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Date: 21-Apr-2006 From: Chao Li <chao.liyale.edu> Subject: Resultatives with 'Scare'-Reading
Dear all,
I am working on resultatives, and would like to know whether there are any other languages that allow the “scare”-reading shown by the following two examples of Mandarin resultative verb compounds.
(1) Na-kuai paigu kan-dun-le san-ba dao. that-CL sparerib cut-blunt-PERF three-CL knife ‘That sparerib got three knives blunt as a result of the cutting (by some specific person).’
(2) Na-bao yifu xi-lei-le Zhangsan. that-CL clothes wash-tired-PERF Zhangsan ‘(Zhangsan washed that bundle of clothes) and the clothes caused Zhangsan to become tired.’
In both examples, the internal argument of the causing predicate of a resultative is realized in subject position. The resulting reading is analogous to that expressed by lexical causatives like “scare” (as in “The tiger scared the child”).
My question is: Are there other languages that have resultatives (whether in compound form or not) and allow them to have the “scare”-reading?
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