Remapping variable subject position in Spanish intransitives: A proposal for functionally defined categories in motion verbs

Abstract: In Spanish, a SVO language with variable word order, post-verbal subjects have been proposed to be favored for particular verb categories. For instance, based on agentivity, unaccusatives are proposed to favor VS as a whole. Motion verbs are regarded as unaccusatives generally favoring VS order. An alternative analysis is presented here, using data from two conversational corpora. Motion verbs are recategorized based on their predicted tendency to include adverbials in the sentence and compared with other unaccusatives. Motion verbs are divided according to their Deictic Function (Talmy 2000) into “come” verbs (i.e., “motion-toward-the-center,” that is, the speaker), and “go” verbs. “Come” verbs do not often require target specification through an adverbial, whereas “go” verbs do. Adverbials were found to appear as post-verbal path specification in “go” verbs; due to weight factors, such specifiers favor pre-verbal subjects. Importantly, even when no modifier is present, trends persist, suggesting entrenchment of usage patterns.

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Work Title Remapping variable subject position in Spanish intransitives: A proposal for functionally defined categories in motion verbs
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Manuel F. Pulido
Keyword
  1. Subject position
  2. Unaccusatives
  3. Weight factors
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. John Benjamins Publishing Company
Publication Date July 27, 2021
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. 10.1075/sic.19006.pul
Source
  1. Spanish in Context
Deposited June 02, 2022

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  • Created

    June 02, 2022 16:19 by Scholarly Communications and Copyright

  • Added Pre-Print_Pulido_Remapping_VS_intransitives_SpanishInContext-1.pdf

    June 02, 2022 16:19 by Scholarly Communications and Copyright

  • Added Creator Manuel F. Pulido

    June 02, 2022 16:19 by Scholarly Communications and Copyright

  • Published

    June 02, 2022 16:19 by Scholarly Communications and Copyright

  • Updated Description Show Changes

    June 03, 2022 13:12 by pmk5516

    Description
    • <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
    • <jats:p>In Spanish, a SVO language with variable word order, post-verbal subjects have been proposed to be favored for
    • particular verb categories. For instance, based on agentivity, unaccusatives are proposed to favor VS as a whole. Motion verbs are
    • regarded as unaccusatives generally favoring VS order. An alternative analysis is presented here, using data from two
    • conversational corpora. Motion verbs are recategorized based on their predicted tendency to include adverbials in the sentence and
    • compared with other unaccusatives. Motion verbs are divided according to their Deictic Function (<jats:xref>Talmy 2000</jats:xref>) into “come” verbs (i.e., “motion-toward-the-center,” that is, the speaker), and “go” verbs.
    • “Come” verbs do not often require target specification through an adverbial, whereas “go” verbs do. Adverbials were found to
    • appear as post-verbal path specification in “go” verbs; due to weight factors, such specifiers favor pre-verbal subjects.
    • Importantly, even when no modifier is present, trends persist, suggesting entrenchment of usage patterns.</jats:p>
    • Abstract:
    • In Spanish, a SVO language with variable word order, post-verbal subjects have been proposed to be favored for particular verb categories. For instance, based on agentivity, unaccusatives are proposed to favor VS as a whole. Motion verbs are regarded as unaccusatives generally favoring VS order. An alternative analysis is presented here, using data from two conversational corpora. Motion verbs are recategorized based on their predicted tendency to include adverbials in the sentence and compared with other unaccusatives. Motion verbs are divided according to their Deictic Function (Talmy 2000) into “come” verbs (i.e., “motion-toward-the-center,” that is, the speaker), and “go” verbs. “Come” verbs do not often require target specification through an adverbial, whereas “go” verbs do. Adverbials were found to appear as post-verbal path specification in “go” verbs; due to weight factors, such specifiers favor pre-verbal subjects. Importantly, even when no modifier is present, trends persist, suggesting entrenchment of usage patterns.
  • Updated Keyword Show Changes

    June 03, 2022 13:13 by pmk5516

    Keyword
    • Subject position, Unaccusatives, Weight factors
  • Updated

    April 04, 2024 10:21 by [unknown user]