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Generalizing the analysis of resultatives across different types of paths

This study explores how Korean grammaticalizes directed motion, with a focus on resultatives and light verbs in linguistic structures.

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Generalizing the analysis of resultatives across different types of paths

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  1. Generalizing the analysis of resultatives across different types of paths The case of Korean Dongsik Lim (CCHS-CSIC, Spain/Hongik University, South Korea) & Maria Luisa Zubizarreta (University of Southern California) The 31st West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics Arizona State University, February 8-10, 2013

  2. The notion of path • Natural language grammaticalizes the concepts of directed motion encompassing an overarching notion of path that includes a physical path (1a) and an abstract path (1b) (the latter is referred to as resultatives) => See Jackendoff 1990, Beck and Snyder 2001, Folli 2001, Mateu and Rigau 2002, Beavers et al. 2004, McIntyre 2004, Folli and Harley 2006, Zubizarreta & Oh 2007, Lim and Zubizarreta 2012, among many others. (1) a. John ran to the station. b. The vase broke (into pieces) • Question: • Do languages use the same type of structures to encode the two sub-types of directed motion?

  3. Hale and Keyser (2002) • The path is encoded by a complex PP in (1a), and by the verb itself in (1b) (brVk: lexical root): (2) a. John [V ran+v[ (John) V [P to [ PLoc the station ]]]] b. The vase [VbrVk [A (the vase) [AbrVk (into pieces) ]]]

  4. Directed motion construction in Korean • Two heads of DMCs: ka- ‘go’ vs. -(e)ci- ‘become’ (3) a. John-i yek-ey talli-e ka-ess-ta. John-Nom station-Loc run-L go-Past-Decl ‘John ran to the station.’ b. Kkochpyeng-i kkay-e ci-ess-ta. vase-Nom break-L ci-Past-Decl ‘The vase broke.’ • Present talk: focus on cases where these light verbs combine with lexical verbs.

  5. V-(e)ci-: not a compound • Topic marker -(n)un(and also -to ‘even/also’) can be inserted between V and -(e)ci- in colloquial speech: (4) a. Kumsok-i napcakha-key twutulki-e-nun ci-ess-ta. metal-Nom flat-key pound-L-Top ci-Past-Decl ‘Metal became pounded flat... (but it was not bent).’ b. Kkochpyeng-i pwuswu-e-nunci-ess-ta. vase-Nom break-L-Top ci-Past-Decl ‘The vase broke... (but the shape was not pretty).’ • Suggesting that V-(e)ci- constructions are not lexical items formed in the lexicon, but in syntax

  6. Proposal. • In adjectival resultatives, the structure of -(e)ci-headed constructions depends on aspectuality of the lexical verb: • change-of-state (COS) verbs TELIC • Kkay- ‘break’, pwuswu- ‘destroy’, kku- ‘turn off’, kkunh- ‘tear’, kochi- ‘fix/repair’, phye- ‘straighten’, calu- ‘cut’, meywu- ‘fill in’, ttwulh- ‘drill’, ciwu- ‘erase’, is- ‘connect’, ukkay- ‘crush’, etc. • activity-denoting verbs ATELIC • Twutulki- ‘pound/hammer’, takk- ‘wipe’, ssis- ‘wash’, ppal- ‘wash (laundries)’, coi- ‘tighten’, chilha- ‘paint (the wall)’, etc. • Aspectual difference between two types of verbs: see Appendix.

  7. Proposal (cont.) (5) a. Kkochpyeng-i cal-key kkay-eci-ess-ta. Vase-Nom tiny-key break-L ci-Past-Decl ‘The vase broke into tiny pieces.’ b. Kumsok-i napcakha-key twutulki-e ci-ess-ta. Metal-Nom flat-key pound-L ci-Past-Decl ‘The metal was pounded flat.’ • (5a): similar structure to English (H&K 2002) • (5b): a Serial Verb structure, like (3a): (3) a. John-i yek-ey talli-e ka-ess-ta. John-Nom station-Loc run-L go-Past-Decl ‘John ran to the station.’

