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Verbconstructions cross-linguistically - Introduction

Revision as of 11:48, 7 June 2008 by Lars Hellan (Talk | contribs)

Presented here is an initiative for constructing an environment enabling the enumeration of verb constructions cross-linguistically. The aims are:

  • For each language, that the enumeration be complete and transparent;
  • Across languages, that the enumerations be comparable.

The environment includes a labeling system which, for any verb construction of a given language, provides a template for that construction type displaying its argument structure and other properties, in a fashion as transparent as possible. The template is constructed from a universally established inventory of labeling primitives. The initiative has started with, on the one hand, a rather extensive inventory of Verb Constructions in Norwegian (based on the TROLL 1989 work, NorKompLeks 1996, and Norsource 2007), and on the other, a comparative survey of closely related languages of the Volta Basin Area (supported by The Legon-Trondheim project on Ghanaian languages). Thus both scenarios mentioned above are being instantiated. The characterization of a construction type relates to at least the following parameters, when applicable:

  • diathesis/argument operations (such as passive, causativisation, applicative formation),
  • syntactic valency,
  • semantic participants,
  • particular patterns of agreement, including coreference patterns (such as 'equi' and 'raising' patterns, argument sharing, secondary predication), tense/aspect agreement, and subject and object marking,
  • 'full' vs 'expletive' elements. NOT included is modification and syntactic processes not particular to the formation or modification of argument structure.

The basic structural parts of a Template are referred to as slots. In the slot specification, the following conventions are observed:

  • Slots are interconnected by '-' (hyphen).
  • Distinct items inside a slot are interconnected by '_' (underline).
  • An item label containing neither ‘-‘ nor ‘_’ is an uninterrupted string of letters. If it acts as a complex label, the internal composition is indicated by alternation between small and capital letters (however, no labels are distinguished in terms of CAP vs. not).

Constructions with a Verb as head have a Template structure with maximum five slots:

  • Slot 1: POS of the head, and diathesis information (e.g.: 'V_pas' for passive diathesis; 'V' alone if the construction is active).
  • Slot 2: Valency: transitivity specification - intr, tr, ditr, ... (see list below) (if the construction is passive, the valence given is that of its corresponding active form).
  • Slot 3: Dependent Specification: comments on syntactic and referential properties of specific arguments – see list below.
  • Slot 4: Participant Roles.
  • Slot 5: Situation Type: a label for the situation type expressed by the construction, written in CAPS

Slots 1 and 2 are obligatorily filled, the others not. A slot not specified is not displayed; however, the labels defined for the various slots are distinct, hence no specification can be misread with regard to which slot it fits into. Likewise, no labels are distinguished in terms of CAP vs. not.

The following template exemplifies the notation (with an English example sentence):

(1) v-tr-ag_affincrem-COMPLETED_MONODEVMNT

the boy eats the cake

The template reads as:

  • Slot 1: The head is V;
  • Slot 2: the syntactic frame is transitive;
  • Slot 4: the thematic roles expressed are 'agent' and 'incrementally affected';
  • Slot 5: the situation type is (partially characterized as) 'completed monotonic development'.

Nothing here occupies Slot 3. (Since neither 'ag_affincrem' nor 'COMPLETED_MONODEVMNT' is a defined slot 3-specification, there is no ambiguity as to which slot is here empty.)

The following template has specification for the first three slots (from Norwegian, with gloss and translation):

(2) v-trScpr-scObNrgCse_scAdj

han sang rommet tomt
“he sang the room empty”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
sang
sang
singPAST
Vitr
rommet
romet
roomOBJDEFSGNEUT
CN
tomt
tomt
emptySCSGNEUT
ADJ

This template reads as:

  • Slot 1: The head is V;
  • Slot 2: the syntactic frame is transitive with a secondary ('small clause') predicate;
  • Slot 3: the secondary predicate is predicated of the object, which is a 'non-argument', i.e., does not have a semantic argument relation to the verb, and expresses the result of a causation; moreover, the secondary predicate is headed by an adjective.

