Multiple case binding – The principled underspecification of case exponency 27
- Infinitives 83
- A labeling system for valency 109
- Non-canonical valency patterns in Basque, variation and evolution 151
-
Part II. Valency rearranging alternations
- Exploring the domain of ditransitive constructions 177
- Cognate constructions in Italian and beyond 219
- Object omission and the semantics of predicates in Italian in a comparative perspective 251
- On animacy restrictions for the null object in Brazilian Portuguese 275
-
Part III. Voice and valency changing (uncoded/coded) alternations and markers
- Between Passive and Middle 297
- Valency alternations between inflection and derivation 327
- Pronominal verbs across European languages 375
- Semantic constraints on the reflexive/non-reflexive alternation of Romanian unaccusatives 407
- Circumfixed causatives in Polish against a panorama of active and non-active voice morphology 431
- Language index 471
- Subject index 473
