Summary
This paper deals with the problem of defining and describing semantic roles. Methodologically, I follow Coseriu (1987), who argues for a sharp distinction between language-independent reference roles and language-specific semantic roles and criticizes earlier approaches which do not make this distinction. Recent contributions to the problem of defining and describing semantic roles or functions within Generative Grammar (Jackendoff 1991) and Functional Grammar (Dik 1997) differ from earlier approaches in that they try to take this distinction into account However, some problems remain. When we have to deal with syntactic and semantic contrasts between languages such as Latin and German, these contrasts cannot adequately be described with the help of language-independent theta-roles or semantic functions. Therefore, it seems preferable to adopt Coseriu's strategy of describing the expression of reference roles like 'Possessor' in Latin and German as a set of contrasting contextual meanings of cases, syntactic functions and constructions. Contrastive data show that the relevant constructions in Latin and German differ widely both as far as their number and their functional properties are concerned.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Table of Contents
- Gualthari Calboli Praefatio Latina in Epistulae Modum Confecta
- Latin Linguistics in Machtelt's way
- Phonetics and Morphology
- The Latin Third Declension in the Scope of Natural Morphology
- Subjonctif Latin (-sē) et futur Indien (-sya-)
- Some remarks on the graded forms with sub- in Latin
- The sigmatic subjunctive in Plautus and Terence
- Sprachliche Beobachtungen am Formular lateinischer Kaiser-Inschriften des Ostens
- La morphologie nominale d'après le De analogia de César
- La diptongación de /e/ y /o/ breves latinas en territorio hispano
- Middle Voice in Latin and the phenomenon of Split Intransitivity
- Los verbos 'frecuentativos' con sufijo -it- en la comedia de Plauto y Terencio: Primera parte
- Latin syllable structure in typological perspective
- Zur Forschungsgeschichte der lateinischen Nominalkomposition Per una storia degli studi sulla composizione nominale latina
- Old and new (un)certainties regarding the Lapis Satricanus
- Attivo e deponente nei verbi in -fico(r) a primo elemento sostantivale
- Semantics and Lexicology
- Die etymologische Herleitung des Namens Latium
- Vocabulary of the Apocalypse of Paul
- La "traductibilité" des noms propres dans le cadre du bilinguisme gréco-latin
- El comportamiento en latín de tres lexías complejas
- La (dés)-intensification dans les adjectifs latins : les morphèmes de degré
- La estructura de oposición privativa y la dialéctica de Hegel
- Semántica Cognitiva del latín (II): haeret haec res, o qué es un "problema" en latín
- Facies equum currere : Sens et emploi de facere dans les textes vétérinaires latins
- On Tense, Viewpoint and Actionality in Vulgar and Literary Late Latin
- Quasi and tamquam — Some Developments in Imperial Latin
- Semantic Roles within a Contrastive Grammar of Latin and German
- Les procédés de création lexicale mis en oeuvre par Lucrèce
- Modality's semantic maps. An investigation of some Latin modal forms
- Lagunas léxicas en latín
- Le parfait latin, entre acquis et révolu
- Champ lexical et polysémie : l'expression du pardon en latin
- Verba peregrina: Von der Interdiktion zur Integration
- Un nom de l'arpenteur en latín : agrimēnsor
- A few remarks on the habeo + object + passive perfect participle construction in archaic Latin, with special reference to lexical semantics and the reanalysis process
- Die Etymologie von caballus
- Syntax and Pragmatics
- The tense of speech indications in Vergil's Aeneid
- ¿Accusativus pendens en Latín?
- Word length and clitics in Latin
- Indefinite pronouns in conditional clauses
- Interférences fonctionnelles entre relatives, complétives et circonstancielles
- Subordination seconde du relatif. Contraintes d'emploi.
- Inserción sintáctica y Función Semántica en construcciones de Dativos no 'posesivos' + sum
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Table of Contents
- Gualthari Calboli Praefatio Latina in Epistulae Modum Confecta
- Latin Linguistics in Machtelt's way
- Phonetics and Morphology
- The Latin Third Declension in the Scope of Natural Morphology
- Subjonctif Latin (-sē) et futur Indien (-sya-)
- Some remarks on the graded forms with sub- in Latin
- The sigmatic subjunctive in Plautus and Terence
- Sprachliche Beobachtungen am Formular lateinischer Kaiser-Inschriften des Ostens
- La morphologie nominale d'après le De analogia de César
- La diptongación de /e/ y /o/ breves latinas en territorio hispano
- Middle Voice in Latin and the phenomenon of Split Intransitivity
- Los verbos 'frecuentativos' con sufijo -it- en la comedia de Plauto y Terencio: Primera parte
- Latin syllable structure in typological perspective
- Zur Forschungsgeschichte der lateinischen Nominalkomposition Per una storia degli studi sulla composizione nominale latina
- Old and new (un)certainties regarding the Lapis Satricanus
- Attivo e deponente nei verbi in -fico(r) a primo elemento sostantivale
- Semantics and Lexicology
- Die etymologische Herleitung des Namens Latium
- Vocabulary of the Apocalypse of Paul
- La "traductibilité" des noms propres dans le cadre du bilinguisme gréco-latin
- El comportamiento en latín de tres lexías complejas
- La (dés)-intensification dans les adjectifs latins : les morphèmes de degré
- La estructura de oposición privativa y la dialéctica de Hegel
- Semántica Cognitiva del latín (II): haeret haec res, o qué es un "problema" en latín
- Facies equum currere : Sens et emploi de facere dans les textes vétérinaires latins
- On Tense, Viewpoint and Actionality in Vulgar and Literary Late Latin
- Quasi and tamquam — Some Developments in Imperial Latin
- Semantic Roles within a Contrastive Grammar of Latin and German
- Les procédés de création lexicale mis en oeuvre par Lucrèce
- Modality's semantic maps. An investigation of some Latin modal forms
- Lagunas léxicas en latín
- Le parfait latin, entre acquis et révolu
- Champ lexical et polysémie : l'expression du pardon en latin
- Verba peregrina: Von der Interdiktion zur Integration
- Un nom de l'arpenteur en latín : agrimēnsor
- A few remarks on the habeo + object + passive perfect participle construction in archaic Latin, with special reference to lexical semantics and the reanalysis process
- Die Etymologie von caballus
- Syntax and Pragmatics
- The tense of speech indications in Vergil's Aeneid
- ¿Accusativus pendens en Latín?
- Word length and clitics in Latin
- Indefinite pronouns in conditional clauses
- Interférences fonctionnelles entre relatives, complétives et circonstancielles
- Subordination seconde du relatif. Contraintes d'emploi.
- Inserción sintáctica y Función Semántica en construcciones de Dativos no 'posesivos' + sum