LINGUIST List 21.2406 Sun May 30 2010 Diss: Cog Sci/Semantics/Syntax: Dekova: 'Lexical Encoding of Verbs ...' Editor for this issue: Mfon Udoinyang <mfonlinguistlist.org> To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm. Directory         1.    Rositsa Dekova, Lexical Encoding of Verbs in English and Bulgarian Message 1: Lexical Encoding of Verbs in English and Bulgarian Date: 30-May-2010 From: Rositsa Dekova <rosdekdcl.bas.bg> Subject: Lexical Encoding of Verbs in English and Bulgarian E-mail this message to a friend Institution: Norwegian University of Science and Technology Program: Department of English Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2006 Author: Rositsa Panayotova Dekova Dissertation Title: Lexical Encoding of Verbs in English and Bulgarian Dissertation URL: http://ntnu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?searchId=1&pid=diva2:124394 Linguistic Field(s): Cognitive Science                             Semantics                             Syntax Subject Language(s): Bulgarian (bul)                             English (eng) Dissertation Director: Mila Dimitrova-Vulchanova Dissertation Abstract: The project investigates the information which is lexically-encoded in verbs, its semantic representation and the mapping of semantic participants onto syntax, reflected in various syntactic patterns and alternations. For the purposes of the project, empirical data from two Indo-European languages, English and Bulgarian, were analysed for the type of semantic participants involved in the situations lexicalized by a selected set of verbs (Verbs of Force emission) and the possible syntactic realizations of these participants. Each of the participants in the situations denoted by the verbs was ascribed a bundle of semantic features characterizing it on different dimensions which reflected the various aspects of involvement of the participant in the situation at hand. The representational format follows the format and assumptions adopted in The Sign Model (Dimitrova-Vulchanova 1996/99). The corpus data analyses provided evidence for a distinction between two basic types of situations lexicalized by the verbs at hand, respectively dubbed Contact (situation) and (a situation of) Conditioning or Conditioned event. The examined verbs displayed a strong tendency to group according to the type of situation they can lexicalize. Thus, verbs denoting Contact situations shared patterns of alternation as opposed to verbs denoting a Conditioned event. Hence, two groups of verbs emerged based on similarities in their syntactic behaviour, which in turn was assumed also to reflect the target semantic features ascribed to participants in the situations lexicalized by the verbs at hand. In addition, both languages attested the so-called Dual Lexicalization Pattern, in that some verbs can apparently encode events of both types. Thus, these verbs can choose a frame (representational format) according to the type of situation they lexicalize. Therefore, the verbs could not be merely listed as members of more than one list. Instead, a more net-like pattern of distribution was employed, accounting for the possibility of one verb to lexicalize situations of different types. Thus, the verbs were linked to each other and grouped in accordance with the types of situations they can lexicalize and the set of values of their participants. The information extracted from the corpus data analyses and the respective lexical representations outlined for the verbs at hand were then checked against native speakers' intuitions. Following the adopted model of lexical encoding of verbs I have expected higher percentages of continuation related to participants included in the verbs' suggested representations. These expectations were based on recent research by Koenig et al (2002, 2003) showing that lexically encoded participant information is activated upon recognition of the word and is more likely to appear in a language production task. The results received in the online sentence continuation studies unambiguously confirmed the predictions made in advance, thus substantiating the outlined representational format. Namely, there were higher percentages of continuations related to participants assumed to be lexically encoded in the verbs at hand. In addition, the responses in the continuation task substantiated the grouping of the verbs outlined above and the multi-dimensional model of representation. Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue Page Updated: 30-May-2010       About LINGUIST    |   Contact Us       While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents.