4 Light Verb Constructions in Romance languages. An attempt to explain systematic irregularity
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Anna Pompei
Abstract
The chapter provides a comparative analysis of a set of Light Verb Constructions of some Romance languages (Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian and Romanian) employng the Light Verbs ‘have’, ‘do/make’, ‘give’, ‘take’. Light Verb Constructions are classified according to the Aktionsart of nouns. From the cross- linguistic data analysis, prototypical and marked uses of Light Verbs in cooccurrence with nouns regularly emerge: the former concern nouns and Light Verbs having the same actionality, while the latter refer to Light Verb Constructions including Light Verbs and nouns which are not coherent from the actional point of view. Marked combinations may produce inchoative/incremental and lexical diathetic effects. The investigation demonstrates that Light Verbs participate in the Light Verb Construction’s semantics based on their basic or less prototypical function. According to this perspective, Light Verbs are not considered truly empty, and Light Verb Constructions are used to modulate different aspectual nuances and even configurations of the information structure. Finally, the cross-linguistic investigation also provides explanations for irregularities among the languages considered, according to some diachronic and areal considerations.
Abstract
The chapter provides a comparative analysis of a set of Light Verb Constructions of some Romance languages (Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian and Romanian) employng the Light Verbs ‘have’, ‘do/make’, ‘give’, ‘take’. Light Verb Constructions are classified according to the Aktionsart of nouns. From the cross- linguistic data analysis, prototypical and marked uses of Light Verbs in cooccurrence with nouns regularly emerge: the former concern nouns and Light Verbs having the same actionality, while the latter refer to Light Verb Constructions including Light Verbs and nouns which are not coherent from the actional point of view. Marked combinations may produce inchoative/incremental and lexical diathetic effects. The investigation demonstrates that Light Verbs participate in the Light Verb Construction’s semantics based on their basic or less prototypical function. According to this perspective, Light Verbs are not considered truly empty, and Light Verb Constructions are used to modulate different aspectual nuances and even configurations of the information structure. Finally, the cross-linguistic investigation also provides explanations for irregularities among the languages considered, according to some diachronic and areal considerations.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