If a construction has a verbal complement, or is a series of verbs, where there is reason to comment on each verbal domain, the construction is entered as a sequence of two (or more) v-constructions, where each has the argument frame instantiated by the verb in question. The v-constructions are separated by double hyphen. After the first slot, which indicates the kind of construction, there is a slot with information on how constituents from the different v-constructions interrelate. The following is an example of a Serial Verb Construction in Akan, where 'sv' indicates this type:


3) sv-objIDsu_aspID--v-tr-ag_ejct--v-tr-th_endpt-CONTACTEJECTION


This template reads as:

  • Slot 1: The construction is an SVC;
  • Slot 2: The object of the first clause is (referentially) identical to the subject of the second clause, and aspect (PST) is identical across the clauses;
  • Slot 3: The v-constructions: the first v-construction has a transitive verb, and its participant roles are 'agent and ejected'; the second v-construction also has a transitive verb, with the participant roles 'theme' and 'endpoint' (notice that in each of these frames, there is no slot 3-specification, but both have slot 4-specification);
  • Slot 4: The whole construction expresses the situation-type 'CONTACTEJECTION', that is, 'ejection with the ejected obtaining contact with an expressed entity'.


v-intrImpers

SIT-TYPE: PHENOM

det regner

det regner
“it rains ”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
regner
regner
rainPRES
Vitr


v-intrImpersPrtcl

SIT-TYPE: PHENOM_TELIC

det klarner opp

det klarner opp
“it clears up”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
klarner
klarner
clearPRES
Vitr
opp
opp
up
PRT


v-intrImpersObl

ROLE: loc

SIT-TYPE: SEMELFACTIVE

det kvekker i Ola

det kvekker i Ola
“Ola startles”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
kvekker
kvekker
startlePRES
Vitr
i
i
inOBLLOC
PREP
Ola
ola
ola
Np


det sprekker i glasset

det sprekker i glasset
“the glass breaks apart”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
sprekker
sprekker
crackPRES
Vitr
i
i
inOBLLOC
PREP
glasset
glasset
glassNEUTSGDEF
CN


ROLE: loc

SIT-TYPE: ACTIVITY

det synger i fjellene

det synger i fjellene
“it sings in the mountains”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
synger
synger
singPRES
Vitr
i
i
inOBLLOC
PREP
fjellene
fjellene
mountainDEFPL
CN


v-intrDirPresentational

ROLE: agmover

SIT-TYPE: MOTION

det springer en mann

#det springer en mann
“there is a man running”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
springer
springer
runPRES
Vitr
en
en
aINDEFSGCOMM
DET
mann
mann
man
CN


v-intrDirPresentational

ROLE: agmover

SIT-TYPE: ENDPNTMOTION

det springer en mann hit

det springer en mann hit
“there is a man running to here”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
springer
springer
runPRES
Vitr
en
en
aINDEFSGCOMM
DET
mann
mann
man
CN
hit
hit
hereENDPNT
ADV


v-intrDirPresentational

ROLE: thmover

SIT-TYPE: MOTION

det ruller en ball

#det ruller en ball
“there is a ball rolling”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
ruller
ruller
rollPRES
Vitr
en
en
aINDEFSGCOMM
DET
ball
ball
ball
CN


v-intrDirPresentational

ROLE: thmover

SIT-TYPE: ENDPNTMOTION

det ruller en ball hit

det ruller en ball hit
“a ball is rolling here”
det
det
SBJEXPLET
PN
ruller
ruller
rollPRES
Vitr
en
en
INDEFSGMASC
DET
ball
ball
ball
N
hit
hit
to-hereENDPNT
ADV


v-intrPresentationalLoc

ROLE: ag_loc

SIT-TYPE: POSTURE_LOC

det sitter en mann i stolen

det sitter en mann i stolen
“there is a man sitting in the chair”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
sitter
sitter
sitPRES
Vitr
en
en
aINDEFSGCOMM
DET
mann
mann
man
CN
i
i
inOBLLOC
PREP
stolen
stolen
chairDEFSGCOMM
CN

det sitter en mann her

det sitter en mann her
“there is a man sitting here”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
sitter
sitter
sitPRES
Vitr
en
en
aINDEFSGCOMM
DET
mann
mann
man
CN
her
her
hereOBLLOC
ADVm


v-trPresentational

ROLE: ben_th

SIT-TYPE: PENDINGSTATE

det venter ham en ulykke

det venter ham en ulykke
“there awaits him an accident”
det
det
SBJEXPLET
PN
venter
venter
awaitPRES
Vtr
ham
ham
SGMASCOBJind
PN
en
en
INDEFSGMASCOBJ
DET
ulykke
ulykke
accident
N

det tilkommer ham hundre kroner

det tilkommer ham hundre kroner
“he can claim a hundred kroner”
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
tilkommer
tilkomer
to-comePRES
Vtr
ham
ham
himMASCSG
PN
hundre
hundre
hundred
CARD
kroner
kroner
kronerINDEFPL
CN


v-intr

ROLE: ag

SIT-TYPE: ACTIVITY / SEMELFACTIVE

gutten hopper

gutten hopper
“the boy jumps”
gutten
gutten
boySBJDEFSGCOMM
CN
hopper
hopper
jumpPRES
Vitr


v-intrPrtcl

ROLE: ag

SIT-TYPE: SUSTAINEDACTIVITY

Ola driver på

#Ola driver på
“Ola keeps on”
Ola
ola
olaSBJ
Np
driver
driver
keepPRES
Vitr
on
ADV


