Argument alternations continue to drive debate at the interface of syntax and semantics (Levin 1993, Tenny 1994, Levin and Rappaport Hovav 2005). Generally ignored in this discussion, however, is a principled understanding of the absence of argument alternation. To approach this topic, I explore the results of dictionary fieldwork on Nigeria’s Benue-Congo language Emai. Benue-Congo languages are frequently cited as syntactically deficient, since they lack inflectional morphology and prepositions expressing various grammatical functions (Foley and Olson 1985, Lord 1993, Crowley 2002). While typologically accurate, this perspective provides little insight into what grammatical resources are active or how they pattern. How do we amend this situation? One possibility is to examine limits on argument alternation, particularly as they might be reflected in linear order constraints between arguments. Nichols (1992) expands on Talmy’s (1985) initial lexical typology regarding verb arguments Moving Object and Goal. Constituents expressing these arguments show variable arrangements consistent with basic precedence (Moving Object [paint] precedes Goal [wall] in George sprayed paint on the wall) or reversed precedence (Goal precedes Moving Object in George painted the wall with paint). From one perspective, this represents a narrow precedence relation. For this paper, I pursue a broader precedence relation configured in terms of Figure and Ground (Talmy 2000). Figure (F) represents a clausal argument conceptually dependent on an anchor concept (thus encompassing moving object as well as stationary entity to be located, immediate cause and causing condition/stimulus). Relative to Figure, Ground (G) represents an anchor or reference point argument (thus incorporating goal for a moving object as well as location for positioning a stationary entity, affected object of an immediate cause, and causee/experiencer impinged on by causing condition). Using Figure and Ground, I redefine basic and reversed precedence. Basic precedence holds that Figure precedes Ground; reversed precedence stipulates that Ground precedes Figure. Across domains of motion, stationary location and causation, Emai verb constructions allow only basic precedence: Figure precedes Ground. No Emai verb permits Ground to precede Figure. In the domain of motion, Emai and English contrast along a precedence dimension. English allows basic and reversed precedence through locative alternation (load, 1a-b): Figure (hay) precedes Ground (wagon) or Ground (wagon) precedes Figure (hay). Not all English verbs exhibit variable precedence. pour (2a-b) and fill (3a-b) show only basic precedence (F precedes G) or reversed precedence (G precedes F), respectively.

www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/39/paper2181.pdf

Why Do Descriptive Fieldwork?Dictionaries, Precedence and Verb Argument Order

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Ronald P. Schaefer

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

Why Do Descriptive Fieldwork?Dictionaries, Precedence and Verb Argument Order