The Semantic Basis of Argument Structure

Download or read book The Semantic Basis of Argument Structure written by Stephen Wechsler and published by Center for the Study of Language and Information Publications. This book was released on 1995-06-30 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A central problem on the syntax-semantics interface is the mapping between semantic roles and syntactic arguments, usually termed 'linking'. This book presents a clear and concise treatment of linking which departs significantly from models employing a problematical intermediate level where roles are classified into thematic role types such as 'agent' and 'goal'. Instead, the connection between a verb's meaning and its argument structure is shown to be quite direct. This direct connection appeals to certain fundamental aspects of verb meaning, while more specific semantic relations such as 'goal' are relevant to linking only when such relations are associated with the meanings of prepositions and similar forms. As a result, the theory is firmly grounded in the semantic content of verbs and prepositions.