A semantic explanation for the External Argument Generalization |
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Authors: | Ariel Cohen |
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Institution: | 1.Dept. of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics,Ben-Gurion University of the Negev,Beer-Sheva,Israel |
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Abstract: | -Er nominals usually obey the External Argument Generalization: the argument of the nominal receives the thematic role that the verb assigns to its external argument. I argue that this syntactic generalization, as well as the exceptions to it, can be explained by semantics.Specifically, -er nominals usually express properties that are inherent in the subject; I argue that they therefore belong to the class of expressions that express such properties—dynamic modals. Crucially, dynamic modals are subject oriented; hence, the proposal that -er nominals are dynamic modals naturally provides an account of the External Argument Generalization. |
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