  8. Break vs. pound in Adj resultatives • Mono-VP • V-eci • 3 • DP V-eci • 5 3 • The vase V V • 5 | • [Adj break] -(e)ci- • Bi-VPs (serial verbs) • V-eci • 3 • DP V-eci • 5 3 • The metal A V-eci • 4 3 • Adj V V • 3 | • DP V-(e)ci- • 5 | • (the metal) pound

  9. Resultatives with COS verbs (6) a. Intransitive Ku pyeng-i cal-key kkay-eci-ess-ta. That bottle-Nom tiny-key break-L ci-Past-Decl ‘That bottle broke into tiny pieces.’ b. Transitive John-i ku pyeng-ul cal-key kkay-ess-ta. J.-Nom that bottle-Acc tiny-key break-Past-Decl ‘John broke that bottle into tiny pieces.’

  10. COS verbs: intransitive • The structure for (6a): • (7) V • qp • DP V • 5 qp • that bottle V V • eo | • A V (e)ci- • 4 | • tinybreak COS Endpoint of COS Complex predicate

  11. COS verbs: transitive • Merging (7) with little v (-(e)ci- is silent in the transitive form): • (8)vP • qp • DP v • 5 wo • John V v • qp • DP V • 5 qp • that bottle V V • eo | • A V (-(e)ci-) • 4 | • tiny break • John that bottle [tiny-pieces break] become+v Causation of COS COS Endpoint of COS

  12. Resultatives with activity verbs (cont.) (9) a. Intransitive Ku kumsok-i napcakha-key twutulki-e ci-ess-ta. that metal-Nom flat-key pound-L ci-Past-Decl ‘That metal was pounded flat.’ b. Transitive John-i ku kumsok-ul napcakha-key twutulki-ess-ta. J.-Nom that metal-Acc flat-key pound-Past-Decl ‘John pounded that metal flat.’ • A detour: the ka-headed SVC

  13. The Ka- construction. • Ka- combines with atelic, activity verbs and denotes a movement along a physical path. Isomorphic events.(Z&O 2007) (i) Intransitive manner of motion verbs (walk, jump, run...) (10) John-i kongwen-ey kel-e ka-ess-ta. John-Nom park-Loc walk-L go-Past-Decl (lit.) ‘John went to the park by walking.’ (ii) Transitive contact verbs (kick, throw, push, drag/pull... ) (11) John-i kongwen-ey kong-ul cha ka-ess-ta. J.-Nom park-Loc ball-Acc kick go-Past-Decl (lit.) ‘John went to the park kicking the ball.’

  14. Serial Verb Constructions in Korean • V + ka are SVCs, consisting of two elementary VPs that share the same subject and Tense/Aspect. (Z&O 2007) • Consider (11) in the previous slide: (11) John-i kongwen-ey kong-ul cha ka-ess-ta. J.-Nom park-Loc ball-Acc kick go-Past-Decl (lit.) ‘John went to the park kicking the ball.’

  15. V-ka- as an SVC: an example • VP denoting the telic change of location (John’s going to the park) (12) • VP denoting the atelic manner of motion ‘kicking the ball’ (13) (12) VP qp DP V 6 qp John PP V 3 | P Ppathka- 3| DP PlocLoc 6 | park(Loc) (13) VP qp DP V 6 | ballkick

  16. V-ka- as an SVC: an example (cont.) • Counter-cyclic adjunction of atelic-denoting VP to ka- • Subordinate event is co-temporal to matrix event. (14) VP qp DP V 6 qp John PP V 3 3 P Ppath VP V 3| 3 | DP PlocLoc DP V ka- 6 | 6 | park (Loc)ballkick Change of location Manner or means

