Kim, Youngjin;
(2025)
On the argument structure of object experiencer verbs.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis investigates the argument structure of object experiencer verbs, with a focus on Class II verbs (e.g. frighten, annoy). The widely accepted view of such verbs in Chomskyan linguistics is that they contain three thematic roles, a Cause, an Experiencer, and a Subject Matter (SM), but that the Cause and the SM cannot be realized together (the T/SM restriction). I adopt the null hypothesis that all causatives – whether psychological or not – introduce just two roles, namely a Cause and an undergoer (Theme or Experiencer) and explore whether this hypothesis can be reconciled with various syntactic and semantic characteristics of psych verbs. The first issue I tackle is how one might capture the pervasive eventive/stative ambiguity observed in Class II verbs and show that this can be achieved without resorting to alternative projection patterns, as in the standard view. The second problem I explore is to do with the intensionality of Class II verbs, a topic that has received little or no attention. I first demonstrate that stative Class II verbs are intensional in their subject, but that their eventive counterparts are not. While this data pattern appears to provide an argument for the alternative projection patterns put forward under the standard view, I show that the facts can be equally well accounted for if Class II verbs invariably project a Cause, regardless of their aspectual properties. The last problem I address is that the reduced counterpart of a Class II verb apparently may project a SM. I develop and assess two routes for resolving this conundrum (one taking the SM to be an argument, the other taking it to be an adjunct). Overall, I conclude that the null hypothesis is viable, and preferable to the standard view that Class II verbs have three thematic roles.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | On the argument structure of object experiencer verbs |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Linguistics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10204102 |
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