ROLE: th

SIT-TYPE: SUSTAINEDACTIVITY

regnet varer ved

regnet varer ved
“the rain persists”
regnet
regnet
rainSBJDEFSGNEUT
N
varer
varer
lastPRES
Vitr
ved
ved
by
ADV


v-intrPrtcl

ROLE: ag

SIT-TYPE: COMPLETEDACTIVITY

Ola stopper opp

maskineriet stopper opp
“the machinery comes to a hold”
maskineriet
maskineriet
machinerySBJDEFSGNEUT
Np
stopper
stopper
stopPRES
Vitr
opp
opp
up
ADV


ROLE: th

SIT-TYPE: COMPLETEDACTIVITY

regnet holder opp

regnet holder opp
“the rain ceases”
regnet
regnet
rainSBJDEFSGNEUT
CN
holder
holder
holdPRES
Vitr
opp
opp
up
ADV


v-intr

ROLE: agsens

SIT-TYPE: SENSING_PROTR

gutten lytter

gutten lytter
“the boy listens”
gutten
gutten
boySBJDEFSGCOMM
CN
lytter
lytter
listenPRES
Vitr


v-intr

ROLE: th

SIT-TYPE: PROCESS

isen smelter

isen smelter
“the ice melts”
isen
isen
iceSBJDEFSGCOMM
CN
smelter
smelter
meltPRES
Vitr


v-intr

ROLE: exp

SIT-TYPE: EXPERIENCING_PROTR

gutten fryser

gutten fryser
“the boy feels cold”
gutten
gutten
boySBJDEFSGCOMM
CN
fryser
fryser
freezePRES
Vitr


v-intrDir

ROLE: agmover

SIT-TYPE: MOTION

gutten løper

gutten løper
“the boy is running”
gutten
gutten
boySBJDEFSGCOMM
CN
løper
løper
runPRES
Vitr


v-intrDir

ROLE: thmover

SIT-TYPE: MOTION

ballen ruller

ballen ruller
“the ball is rolling”
ballen
ballen
ballSBJDEFSGCOMM
CN
ruller
ruller
rollPRES
Vitr


v-intrDir

ROLE: orientedobj

SIT-TYPE: PUREORIENTATION

pilen peker mot nord

pilen peker mot nord
“the arrow points towards north”
pilen
pilen
arrowSBJDEFSGCOMM
CN
peker
peker
pointPRES
Vitr
mot
mot
towards
PREP
nord
nord
north
 


v-intrDir

ROLE: orientedobj

SIT-TYPE: PATHCONSTELLATION

veien går mot nord

veien går mot nord
“the road goes towards north”
veien
veien
roadSBJDEFSGCOMM
CN
går
r
goPRES
Vitr
mot
mot
towards
PREP
nord
nord
north
 


v-intrDir

ROLE: orientedobj

SIT-TYPE: LOCOMODEVELOPMENT

turen går mot nord

turen går mot nord
“the tour goes towards north”
turen
turen
tourSBJDEFSGCOMM
CN
går
r
goPRES
Vitr
mot
mot
towards
PREP
nord
nord
north
 


v-intr-suDECL

ROLE: thSit

SIT-TYPE: NONHABITUAL

at han sover hender

at han sover hender
“that he sleeps occurs”
at
at
DECL
COMP
han
han
SBJ3PSGNOM
PN
sover
sover
sleepPRES
Vitr
hender
hender
occurPRES
Vitr


v-intr-suYN

ROLE: thSit

SIT-TYPE: ASSESS

hvorvidt han kommer beror

hvorvidt han kommer beror på deg
“whether he comes depends on you”
hvorvidt
hvorvidt
whether
COMP
han
han
he3PSGNOM
PN
kommer
komer
comePRES
Vitr
beror
beror
dependPRES
Vitr
on
PREP
deg
deg
2pSGACC
PN


