Thematic role assignment in non-default verb classes: A cross-linguistic comparison of English and German

• Published in: Glossa (London) Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 1 - 26
• Main Authors: Kyriaki, Louise, Schlesewsky, Matthias, Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Open Library of Humanities 18.11.2021; Ubiquity Press
• Subjects: agent-subject; Animacy; Comparative linguistics; Competition Model; Context; cross-linguistic; English; English language; experiencer-subject; German; German language; Influence; Language; Linguistics; Noun phrases; Questions; Research Article; Semantics; Sentences; Thematic roles; Verbs; Word order; cross-linguistic; experiencer-subject; English; German; Competition Model; agent-subject

The influence of sentential cues (such as animacy and word order) on thematic role interpretation differs as a function of language (MacWhinney et al. 1984). However, existing cross-linguistic research has typically focused on transitive sentences involving agents, and interpretation of non-default...