Journal of Semantics Advance Access originally published online on October 16, 2007
Journal of Semantics 2008 25(2):175-220; doi:10.1093/jos/ffm013
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What with? The Anatomy of a (Proto)-Role
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University of Nottingham
Correspondence: JEAN-PIERRE KOENIG, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York e-mail: jpkoenig{at}buffalo.edu
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Abstract |
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This paper describes a comprehensive survey of English verbs that semantically allow or require an Instrument role. It sheds light on the nature of Instrument roles and instrumentality by examining the distribution in semantic space of those verbs. We show first that verbs that semantically require instruments are typically semantically more complex than predicted by current theories of the structural complexity of verb meanings. We also show that verbs that require or allow instruments constrain the end states of situations they describe more than they constrain the agent's initial activity. Our survey further suggests that the causal role played by the instrument is more varied than suggested by previous studies and requires the introduction of a new subtype of causal relation, which we dub helping. Finally, our survey demonstrates that verbs that semantically require an instrument cluster together more closely in semantic space and constrain the instrument's (causal) role and properties more than verbs that merely allow the presence of an instrument.
Received for publication 24 August 2006. Revision received 3 May 2007. Accepted for publication 23 June 2007.