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SUMMARY:Negotiating wages for verbs: The valency approach and argument str
 ucture constructions - Prof. Thomas Herbst (Friedrich-Alexander Universit
 ät Erlangen-Nürnberg)
DTSTART:20120131T160000Z
DTEND:20120131T180000Z
UID:TALK35948@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Anna Kibort
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract*\n\nThe central question to be addressed in this tal
 k is to what extent the syntactic valency patterns of verbs (such as 'mana
 ge to do' or 'succeed in doing') should be analysed as item-specific prope
 rties of the respective lexical units and to what extent they can be expla
 ined in terms of generalisations. This involves an outline of the approach
  taken by valency theory\, in particular the approach taken in the _Valenc
 y Dictionary of English_ (2004) and in _Introduction to Syntactic Analysis
 _. _A Valency Approach_ (2008). Parallels and differences between this app
 roach and classic German valency theory will be outlined briefly\, concent
 rating on the formal specification of the complements of verbs and the que
 stion of\noptionality of valency slots. One important methodological point
  here is that in the valency approach the levels of formal valency pattern
 s (as described in the Erlangen English Valency Patternbank:\n"www.pattern
 bank.uni-erlangen.de":http://www.patternbank.uni-erlangen.de) and the sema
 ntic level of participant patterns are being kept apart methodologically.\
 n\nThe valency approach will be compared with Adele Goldberg's (1995 and 2
 006) theory of argument structure constructions (such as the ditransitive 
 construction or the caused motion construction). Goldberg claims that argu
 ment structure constructions exist independently of the verbs that occur i
 n them\, which enables her to explain creative verb uses such as 'She snee
 zed the foam off the cappuccino'\, which would not be covered by a traditi
 onal valency analysis.\n\nIn the light of empirical evidence the character
  of generalisations in\nthis area will be investigated. Using evidence fro
 m the VDE and Susen Faulhaber's study of English valency patterns (2011) i
 t will be shown that a specification of the formal valency properties of v
 erbs is absolutely necessary and that Goldberg's account of argument struc
 ture constructions is formally underspecified.\n\nFinally\, possibilities 
 of combining the empirical valency approach and the theory of argument str
 ucture constructions will be explored.\n\n*References*\n\n* Faulhaber\, Su
 sen (2011): _Verb Valency Patterns_. _A Challenge for Semantics-Based Acco
 unts_. Berlin/New York: de Gruyter Mouton.\n* Goldberg\, Adele E. (1995): 
 _A Construction Grammar Approach to Argument Structure_. Chicago/London: U
 niversity of Chicago Press.\n* Goldberg\, Adele E. (2006): _Constructions 
 at Work_. _The Nature of Generalization in Language_. Oxford: Oxford Unive
 rsity Press.\n* Herbst\, Thomas\, David Heath\, Ian Roe and Dieter Götz (
 2004): _A Valency Dictionary of English_. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyt
 er. [VDE]\n* Herbst\, Thomas and Susen Schüller (2008): _Introduction to 
 Syntactic Analysis_. _A Valency Approach_. Tübingen: Narr.\n
LOCATION:GR-06/07\, English Faculty Building
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