@cite{pylkkanen-2008} — Introducing Arguments #
@cite{pylkkanen-2008} @cite{cuervo-2003} @cite{barss-lasnik-1986}
Linguistic Inquiry Monographs 49. MIT Press.
Core Claims #
High vs Low Applicatives: Applicative heads come in two semantic types. Low Appl merges below V, relating the applied argument to the theme (transfer-of-possession):
[VP V [ApplP goal [Appl theme]]]. High Appl merges above VP, relating the applied argument to the event (benefactive):[VoiceP agent [Voice [ApplP benef [Appl [VP V theme]]]]].Semantic type distinction: High Appl denotes an individual-event relation
λx.λe. Appl(x,e). Low Appl denotes an individual-individual relationλx.λy.λf.λe. f(e,x) & theme(e,x) & to-the-possession(x,y).Low recipient vs low source: Low applicatives split into recipient (
ApplTo: transfer to applied arg) and source (ApplFrom: transfer from applied arg). English DOC is low recipient; Korean theft constructions and Hebrew possessor datives are low source.C-command asymmetries: In both configurations, the applied argument asymmetrically c-commands the theme. This derives the @cite{barss-lasnik-1986} binding asymmetries structurally.
Cross-linguistic variation: English, Japanese, and Korean have LOW Appl; Bantu languages (Chaga, Luganda, Venda) and Albanian have HIGH Appl.
Diagnostics (Table 2.1, p. 33) #
| Test | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Can unergatives be applicativized? | Yes | No |
| 2. Can static verbs be applicativized? | Yes | No |
| 3. (If language has English-style depictives) is the | ||
| applied argument available for depictive modification? | Yes | No |
Test 3 is conditional on the language having depictive secondary
predicates with the English distribution. Korean lacks them entirely,
and Venda/Albanian have too-broad depictives — in those languages
Test 3 is inapplicable, not "fails." See ApplDiagnosticResult
in Theories/Syntax/Minimalism/ApplicativeDiagnostics.lean.
Cross-references #
Studies/Larson1988.lean: VP shell predecessor — same c-command hierarchy (IO > DO) derived differently. Bridge theorem below proves convergence.Studies/Kratzer1996.leanPart III: Voice-based tree derivations (transitive, anticausative) using the same infrastructure.
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- Pylkkanen2008.voice_ag_t = Minimalist.mkLeafPhon Minimalist.Cat.Voice [Minimalist.Cat.V] "Voice[AG]" 400
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- Pylkkanen2008.appl_low_t = Minimalist.mkLeafPhon Minimalist.Cat.Appl [Minimalist.Cat.D] "Appl[LOW]" 402
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- Pylkkanen2008.appl_high_t = Minimalist.mkLeafPhon Minimalist.Cat.Appl [Minimalist.Cat.V] "Appl[HI]" 403
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- Pylkkanen2008.DP_john_t = Minimalist.mkLeafPhon Minimalist.Cat.D [] "John" 406
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- Pylkkanen2008.DP_mary_t = Minimalist.mkLeafPhon Minimalist.Cat.D [] "Mary" 407
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- Pylkkanen2008.DP_letter_t = Minimalist.mkLeafPhon Minimalist.Cat.D [] "a letter" 408
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- Pylkkanen2008.DP_wife_t = Minimalist.mkLeafPhon Minimalist.Cat.D [] "wife" 409
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- Pylkkanen2008.DP_food_t = Minimalist.mkLeafPhon Minimalist.Cat.D [] "food" 410
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Ditransitive with low applicative: "John sent Mary a letter"
[VoiceP John [Voice' Voice_AG [VP sent [ApplP Mary [Appl' Appl_LOW [DP a letter]]]]]]
Low Appl merges below V: V takes ApplP as complement. The goal (Mary) is in Spec-ApplP, c-commanding the theme (a letter) in complement of Appl. This derives the @cite{barss-lasnik-1986} asymmetry that IO asymmetrically c-commands DO.