  17. Extending the SVC analysis to Adjectival Resultatives with activity verbs • VP denoting the telic change of state: ‘the metal’s going from non-flatness to flatness’ (15) • VP denoting the atelic activity ‘pounding that metal’ (16) (15) VP wo DP V 6 wo That metalAP V 6 | flat -(e)ci- (16) V wo DP V 6 | That metalpound

  18. Extending the SVC analysis to Adjectival Resultatives with activity verbs (cont.) • Adjunction of atelic VP to the head -(e)ci-: (17) VP wo DP V 6 wo That metalAP V 6wo flatVP V wo | DP V -(e)ci- 6 | (that metal) pound Change of state Manner or means

  19. Transitive Resultatives with activity verbs • Merging (17) with little v (-(e)ci- is silent in the transitive form) (18) v q p DP v 6 q p John VP v wo DP V 6 wo That metalAP V 6wo flatVP V wo | DP V (-(e)ci-) 6 | (that metal) pound Causation of COS Change of state Manner or means

  20. Differences between the two types of resultatives: the status of the Adj. • Optionality of adjectives in intransitives: only with COS (19) a. Kkochpyeng-i (cal-key) kkay-eci-ess-ta. Vase-Nom (tiny-key) break-L ci-Past-Decl ‘The vase broke (into tiny pieces).’ b. Kumsok-i ??(napcakha-key) twutulki-e ci-ess-ta. Metal-Nom flat-key pound-L ci-Past-Decl ‘The metal was pounded flat.’

  21. Differences in resultatives (cont.) • Selectional restriction: more restricted with COS (20)a. Ku pyeng-i cal-key / ?kop-key / #yalp-key / That bottle-Nom tiny-key / cute-key / thin-key / #napcakha-key… kkay-e ci-ess-ta. flat-key break-L ci-Past-Decl ‘That bottle was broken into tiny pieces / ?cute / #thin / #flat…’ b. Ku kumsok-i napcakha-key / tantanha-key / That metal-ACC flat-key / solid-key / yalp-key / ?kil-key … twutulki-e ci-ess-ta. thin-key / long-key… pound- L ci-Past-Decl ‘John pounded the metal flat / solid / thin / long…’

  22. Differences in resultatives (cont.) • Topicalization via Adj-fronting: less acceptable with COS (21) a. ??Cal-key-nun John-i pyeng-ul tiny-key-Top John-Nom bottle-Acc kkay-ess-ta. Haciman... break-Past-Decl but (roughly) ‘John broke the bottle into tiny pieces, but... (its shape was not so pretty)’ b. Napcakha-key-nun John-i kumsok-lul Flat-key-Top John-Nom metal-Acc twutulki-ess-ta. Haciman... pound-Past-Decl but (roughly) ‘John pounded the metal flat, but... (its shape was not so pretty)’

  23. Supporting evidence for the SVC analysis. • Interpretation of frequency adverbials • Interaction between Neg and Q in resultatives

  24. Frequency adverbials • Two readings of frequency adverbials such as sey pen ‘three times’ • Repetitive meaning: the entire change of state is repeated three times (requires the undoing of the previous resultant state). • Isomorphic meaning: • The change of state occurs gradually in the first and second occurrence of the event. • The endpoint of the COS is reached in the third occurrence.

  25. Frequency adverbialswith simple transitives. (cont.) • COS verbs (e.g. ukkay- ‘crush’): ambiguous (22) John-i ku elum-lul sey pen ukkay-ess-ta. J.-Nom that ice-Acc three times crush-Past-Decl (lit.) ‘John crushed that ice three times.’ • Repetitive: John may repeat the entire event of crushingthe ice three times (requires putting the ice back together again) • Isomorphic: The ice was broken more and more due to John’s crushing, and due to the last instance of John’s trial, the ice was finally broken.