v-intr-suWH

ROLE: thSit

SIT-TYPE: ASSESS

??hvem som kommer beror

hvem som kommer beror på deg
“who comes depends on you”
hvem
hvem
who
Wh
som
som
 
REL
kommer
komer
comePRES
Vitr
beror
beror
dependPRES
Vitr
on
PREP
deg
deg
you2SGACC
PN


v-intr-suAbsinf

ROLE: thSit

SIT-TYPE: ASSESS

å motta penger for politiske verv stinker

å motta penger for politiske verv stinker
“receiving money for political positions sucks”
å
å
toINF
COMP
motta
motta
receive
Vtr
penger
penger
moneyINDEFPL
CN
for
for
for
PREP
politiske
politiske
politicalINDEFPL
ADJ
verv
verv
position
CN
stinker
stinker
suckPRES
Vitr


v-intrObl

ROLE: ag_topic

SIT-TYPE: ABOUTNESS_ACTIVITY

jeg snakker om Ola

jeg snakker om Ola
“I talk about Ola”
jeg
jeg
ISBJ1PSGNOM
PN
snakker
snakker
talkPRES
Vitr
om
om
aboutOBL
PREP
Ola
ola
Ola
N


v-intrObl

ROLE: ag_loc

SIT-TYPE: LOCATION

hun bor i Finnmark

hun bor i Finnmark
“she lives in Finnmark”
hun
hun
sheSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
bor
bor
livePRES
Vitr
i
i
inOBLLOC
PREP
Finnmark
finnmark
Finnmark
Np


ROLE: th_loc

SIT-TYPE: LOCATION

Hamningberg ligger i Finnmark

Hamningberg ligger i Finnmark
“Hamningberg lies in Finnmark”
Hamningberg
hamningberg
HamningbergSBJ
Np
ligger
ligger
liePRES
Vitr
i
i
inOBLLOC
PREP
Finnmark
finnmark
Finnmark
Np


v-intrObl

ROLE: ag_affincrem

SIT-TYPE: NONCOMPLETED_MONODEVMNT

hun spiser av eplet

hun spiser av eplet
“she eats of the apple”
hun
hun
sheSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
spiser
spiser
eatPRES
Vitr
av
av
ofOBL
PREP
eplet
eplet
appleNEUTSGDEF
CN


v-intrObl

ROLE: ag_thincrem

SIT-TYPE: NONCOMPLETED_MONODEVMNT

hun leser i boken

hun leser i boken
“she is reading in the book”
hun
hun
sheSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
leser
leser
readPRES
Vitr
i
i
inOBL
PREP
boken
boken
bookCOMM
CN


v-intrObl

ROLE: ag_activated

SIT-TYPE: ACTIVATION

Ola rører på statuen

Ola rører på statuen
“Ola touches the statue OR: Ola makes the statue move a little ('Activation')”
Ola
ola
OlaSBJ
Np
rører
rører
movePRES
Vitr
at
PREP
statuen
statuen
statueDEFSGCOMM
CN
 
 
 
 


v-intrObl-oblRefl

ROLE: ag_activated

SIT-TYPE: ACTIVATION

Ola leer på seg

Ola leer på seg
“Ola moves [a little]”
Ola
ola
OlaSBJ
Np
leer
leer
movePRES
Vitr
on
PREP
seg
seg
REFL
PN


v-intrObl-oblPRTOFsubj

ROLE: exp_locth

SIT-TYPE: PARTWHOLE_EXPERIENCING

jeg fryser på ryggen

jeg fryser på ryggen
“I feel cold on my back”
jeg
jeg
1sgSBJNOM
PN
fryser
fryser
freezePRES
Vitr
onOBL
PREP
ryggen
ryggen
backDEFSGMASC
N


v-intrImplicobjObl

ROLE: ag_th_csdloc

SIT-TYPE: RENDERING_IN_POSITION

han sølte på duken

han sølte på duken
“he spilled on the tablecloth”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
sølte
sølte
spillPAST
Vitr
onOBL
PREP
duken
duken
tableclothDEFSGCOMM
CN


han kledde på gutten

han kledde på gutten
“he dressed the boy”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
kledde
klede
dressPAST
Vitr
on
PREP
gutten
gutten
boyDEFSGCOMM
CN


v-intrImplicobjObl-oblRefl

ROLE: ag_th_csdloc

SIT-TYPE: RENDERING_IN_POSITION

han sølte på seg

han sølte på seg
“he spilled on himself”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
sølte
sølte
spillePAST
Vitr
onOBL
PREP
seg
seg
himselfREFL
PN


