Mental state, volition and argument realization

Abstract

We explore argument realization in the resultative V-de construction under the framework of the Theta System. We find that the theta grids of the resultative V-de construction are of two types, i.e., ([+c-m], [-c]) and ([+c­m], [-m]), depending on the (a-)thematic relation between the verb and second/internal argument. Crucially, the external argument always has a /- m feature (the minus value of the mental state), regardless of its animacy, leading to a non-volitional Agent reading (animate) and a Cause reading (inanimate). It is due to this [+c-m] feature cluster that the construction yields an unintended result reading, which captures its preference for the occurrence of dou ‘unexpectedly’ in the construction. In this sense, the resultative V-de construction can be considered as a non-volitional counterpart to its de-less counterpart. This contrast signals the grammatical/morphological coding of volition, with the assistance of de, in Mandarin Chinese. As for the internal argument, it can be either [-c] or [-m], and their syntactic and semantic differences lend credence to the distinction between “outer objects” and “outermost objects”. The syntactic distribution of [-c] is sensitive to animacy, with animate [-c] being allowed to in both [NP1 V-de NP2 XP] and [NP1 ba-NP2 V-de XP], and inanimate [-c] in [NP1 ba-NP2 V-de XP] only, due to the interactions between animacy and case. As for [-m], it occurs in [NP1 V-de NP2 XP], in which NP2 is not thematically related to V and ba-introduction is barred. This study enriches the Theta System with Chinese data, in special regard to how animacy, mental state, and volition may affect argument realization.

Link to publication in Project MUSE

Link to publication in Scopus