Applying RRG to the Lexical Paradigms of Old English Strong Verbs

Luisa Fidalgo Allo

doi:10.58859/rael.v23i1.582

Authors

Luisa Fidalgo Allo University of La Rioja

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58859/rael.v23i1.582

Keywords:

Role and Reference Grammar, Old English, Lexical paradigm, Verb, Aktionsart

Abstract

This article tests the current Role and Reference Grammar (RRG) taxonomy in the lexical paradigms of Old English strong verbs. The data have been extracted from the lexical database Nerthus and consists of 328 lexical paradigms and 1,509 verbs. Lexical paradigms have been identified and reviewed. Then, the Aktionsart taxonomy in RRG has been applied to each verb. The conclusions address both theoretical and descriptive aspects. On the theoretical side, this study offers a critical review of the RRG theory and proposes updates such as the addition of a new Aktionsart type for describing unbounded processes. Additionally, the analysis offers a fresh perspective on the nature of causative states and identifies a significant group of verbs that do not fit into any of the Aktionsart classes in RRG, presenting a solution. On the descriptive side, the research finds RRG applicable to Old English with consideration of its findings.

Author Biography

Luisa Fidalgo Allo, University of La Rioja

Luisa Fidalgo Allo. Inicio mi carrera investigadora en 2012 con la concesión de una beca predoctoral FPI por parte de la Universidad de la Rioja. Desde ese momento pertenezco al Grupo de Investigación de Gramáticas Funcionales: Aplicaciones Sincrónicas y Diacrónicas a la Lengua Inglesa de la Universidad de La Rioja. En el año 2016 defendí mi tesis titulada: The Semantic Map of Verbal Troponymy and Aktionsart of Old English Lexical Paradigms Based on Strong Verbs, la cual presenta un mapa semántico dual (troponimia y Aktionsart) de los paradigmas léxicos de los verbos fuertes del inglés antiguo. Profesora del Departamento de Filologías Modernas de la universidad de La Rioja desde el año 2017. Docencia en lingüística aplicada e idioma, tanto en estudios de Grado como en el Máster Universitario de Profesorado.

References

Bosworth, J. & Toller, N. T. (1973). An AngloSaxon Dictionary (7th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cambridge University Press. (2023). Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/

Clark Hall, J. R. (1984). A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (4th ed.). With a supplement by H. D. Meritt. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Cortés Rodríguez, F. (2014). Aspectual features in Role and Reference Grammar: A layered proposal. Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada, 27, 23-53. doi: 10.1075/RESLA.27.1.02COR

Dowty, D. (1991). Thematic proto-roles and argument selection. Language, 67, 547-619. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/415037

Filip, H. (1993). Aspect, Situation Types and Noun Phrase Semantics. PhD dissertation, University of California, USA.

[Available at https://escholarship.org/content/qt6dm5t1tr/qt6dm5t1tr.pdf]

Fidalgo Allo, L. (2022). The semantic map of Aktionsart and lexical entailment of Old English strong verbs. Journal of English Studies, 20, 59-86. doi: 10.18172/jes.5185

Fidalgo Allo, L. (2023). Semantic inheritance in the lexical paradigms of Old English strong verbs. SELIM: Journal of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature, 28(1), 1-17. doi: 10.17811/selim.28.2023

Foley, W. & Van Valin, R. (1984). Functional Syntax and Universal Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

García García, L. (2019). The basic valency orientation of Old English and the causative ja-formation: A synchronic and diachronic approach. English Language and Linguistics, 24(1), 153-177. doi: 10.1017/S1360674318000345

Krifka, M. (1992). Thematic relations as links between nominal reference and temporal constitution. In I. Sag & A. Szabolsci (Eds.), Lexical Matters (pp. 29-54). Standford: CSLI.

Lacalle Palacios, M. (2021). Old English verbs of learning: Information and knowledge acquisition. SELIM: Journal of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature, 26(1), 25-56. doi: 10.17811/selim.26.2021.25-56

Lacalle Palacios, M. (2022). Old English verbs of depriving: The semantics and syntax of possession transfer. Studia Neophilologica, 94(1), 32-58. doi:

1080/00393274.2021.1879672

Martín Arista, J. (Ed.), García Fernández, M., Lacalle Palacios, M., Ojanguren López, A. E. & Ruiz Narbona, E. (2016). NerthusV3. Online Lexical Database of Old English. Nerthus Project. Universidad de La Rioja. Retrieved from https://www.nerthusproject.com/

Martín Arista, J. (2019). Another look at Old English zero derivation and alternations. Atlantis, 41(1), 163-182. doi: 10.28914/Atlantis-2019-41.1.09

Martín Arista, J. (2020). Old English rejoice verbs. Derivation, grammatical behaviour and class membership. Poetica, 93, 133-153.

Martín Arista, J. (2022). The syntax and semantics of the Old English predicative construction. In N. Lavidas & K. Nikiforidou (Eds.), Language Change and Linguistic Theory in the 21st Century (pp. 102-132). Amsterdam: Brill.

Ojanguren López, A. E. (2020). The semantics and syntax of Old English end verbs. Atlantis, 42(1), 163-188. doi: 10.28914/Atlantis-2020-42.1.09

Ojanguren López, A. E. (2021). Interclausal relations with Old English verbs of inaction: Synchronic variation and diachronic change. RESLA-Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada, 34(2), 555-584. doi: 10.1075/RESLA.19040.OJA

Pavey, E. (2010). The Structure of Language: An Introduction to Grammatical Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Pounder, A. (2000). Processes and Paradigms in Word-Formation Morphology. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Rothstein, S. (2004). Structuring Events: A Study in the Semantics of Lexical Aspect. Oxford: Blackwell.

Sweet, H. (1976). The Student’s Dictionary of AngloSaxon (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tenny, C. (1994). Aspectual Roles and the Syntax-Semantics Interface. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

Van Valin, R. Jr. & LaPolla, R. (1997). Syntax: Structure, Meaning and Function. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Van Valin, R. Jr. (2005). Exploring the Syntax-Semantics Interface. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Van Valin, R. Jr. (2014, October). Some questions concerning accomplishments. Paper presented at the 2014 Symposium on Verbs, Clauses and Constructions. La Rioja, Logroño.

Van Valin, R. Jr. (2018). Some issues regarding (active) accomplishments. In R. Kailuweit, L. Künkel & E. Staudinger (Eds.), Applying and Expanding Role and Reference Grammar (pp. 71-94). Freiburg: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.

Vendler, Z. (1967). Linguistics in Philosophy (2nd ed.). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Visser, F. T. (1963). An Historical Syntax of the English Language. Vol. I: Syntactical Units with One Verb. Leiden: E. J. Brill.