Semantic Prominence and Argument Realization
Course 123
LSA Linguistic Institute
Summer 2005
MIT/Harvard
General Information:
- Instructor: Beth Levin, Department of Linguistics, Stanford University
- Dates: Session 1 (June 27-July 16, 2005)
- Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:10am-11:50am
- Place: MIT, Room 32-155
Course Description:
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.
Course Requirements:
Completion of ONE problem chosen from the list of problems
handed out in class (pdf).
Text:
Levin, B. and M. Rappaport Hovav (2005) Argument
Realization, Cambridge University Press.
Course Reader:
Available at CopyTech (See syllabus for contents)
Handouts from Lectures
NOTE: The material in some of these lectures appears in an updated form in
the lecture notes for my class Lexical Semantics and
Argument Realization at the DGfS/GLOW 2006 Summer School.
Introduction: Mapping from Lexical Semantics to Syntax
- Part I: The Problem of Argument Realization
- Part II: Approaches to Preserving Meaning in the Semantics-Syntax Mapping
The Thematic Hierarchy: A Window into Semantic Prominence
Delineating Semantic Determinants of Argument Realization and the
Interactions among Them
Is Aspect a Semantic Determinant of Argument Realization?
Structuring Event Structure
The Dative Alternation and the Ranking of Recipients, Goals, and Themes
Return to Beth Levin's
home page.