Productive argument selection: Is lexical semantics enough?

This paper is concerned with the ability of lexical semantic classes to predict the behavior of argument structures in productively selecting novel lexical material. It will be argued that while lexical semantic classes can explain a great deal about the spectrum of potential arguments and resulting entailments for those arguments, constructions which are synonymous from a formal semantic perspective exhibit significant differences in their empirically observed propensity for argument realization. Using corpus data and methods from Baayen’s morphological productivity paradigm, I will show that such differences are not restricted to lexicalized, collocational preferences, but also extend to the readiness with which different constructions admit novel arguments.