han kledde på seg

han kledde på seg
“he dressed himself”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
kledde
kledde
dressPAST
Vitr
onOBL
PREP
seg
seg
himselfREFL
PN


v-intrObl-oblDECL

ROLE: ag_topic

SIT-TYPE: ABOUTNESS_ACTIVITY

de snakker om at det er for sent

de snakker om at det er for sent
“they talk about it being too late”
de
de
SBJ3PPLNOM
PN
snakker
snakker
talkPRES
Vitr
om
om
aboutOBL
PREP
at
at
DECL
COMP
det
det
SBJEXPLET
PN
er
er
PRES
COP
for
for
too
ADV
sent
sent
late
ADJ


v-intrObl-oblYN

ROLE: ag_topic

SIT-TYPE: PROPOSITIONALATTITUDE_ACTIVITY

de lurer på hvorvidt det er for sent

de lurer på hvorvidt det er for sent
“they wonder whether it is too late”
de
de
theySBJ3PPLNOM
PN
lurer
lurer
wonderPRES
Vitr
OBL
PREP
hvorvidt
hvorvidt
whether
COMP
det
det
itSBJEXPLET
PN
er
er
bePRES
COP
for
for
too
ADVm
sent
sent
late
ADJ


v-intrObl-oblWH

ROLE: ag_topic

SIT-TYPE: PROPOSITIONALATTITUDE_ACTIVITY

de lurer på hvem som kommer

de lurer på hvem som kommer
“they wonder who comes”
de
de
theySBJ3PPLNOM
PN
lurer
lurer
wonderPRES
Vitr
OBL
PREP
hvem
hvem
who
Wh
som
som
that
COMP
kommer
komer
comePRES
Vitr


v-intrObl-oblEqSuInf

ROLE: ag_topic

SIT-TYPE: PROPOSITIONALATTITUDE_ACTIVITY

han håper på å komme

han håper på å komme
“he hopes to be able to come”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
håper
håper
hopePRES
Vitr
OBL
PREP
å
å
toINF
COMP
komme
kome
comeINF
Vitr
 
 
 
 


v-intrObl-oblEqSuInf

ROLE: ag_topic

SIT-TYPE: HABITUAL

Ola driver med å skrive

Ola does writing


v-intrPrtclObl-oblEqSuInf

ROLE: ag_topic

SIT-TYPE: ACTIVITY

Ola driver på med å skrive

Ola driver på med å skrive
“Ola is engaged in writing”
Ola
ola
OlaSBJ
Np
driver
driver
keepPRES
Vitr
on
PRT
med
med
withOBL
PREP
å
å
toINF
COMP
skrive
skrive
writeINF
Vitr


v-intrObl-oblAbsinf

ROLE: ag_topic

SIT-TYPE: ABOUTNESS_ACTIVITY

de snakker om å reise til Mars

de snakker om å reise til Mars
“they talk about travelling to Mars”
de
de
theySBJ3PPLNOM
PN
snakker
snakker
talkPRES
Vitr
om
om
aboutOBL
PREP
å
å
toINF
COMP
reise
reise
travelINF
Vitr
til
til
to
PREP
Mars
mars
Mars
Np


v-intrOblRais-suNrg_oblRaisInf

ROLE: thSit

SIT-TYPE: EXHIBACT

han later til å komme

han later til å komme
“he appears to be coming”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
later
later
appearPRES
Vitr
til
til
to
PREP
å
å
toINF
COMP
komme
kome
comeINF
Vitr


v-intrPrtclOblRais-suNrg_oblRaisInf

ROLE: thSit

SIT-TYPE: EXHIBACT

han ser ut til å komme

han ser ut til å komme
“he appears to be coming”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
ser
ser
lookPRES
Vitr
ut
ut
out
ADVm
til
til
toOBL
PREP
å
å
toINF
COMP
komme
kome
comeINF
Vitr


v-intrAdv

ROLE:

SIT-TYPE:

han fungerer godt

han fungerer godt
“he functions well”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
fungerer
fungerer
functionPRES
Vitr
godt
godt
well
ADVm


v-epistmodal

ROLE:

SIT-TYPE:

han kan komme

han kan komme
“he can come”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
kan
kan
can
AUX
komme
kome
comeINF
Vitr


v-modaldir

ROLE:

SIT-TYPE:

han må ut

'he must out' (= 'he has to go out')

v-perf

ROLE:

SIT-TYPE:

han har kommet

han har kommet
“he has come”
han
han
heSBJ3PSGNOM
PN
har
har
have
AUX
kommet
komet
comePFV
Vitr