The causative-inchoative alternation (as we know it) might fall short. Crosslanguage systematicities and untapped data from Romance and Greek

MANGIALAVORI RASIA, MARÍA EUGENIA

Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory

John Benjamins

Año: 2021

1574-552X

This paper challenges the claim that internal arguments are stable arguments in the causative-inchoative alternation by taking seriously the idea that a third (external-argument-only) variant, allowed by the standard combinatorial system, is possible (systematic in Romance). We contend that composition with a null causative vo independent of the internal-argument-licensing head: (ⅰ)predicts and explains all the hallmarks of these monadic (causative-stative) variants; (ⅱ)correctly preserves event/argument structure correlation (no internal-argument-introducing head, no change-of-state event); (ⅲ)brings out a crosslanguage contrast, reflecting in ±availability of cause(r) interpretation of unique arguments in unmarked (equipollent) derivations. My argument is supported by a parallel with non-Romance languages with comparable morphology (Greek). Such symmetries show a transparent morpho-semantic-syntactic correlation in the choice of argument frame, extending to other verb classes with transitivity alternation. Greek/Romance support a (a) wider causative alternation with expected semantic/syntactic/mor￾phological implications; (b) (missing) structural distinction among (in)transitiv￾ity alternations.