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4 - Semantic Macroroles

from Part Two - Topics in RRG: Simple Sentences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2023

Delia Bentley
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Ricardo Mairal Usón
Affiliation:
Universidad National de Educación a Distancia, Madrid
Wataru Nakamura
Affiliation:
Tohoku University, Japan
Robert D. Van Valin, Jr
Affiliation:
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
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Summary

This chapter offers an in-depth discussion of semantic macroroles and macrorole assignment in Role and Reference Grammar (RRG). In the first part, the RRG theory of thematic relations is discussed in the context of a brief history of theta roles and generalized semantic roles. The second part turns to the role of Aktionsart, semantic and syntactic transitivity, and causativity in macrorole assignment. Although the focus of the chapter is on standard RRG, the third part of the chapter discusses alternative approaches, concerning the number of macroroles that should be postulated and the semantic features that are relevant to macrorole assignment.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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