  26. Frequency adverbial with simple transitive(cont.) • Activity verbs: not ambiguous (as expected, given that the semantics of the verb does not involve COS) (23) John-i ku soystengeli-lul sey pen J.-Nom that chunk.of.metal-Acc three times twutulki-ess-ta. pound-Past-Decl (lit.) ‘John pounded that chunk of metal three times.’ • Repetitive: the event of John’s pounding the chunk of metal was repeated three times. • *No isomorphic reading

  27. Frequency adverbials with Adjectival resultatives. • COS verbs + Adj: not ambiguous (cf. (22)) (24) John-i ku elum-ul sey pen acwu cal-key J.-Nom that ice-Acc three times very tiny-key ukkay-ess-ta. crush-Past-Decl (lit.) ‘John crushed that ice very tiny three times.’ • Repetitive: John crushed the same ice into very tiny pieces, and this entire event was repeated three times (requires putting the tiny pieces of ice back together again). • *Isomorphic: John gradually crushed the same ice three times, and due to the last instance of being crushed, the ice was crushed into very tiny pieces. (not available)

  28. Frequency adverbials(cont.) • Activity verbs + Adj: ambiguous (cf. (23)) (25) John-i ku soystengeli-lul sey pen J.-Nom that chunk.of.metal-Acc three times acwu napcakha-key twutulki-ess-ta. very flat-key pound-Past-Decl (lit.) ‘John pounded that chunk of metal very flat 3 times.’ • Repetitive: John pounded the same chunk of metal flat, and this entire event was repeated three times (requires unflatting the metal after the first and second events). • Isomorphic: John gradually pounded the same chunk of metal flatter and flatter, and due to the last instance of pounding, the metal was pounded very flat. (available)

  29. Frequency adverbials(cont.) • SVCs with ka-: also ambiguous (26) John-i kongwen kkuth-kkaci kong-ul John-Nom park end-until ball-Acc sey pen cha ka-ess-ta. three times kick go-Past-Decl (lit.) ‘J. kicked the ball until the end of the park three times.’ • Repetitive: John kicked the ball to the end of the park, and this entire event was repeated three times. • Isomorphic: By John’s kicking the ball three times, the ball gradually moved toward the end of the park, and by his final kicking, the ball moved to the end of the park. (available)

  30. Repetitive reading of frequency adverbials • ‘3 times’ modifies the matrix VP: (27) wo DP VP 6 w o metal 6 wo 3 times DP V 6 wo (metal)AP V 6wo flatVP V wo | DP V -(e)ci- 6 | (metal) pound

  31. Isomorphic reading of frequency adverbials • ‘3 times’ modifies the lower VP and the frequency adverbial is scrambled to a higher position: (28) wo DP VP 6 wo metal6 wo 3 times DP V 6 w o (metal)AP V 6q p flatVPV wo | 6 wo-(e)ci- (3 times)DP V 6 | (metal) pound

  32. Frequency adverbials: a prediction • Adj-ADV-V-(e)ci-: unambiguous/isomorphic reading only (29) John-i ku soystengeli-lul acwu napcakha-key J.-Nom that chunk.of.metal-Acc very flat-key sey pen twutulki-ess-ta. three timespound-Past-Decl (lit.) ‘John pound that chunk of metal three times.’ • *Repetitive: John pounded the same chunk of metal flat, and this entire event was repeated three times (requires unflatting the metal after the first and second events). (not available) • Isomorphic: John gradually pounded the same chunk of metal flatter and flatter, and due to the last instance of pounding, the metal was pounded very flat.

  33. Frequency adverbials: summary (1) Adj - telic V- (e)ci-: non-ambiguous Adj - V => one single complex event. (2) Adj - atelic V - (e)ci-: ambiguous (3) Loc - atelic V - ka: ambiguous • Adj-(e)ci in (2) and Loc-ka-in (3) denote the main event: the change along an abstract or physical path. • The main event is isomorphic but distinct from the subordinate event denoted by atelic lexical verb. • Frequency adverbials can modify the entire event (repetitive reading) or only subordinate event (isomorphicreading).

