Abstract
The paper pinpoints problems of a morpheme-based approach to de-verbal nominalizations as advocated by Grimshaw (1990) and Alexiadou and Grimshaw (2008). It is argued that nominalizations are capable of exhibiting the process/result dichotomy regardless of their formal exponent and there are two types of regular nominals which differ in terms of their aspectual characteristics. Nominalizations in -ing, which in Grimshaw’s model are regarded as Complex Event Nominals analyzable in terms of aspectual distinctions and having an associated argument structure, may display the process/result dichotomy and some concrete -ing formations can pluralize (building). Zero nominalizations, in turn, which are regarded as Simple Event Nominals with no a-structure, are demonstrated to be capable of appearing with satellite phrases corresponding to verbal arguments. They are telic, i.e. denote events and therefore have an aspectual analysis. Regardless of their actional interpretation, Grimshaw treats zero derivatives on a par with result nominalizations because they are countable and can pluralize, whereas, in fact, countability points to their telic character. Being telic they do not accept aspectual modifiers (for an hour, in an hour) or modifiers like frequent or constant, unless they are in the plural. Also their limited ability to accept NP satellite phrases may be explained in terms of their aspectual characteristics. Consequently, the properties of nominalizations are a reflection of the properties of two productive lexical rules which generate countable and uncountable nominalizations and lexicalization phenomena. Formal exponents should be regarded merely as clues rather than determinants of meaning/function.
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Notes
- 1.
By choosing the “event structure theory” of Grimshaw we also refer indirectly to the “structure model”, in which nouns that have Argument Structure in their representation contain VPs and/or verbal functional layers (e.g. Fu et al. 2001; Alexiadou 2001, 2009; Roeper 2005; Harley 2009). Alexiadou and Grimshaw (2008: 10) compare both models and conclude that “the principal difficulties arise from the non-uniformity of deverbal nominalization patterns: different affixation types exhibit different behaviour. The successes and failures of the two models occur on exactly the same questions. What one describes, the other describes. What one fails to explain, the other fails to explain, and for fundamentally the same reasons.”
- 2.
The lexical representation of verbs has two facets, i.e. syntactic representation (Argument Structure) and semantic representation, which following Hale and Keyser (1986) has come to be known as the “lexical conceptual structure” (LCS). LCS serves as a representation of the verb’s meaning and among others specifies semantic relations obtaining between participants and spatio-temporal organization of the event. Despite close correlation between the two structures it is important to keep them distinct since there is no simple one-to-one mapping of theta roles and various syntactic roles or surface cases. Only true arguments (Pustejovsky 1995: 63–64) are necessarily mapped onto/expressed as syntactic constituents (John arrived late), whereas default arguments (John built a house out of bricks), and shadow arguments (Mary buttered her toast with an expensive butter) are not. The opposite situation is just as conceivable, i.e. there may be verbs with supernumerary syntactic arguments which contribute nothing to the semantics, e.g. reflexive arguments of perjure oneself, avail oneself of X. Furthermore, synonymous verbs may feature in different syntactic configurations, e.g. replace X with Y, substitute Y for X (Jackendoff 2010: 16–17). The level of Argument Structure introduced by Grimshaw (1990) is that part of the lexical entry which interfaces LCS representation and deep structure. It is derived from Lexical-Conceptual Structure via thematic and aspectual hierarchy.
- 3.
Apart from Beard (1976, 1985, 1995) it is also argued for by Laskowski (1981), Szymanek (1985), Malicka-Kleparska (1985, 1988), Aronoff (1994), and Bloch-Trojnar (2006). Lexical and syntactic rules are abstract operations, which apply to the grammatical representation of a lexeme, whereas affixation and other morphological processes (prosodic variation, internal modification, ∅, etc.) are effected in an autonomous postsyntactic Morphological Spelling Component.
- 4.
In the “structure model” argument taking properties of nominalizations depend on where the affix is attached: -ing is specified for “high/outer cycle attachment” and contains verbal projections, ∅ is specified for “low/root attachment”, contains no verbal projections and, therefore, has no argument structure, whereas Latinate suffixes can be doubly specified or underspecified.
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- 6.
Malicka-Kleparska (1988: 165) observes that civilizing and civilization are equivalent and interchangeable on the actional/process interpretation but not in the lexicalized sense.
… to attempt the civilization of the Australian aborigines
the civilizing of the Highlands of Scotland …
the ancient civilizations / *civilizings
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- 8.
In Levin (1993: 2–3) many verbal diathesis alternations (e.g. causative-inchotative) are regarded as rule governed conversions, i.e. a particular word is used in two lexical categories, because they show clear changes in argument structure, e.g. The window broke. vs. The little boy broke the window.
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Bloch-Trojnar, M. (2011). A Morphologist’s Perspective on “Event Structure Theory” of Nominalizations. In: Pawlak, M., Bielak, J. (eds) New Perspectives in Language, Discourse and Translation Studies. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20083-0_5
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