"The argument/satellite distinction and absolute verbal use in Latin stative verbs" (original) (raw)

As the title suggests, this study adopts a functional framework, in which the lexicon of predicates is taken to be the predetermining factor in their syntactic conditions of use: the number of the obligatory elements required and their lexical and functional characteristics. Accordingly, this paper will begin by addressing the problematic issue of the distinction between constituents obligatorily demanded by the predicate for the grammaticality of the construction (arguments) and elements which are not necessary for this (satellites). The issue arises not only from a general perspective, but also in specific cases, such as that of three Latin predicates that share —among other things— a semantic notion of “permanence”: maneo, permaneo and remaneo. At the same time, and given that these verbs are also linked by the mechanism of preverbation, it is essential to examine also whether the presence of different preverbs modifies the syntactic characteristics of structures forming the verbs, as well as the potential semantic differences between them. For this reason, the current session consists of two different but closely interrelated blocks. In the first section I will begin with a study of material drawn from use-based lexicons and corpus analysis of the verbs in question, with the aim of facilitating a first approach to the differentiation (i) of the semantic content that they can have, and (ii) of their possible general complementation patterns. It is in this part of the investigation that a fuller assessment will be made of the problems that arise in the determination of the possible argumental nature of some constituents and the question of absolute verbal uses; this point is seen with greater complexity given the proximity between the content of a locative, existential and/or copulative nature found in various stative verbs. The study of lexical features of the various constituents with which the verb combines, the comparison with the behaviour of other (quasi-)synonymous predicates, and the importance of pragmatic information, will be mechanisms to help identify the syntactic-semantic nature of each case, without the existence of ambiguous cases being possible to rule out entirely. The study of syntactic-semantic differences between the simple verb and its corresponding compounds will be addressed in the second section. For this purpose, various procedures of analysis will serve to confirm the possible differences proposed thus far; these procedures will be, essentially, the study (a) of the expression of the duration of permanence, and (b) of the contexts of co-occurrence of simple verbs and verbs with a preverb. Differences will not always be clear, which suggests a possible neutralization of the expected distinctions in some cases, in such a way that the language is seen to be compelled occasionally to draw on additional lexical and grammatical means for explicitly specifying these presumed distinctions. References Baños, José M., Cabrillana, Concepción, Torrego, M. Esperanza & de la Villa, Jesús (eds.) (2003), Praedicatiua. Complementación en griego y en latín, Anejo 53 de Verba, Santiago de Compostela, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. Database REGLA (“Rección y complementación en griego y latín” [“Corpus of government and complementation on Greek and Latin”]): < http://www.uam.es/proyectosinv/regula/index.html>. Dik, Simon C. (1989), The Theory of Functional Grammar. Part I: The structure of the clause, Dordrecht, Foris. Pinkster, Harm (2015), Oxford Latin Syntax. I: The Simple Clause, preliminary version (accessed on 02/2015). Torrego, M. Esperanza, Baños, José M., Cabrillana, Concepción & Méndez Dosuna, Julián (eds.) (2007), Praedicatiua II. Esquemas de complementación verbal en griego antiguo y latín, Zaragoza, Universidad de Zaragoza. Van Valin, Robert D. & LaPolla, Randy J. (1997), Syntax: structure, meaning and function, Cambridge, CUP.