  34. Interaction between Neg and Q • Dependent reading (not few  many)available in Adj resultatives with COS verbs. (30) John-i pyeng myech kay-lul cal-key John-Nom bottle several CL-Acc tiny-key kkay-cianh-ass-ta. break-Neg-Past-Decl i) ‘Many’ reading: John didn’t break FEW bottles into tiny pieces. (--> John broke many bottles). (available) ii) ‘Few’ reading: There are few bottles such that John did not break them into tiny pieces. (available)

  35. Explaining ambiguity • Wide scope: surface (scrambled) position (above Neg) • Narrow scope: reconstruction into base (VP-internal) position (31)qp DP qp 5 QP qp John 5vNeg several bottles 3 DP v 5 wo (John) V v qp DP V 5 qp (several bottles) V V 6 | tiny break (-(e)ci-)

  36. Interaction between Neg and Q (cont.) • Dependent reading (not few  many)unavailable with activity verbs (32) John-i soystengeli myech kay-lul John-Nom chunk.of.metal several CL-Acc napcakha-key twutulki-cianh-ass-ta. flat-key pound-Neg-Past-Decl i) ??Many reading : John didn’t pound few chunks of metal flat. (--> John pounded many chunks of metal flat) ii) ‘Few’ reading: There are few chunks of metal such that John did not pound them flat.

  37. Explaining non-ambiguity • No reconstruction into the adjoined VP. (33)qp DP qp 5 DP qp John 5vNeg several chunks3 DP v 4 3 John VP v wo DP V 6 wo (several chunks)AP V 6wo flatVP V wo | DP V (-(e)ci-) 6 | (several chunks)pound

  38. Interaction between Neg and Q (cont.) • Dependent reading (not few  many) in SVC headed by ka-: unavailable (34) John-i cengwen-ey kong myech kay-lul John-Nom garden-Loc ball few CL-Acc cha ka-cianh-ass-ta kick go-Neg-Past-Decl i) ?? ‘Many’ reading : John didn’t go to the garden with kicking few balls (--> he kicked many balls). ii) ‘Few’ reading: There are few balls such that John went to the garden with kicking them.

  39. Interaction between Neg and Q (cont.) • Dependent reading unavailable in consequential SVCs. (35) John-i sayngsen myech mali-lul John-Nom fish few CL-Acc cap-a mek-cianh-ass-ta catch-L eat-Neg-Past-Decl i) ?? ‘Many’ reading: John didn’t catch and eat few fish. (-->he caught and ate many fish) ii) ‘Few’ reading: There are few fish such that John caught and ate them.

  40. Interaction b/w Neg&Q: Summary • Dependent reading available with: Adj telic-V -(e)ci-(Adj V is complex predicate) • Dependent reading unavailable with: Adj atelic-V -(e)ci- (SSVC structure) • Dependent reading unavailable with: Loc atelic-V ka- (SSVC structure) • Dependent reading unavailable with: Consequential SVCs Narrow scope reading blocked because not possible to reconstruct inside the adjoined VP.

  41. Conclusion: Uniform structure for physical & scalar path. • Two different structures of V-(e)ci- with an Adj • Telic V: V denotes the path, and Adj modifies it. (DMC) • Atelic V: Adj denotes the path, and V modifies it. (SVC) • The structure of atelic V-(e)ci- with an Adj is comparable with other SVCs: • V-ka constructions (SSVCs) & Consequential SVCs • Some evidence • Frequency adverbials • Interaction between Neg and Q

  42. For future research • A unified analysis of ka- and -(e)ci- in terms of various path arguments they take (A, V, or P) • -(e)ci- and ka- with other types of telic verbs with subintervals (including so-called degree achievement verbs, verbs of creation, and verbs like ‘sink’) • The division of labor between ka-, -(e)ci-, and other aspectual morphemes such as -(e/a)iss- and so-called progressive marker -ko iss-

