The concept of semantic roles has been central to linguistic theory for many decades. More specifically, the assumption of such representations as mediators in the correspondence between a linguistic form and its associated meaning has helped to address a number of critical issues related to grammatical phenomena. Furthermore, in addition to featuring in all major theories of grammar, semantic (or 'thematic') roles have been referred to extensively within a wide range of other linguistic subdisciplines, including language typology and psycho-/neurolinguistics. This volume brings together insights from these different perspectives and thereby, for the first time, seeks to build upon the obvious potential for cross-fertilisation between hitherto autonomous approaches to a common theme. To this end, a view on semantic roles is adopted that goes beyond the mere assumption of generalised roles, but also focuses on their hierarchical organisation. The book is thus centred around the interdisciplinary examination of how these hierarchical dependencies subserve argument linking - both in terms of linguistic theory and with respect to real-time language processing - and how they interact with other information types in this process. Furthermore, the contributions examine the interaction between the role hierarchy and the conceptual content of (generalised) semantic roles and investigate their cross-linguistic applicability and psychological reality, as well as their explanatory potential in accounting for phenomena in the domain of language disorders. In bridging the gap between different disciplines, the book provides a valuable overview of current thought on semantic roles and argument linking, and may further serve as a point of departure for future interdisciplinary research in this area. As such, it will be of interest to scientists and advanced students in all domains of linguistics and cognitive science.
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Provides a useful overview of the thinking on semantic roles and argument linking. This book examines the interaction between the role hierarchy and the conceptual content of (generalised) semantic roles and investigates their cross-linguistic applicability and psychological reality.
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Introduction Section 1: Theoretical concepts Chapter 1: Argument hierarchy and other factors determining argument realisation Dieter WunderlichChapter 2: Hierarchy mismatches and the dimensions of role semantics Beatrice PrimusChapter 3: Thematic roles - universal, particular, and idiosyncratic aspects Manfred Bierwisch Section 2: Cross-linguistic aspects Chapter 4: Experiencer constructions in Daghestanian languages Bernard Comrie and Helma van den BergChapter 5: Clause-level vs. predicate-level linking Balthasar BickelChapter 6: From meaning to syntax - semantic roles and beyond Walter BisangChapter 7: Meaning, form and function in basic case roles Georg Bossong Section 3: Psycho-/Neurolinguistic considerations Chapter 8: Semantic macroroles and language processing Robert D. Van Valin, Jr.Chapter 9: Thematic roles as event structure relations Maria M. PiñangoChapter 10: Generalised semantic roles and syntactic templates: A new framework for language comprehension Ina Bornkessel and Matthias Schlesewsky
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9783110186024
Publisert
2006-07-18
Utgiver
Vendor
De Gruyter Mouton
Vekt
780 gr
Høyde
230 mm
Bredde
155 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
371

Biographical note

Ina Bornkessel, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Matthias Schlesewsky, Philipps Universität Marburg, Germany; Bernard Comrie, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Angela D. Friederici, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.