LSA.123 | Semantic Prominence and Argument Realization

Beth Levin
TR 10:10-11:50
location: 32-155

Studies of the semantic determinants of argument realization have focused on individual arguments of a verb, while interactions between coarguments have received less attention. Yet, these interactions cannot be ignored: in many instances, the syntactic expression of one argument may depend on the semantic roles of its coarguments. Such interactions suggest that there are precedence—or prominence—relations among arguments. This course will investigate these interdependencies, approaching them through a critical study of two theoretical constructs that have been introduced to capture these relations: thematic hierarchies and proto-roles. In so doing, this course will assess the relative contributions of event structure, causal order, and semantic properties of the NPs filling argument positions to argument realization. Case studies will include dative verbs, two-argument activity verbs ( wipe, pound ), and, time permitting, psych-verbs. This course assumes some familiarity with syntax and lexical semantics.

Required Textbook
Title: Argument Realization
Author: Beth Levin & Malka Rappaport Hovav
Publisher: Cambridge Univ Press
ISBN: 0521663768