2 Unification and selection in Light Verb Constructions. A study of Norwegian
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Lars Hellan
Abstract
One characteristic of so-called Light Verb Constructions (LVCs) is that they unfold, mostly over a sequence ‘Subject V (P) N’, a content that could in principle be carried by some verb V alone, where the N of the sequence expresses a situational content close to that of V (N thus being some kind of ‘deverbal’ variant of V). A typical role of (the ‘light’ verb) V in the LVC is to connect the Subject to this situational content as some kind of role bearer, and add aspectual content to the situational content expressed by N. In languages where LVCs are seen as constituting a major category, the number of verbs serving as ‘Light Verb’ is low, and LVCs constitute formally recurrent patterns. In Norwegian the picture is different, with many verbs serving as possible Light Verbs, where these verbs select different nouns, and the nouns in turn select different verbs. In illustrating this, we outline a format for representation of LVCs in corpora. We in addition outline a format for representing LVCs in a valence lexicon, and for representing them in a sentence parsing formalism. The unification between the meaning of the Light Verb and the meaning of the noun is formally represented. While a sizable number of LVC selection relations between verbs and nouns have been identified, and a large valence lexicon and parser constitute the frames for the formalizations mentioned, the formalizations have only to very small extents been implemented, being presented here only for formal consideration.
Abstract
One characteristic of so-called Light Verb Constructions (LVCs) is that they unfold, mostly over a sequence ‘Subject V (P) N’, a content that could in principle be carried by some verb V alone, where the N of the sequence expresses a situational content close to that of V (N thus being some kind of ‘deverbal’ variant of V). A typical role of (the ‘light’ verb) V in the LVC is to connect the Subject to this situational content as some kind of role bearer, and add aspectual content to the situational content expressed by N. In languages where LVCs are seen as constituting a major category, the number of verbs serving as ‘Light Verb’ is low, and LVCs constitute formally recurrent patterns. In Norwegian the picture is different, with many verbs serving as possible Light Verbs, where these verbs select different nouns, and the nouns in turn select different verbs. In illustrating this, we outline a format for representation of LVCs in corpora. We in addition outline a format for representing LVCs in a valence lexicon, and for representing them in a sentence parsing formalism. The unification between the meaning of the Light Verb and the meaning of the noun is formally represented. While a sizable number of LVC selection relations between verbs and nouns have been identified, and a large valence lexicon and parser constitute the frames for the formalizations mentioned, the formalizations have only to very small extents been implemented, being presented here only for formal consideration.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
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Section 1: Argument structure sharing
- 1 Valency structure of complex predicates with Light Verbs 19
- 2 Unification and selection in Light Verb Constructions. A study of Norwegian 45
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Section 2: Event structure sharing
- 3 Persian Light Verbs as event determiners 73
- 4 Light Verb Constructions in Romance languages. An attempt to explain systematic irregularity 99
- 5 How light is ‘give’ as a Light Verb? A case study on the actionality of Latin Light Verb Constructions (with some references to Romance languages) 149
- 6 When lightness meets lexical aspect. A corpus-based account of English Light Verb Extensions 201
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Section 3: The verb fullness
- 7 Semantic Co-composition in Light Verb Constructions 221
- 8 On the unpredictability of Support Verbs. A distributional study of Spanish tomar 239
- 9 Making a move towards Ancient Greek Light Verb Constructions 257
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Section 4: The verb emptiness
- 10 Light Verbs and ‘light nouns’ in polysynthetic languages 275
- 11 A diachronic insight into the aspectual meaning in Light Verb Constructions. A case study in Mandarin Chinese 305
- 12 Light Verb Constructions in Latin. A study on (in) memoria and (in) animo habeo 337
- Index 361
- Index of languages 371
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Section 1: Argument structure sharing
- 1 Valency structure of complex predicates with Light Verbs 19
- 2 Unification and selection in Light Verb Constructions. A study of Norwegian 45
-
Section 2: Event structure sharing
- 3 Persian Light Verbs as event determiners 73
- 4 Light Verb Constructions in Romance languages. An attempt to explain systematic irregularity 99
- 5 How light is ‘give’ as a Light Verb? A case study on the actionality of Latin Light Verb Constructions (with some references to Romance languages) 149
- 6 When lightness meets lexical aspect. A corpus-based account of English Light Verb Extensions 201
-
Section 3: The verb fullness
- 7 Semantic Co-composition in Light Verb Constructions 221
- 8 On the unpredictability of Support Verbs. A distributional study of Spanish tomar 239
- 9 Making a move towards Ancient Greek Light Verb Constructions 257
-
Section 4: The verb emptiness
- 10 Light Verbs and ‘light nouns’ in polysynthetic languages 275
- 11 A diachronic insight into the aspectual meaning in Light Verb Constructions. A case study in Mandarin Chinese 305
- 12 Light Verb Constructions in Latin. A study on (in) memoria and (in) animo habeo 337
- Index 361
- Index of languages 371
