The heterogeneous nature of verbal alternations: What information structure can tell us about it

In this paper, I discuss Dative Alternation and Locative Alternation, proposing a cross‑linguistically heterogeneous behavior of verb alternates. I explore information structural factors and study the available basic verb patterns in contexts where no previous shared information is presumed (broad...

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Main Author: Ángel Jiménez Fernández
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 2023-12-01
Series:Isogloss
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistes.uab.cat/isogloss/article/view/309
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author Ángel Jiménez Fernández
author_facet Ángel Jiménez Fernández
author_sort Ángel Jiménez Fernández
collection DOAJ
description In this paper, I discuss Dative Alternation and Locative Alternation, proposing a cross‑linguistically heterogeneous behavior of verb alternates. I explore information structural factors and study the available basic verb patterns in contexts where no previous shared information is presumed (broad focus), which is taken as diagnostic of the derived or non-derived nature of a given verbal alternation. I examine the different discourse interpretations of the two alternates in Spanish, English, Portuguese and Turkish. I suggest a non-derived nature of the two instances of verbs in Spanish Locative Alternation. On the contrary, Dative Alternation in Spanish exhibits derivational properties from a discourse perspective. In short, I propose two types of alternates (a derivational type and a non-derivational type), for which I find evidence in the notion of scope freezing (Larson 2014, Antonyuk 2020, Cépeda & Cyrino 2020). In Spanish, an inverse scope reading is available in quantifiers in locative alternation, which supports a non-derivational analysis of the two patterns. Locative Alternation shows scope freezing, favoring a derivational analysis. I put forth a Minimalist derivation based on discourse features and the notion of feature inheritance, which accounts for the above-mentioned characteristics.
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spelling doaj.art-7240c8079d08426bb084e8f0a994ae032023-12-16T14:10:57ZengUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaIsogloss2385-41382023-12-019410.5565/rev/isogloss.309The heterogeneous nature of verbal alternations: What information structure can tell us about itÁngel Jiménez Fernández0Universidad de Sevilla In this paper, I discuss Dative Alternation and Locative Alternation, proposing a cross‑linguistically heterogeneous behavior of verb alternates. I explore information structural factors and study the available basic verb patterns in contexts where no previous shared information is presumed (broad focus), which is taken as diagnostic of the derived or non-derived nature of a given verbal alternation. I examine the different discourse interpretations of the two alternates in Spanish, English, Portuguese and Turkish. I suggest a non-derived nature of the two instances of verbs in Spanish Locative Alternation. On the contrary, Dative Alternation in Spanish exhibits derivational properties from a discourse perspective. In short, I propose two types of alternates (a derivational type and a non-derivational type), for which I find evidence in the notion of scope freezing (Larson 2014, Antonyuk 2020, Cépeda & Cyrino 2020). In Spanish, an inverse scope reading is available in quantifiers in locative alternation, which supports a non-derivational analysis of the two patterns. Locative Alternation shows scope freezing, favoring a derivational analysis. I put forth a Minimalist derivation based on discourse features and the notion of feature inheritance, which accounts for the above-mentioned characteristics. https://revistes.uab.cat/isogloss/article/view/309verbal alternationsargument structureinformation structurebroad focusscope freezing
spellingShingle Ángel Jiménez Fernández
The heterogeneous nature of verbal alternations: What information structure can tell us about it
Isogloss
verbal alternations
argument structure
information structure
broad focus
scope freezing
title The heterogeneous nature of verbal alternations: What information structure can tell us about it
title_full The heterogeneous nature of verbal alternations: What information structure can tell us about it
title_fullStr The heterogeneous nature of verbal alternations: What information structure can tell us about it
title_full_unstemmed The heterogeneous nature of verbal alternations: What information structure can tell us about it
title_short The heterogeneous nature of verbal alternations: What information structure can tell us about it
title_sort heterogeneous nature of verbal alternations what information structure can tell us about it
topic verbal alternations
argument structure
information structure
broad focus
scope freezing
url https://revistes.uab.cat/isogloss/article/view/309
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