Linking Experiencer-Subject Psych Verb Constructions in Modern Greek

“Optimal” Linking for Modern Greek Psych Verb Constructions

Psych verbs in English and Mandarin

Psych verb constructions show peculiar properties. They appear to project the same θ -relations into inverse configurations (John fears sharks/Sharks frighten John). Furthermore, Experiencer Object psych verb constructions admit backward binding in apparent violation of familiar c-command conditions (Pictures of himself anger John). We offer a solution to both puzzles drawing crucially on data ...

Lexical Contribution to Discourse Inference and Interpretation

Experiencer or psych verbs are a notorious problem for the interface between lexical semantics and syntax (e.g., Grimshaw 1990, Pesetsky 1995). This paper shows that the consideration of discourse structure sheds new light on the data observed in the literature. In particular, this paper follows Asher and Lascarides’ (1995, 2003) and Asher and Pustejovsky’s (2000) ideas on the close interaction...

Thematic roles in Alzheimer’s disease: Hierarchy violations in psychological predicates

The nature of the verb deficit in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was investigated with a special focus on thematic-role assignment, employing verbs whose argument realization follows canonical thematic hierarchy, with Agent and Theme as main roles (e.g., The hunter killed the deer), and verbs whose argument realization deviates from canonical hierarchy, such as psych verbs (e.g., fear, frighten). Sub...

Acquisition of lightverbhood: evidence from Cypriot Greek

This experiment investigates the acquisition of (true) light verb constructions (in the sense of Kearns 1988/2002) as well as other constructions that involve a light verb in Cypriot Greek. Focusing on the acquisition of the light verb kamno ‘do/make’, this study aims to identify (i) whether light verb constructions are more frequent in Cypriot Greek than in Standard Modern Greek, (ii) what the...