  43. Selected references Beavers, John, and Andrew Koontz-Garboden. 2012. Manner and result in the roots of verbal meaning. Linguistic Inquiry 43(3): 331-369. Beavers, John, Beth Levin, and Tham Shiao Wei. 2004. A morphosyntactic basis for variation in the encoding of motion. Paper presented in the Diversity and Universals in Language Conference. Stanford University, May 21-23, 2004. Beck, Sigrid, and William Snyder. 2001. Complex predicates and goal PPs: evidence for a semantic parameter. In Anna H.-J. Do, Laura Domínguez, and Aimee Johansen. Eds., Proceedings of the 25th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development. 114-122. Somerville: Cascadilla Press. Folli, Raffaella. 2001. Constructing Telicity in English and Italian. PhD Thesis, University of Oxford. Folli, Raffaella, and Heidi Harley. 2006. On the licensing of causatives of directed motion: waltzing Matilda all over. Studia Linguistica 60(2): 121-155.

  44. Selected references (cont.) Hale, Ken, and Samuel Jay Keyser. 2002. Prolegomenon to a Theory of Argument Structure. Cambridge: MIT Press. Jackendoff, Ray. 1990. Semantic Structures. Cambridge: MIT Press. Lim, Dongsik, and Maria Luisa Zubizarreta. 2012. The syntax and semantics of inchoatives as directed motion: the case of Korean. In Violeta Demonte and Louise McNally. Eds., Telicity, Change, and State: A cross-categorial view of event structure, 212-241. Oxford: OUP. Mateu, Jaume, and Gemma Rigau. 2002. A minimalist account of conflation processes: parametric variation at the lexicon-syntax interface. In Artemis Alexiadou. Ed., Theoretical Approaches to Universals, 211-236. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. McIntyre, John. 2004. Event paths, conflation, argument structure, and VP shells. Linguistics 42(3): 523-571. Ramchand, Gillian. 2008. Verb Meaning and the Lexicon: A First Phase Syntax. Cambridge: CUP. Zubizarreta, Maria Luisa, and Eunjeong Oh. 2007. On the Syntactic Composition of Manner and Motion. Cambridge: MIT Press.

  45. Appendix: aspectual differences between two types of verbs

  46. Difference in aspectuality • Only COS verbs entail COS of the theme argument. (1) a. John-i ku yulichang-ul kkay-ess-ta. J.-Nom that window-Acc break-Past-Decl #Haciman kukes-uy moyang-un But it-Gen shape-Top pyenha-cianh-ass-ta. change-Neg-Past-Decl ‘John broke that window. #But its shape did not change.’

  47. Difference in aspectuality (cont.) • Only COS verbs entail COS of the theme argument. (1) b. John-i ku soystengli-lul twutulki-ess-ta. J.-Nom that chunk.of.metal-Acc pound-Past-Decl Haciman kukes-uy moyang-un But it-Gen shape-Top pyenha-cianh-ass-ta. change-Neg-Past-Decl ‘John pounded that chunk of metal. But its shape did not change.’

  48. Difference in aspectuality (cont.) • COS: telic (2) a. John-i ku yulichang-ul John-Nom that window-Acc ?10 pwun tongan / 10 pwun maney kkay-ess-ta. 10 min. for / 10 min. in break-Past-Decl ‘John broke that window ?for 10 minutes / in 10 minutes.’

  49. Difference in aspectuality (cont.) • Activity: atelic (3) b. John-i ku soystengeli-ul John-Nom that chunk.of.metal-Acc 10 pwun tongan / ?10 pwun maney twutulki-ess-ta. 10 min. for / 10 min. in pound-Past-Decl ‘John pounded that chunk of metal for 10 minutes / ?in 10 minutes.’

  50. Thank you! • Questions and/or comments are welcomed.

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