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High applicative benefactive (Chaga pattern): "he ate food for wife"
[VoiceP John [Voice' Voice_AG [ApplP wife [Appl' Appl_HIGH [VP eat [DP food]]]]]]
High Appl merges above VP: Appl takes VP as complement. The benefactive (wife) is in Spec-ApplP, relating to the event (not the theme). High Appl is attested in Bantu languages (Chaga, Luganda, Venda) and Albanian, but NOT in English.
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Agent c-commands goal.
Agent c-commands theme.
Goal c-commands theme — the @cite{barss-lasnik-1986} asymmetry derived structurally from V selecting ApplP.
Theme does NOT c-command goal: the asymmetry is structural.
Benefactive c-commands theme.
Theme does NOT c-command benefactive.
Low applicative marks the ditransitive.
High applicative marks the benefactive.
The lexical items appl_low_t and appl_high_t correspond to
ApplHead instances from Theories/Syntax/Minimalism/Applicative.lean:
the ditransitive uses applLowRecipient (English DOC = transfer to);
the benefactive uses applHigh (Chaga = individual-event relation).
The ditransitive's applicative is low (recipient).
The benefactive's applicative is high.
@cite{pylkkanen-2008} tests the high/low distinction in six languages
using three diagnostics (Table 2.1, p. 33). The diagnostics cluster
into two groups, confirming the typological split. The classifier
Minimalist.classifyByDiagnostics derives the high/low classification
from the diagnostic results; we verify that for each language, the
classifier output matches Pylkkänen's annotated classification.
A language's diagnostic profile and Pylkkänen's annotated
classification. The diagnostic results live in
Minimalist.ApplDiagnosticBundle; classification records
Pylkkänen's analytical conclusion.
- language : String
- diagnostics : Minimalist.ApplDiagnosticBundle
- classification : Minimalist.ApplType
Pylkkänen's annotated classification (§2.1.2 conclusion).
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Pylkkänen's analytical conclusion is derivable from the diagnostics: the cluster classifier returns the same result, modulo the recipient/source distinction (which Table 2.1's three tests don't make — separating low recipient from low source needs additional transfer-directionality diagnostics from §2.2/§2.3).
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English: low recipient. *I ran him (20a); *I held him the bag (20b); *John told Mary the news drunk (27e).
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Japanese: low recipient. *Taroo-ga Hanako-ni hasit-ta (21a); *Taroo-ga Hanako-ni kanojo-no kaban-o mot-ta (21b); *Taroo-ga hadaka-de Hanako-ni hon-o yonda (40a).
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Korean: low recipient. *Mary-ka John-hanthey talli-ess-ta (22a); *John-i Mary-hanthey kabang-ul cap-ass-ta (22b). Korean lacks English-style depictives entirely (§2.1.3.2.2), so Test 3 is inapplicable.
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Luganda: high. Mukasa ya-tambu-le-dde Katonga (23a); Katonga ya-kwaant-i-dde Mukasa ensawo (23b); Mustafa ya-ko-le-dde Katonga nga mulwadde (43a).
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Venda: high. Ndi-do-shum-el-a musadzi (24a); Nd-o-far-el-a Mukasa khali (24b). Venda postverbal APs have too broad a distribution to qualify as English-style depictives, so Test 3 is inapplicable (§2.1.3.2.4).
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Albanian: high. I vrapova (25a); Agimi i mban Drites çanten time (25b). Albanian "depictives" can also modify implicit external arguments and DPs inside PPs, so they don't qualify as English-style depictives — Test 3 is inapplicable (§2.1.3.2.5).
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Hebrew possessor datives: low source applicative (book §2.2,
eq. 82a). Hebrew possessor datives are low applicatives, so they
fail Tests 1 and 2 by the same logic as English low recipient.
Pylkkänen does not test depictive modification with Hebrew
possessor datives in §2.1.3, so Test 3 is .inapplicable here.
Note: Table 2.1's three tests don't distinguish recipient from
source — derivationConsistent accepts the cluster classifier's
.lowRecipient output for Hebrew's actual .lowSource
classification (the recipient-vs-source distinction needs the
additional transfer-directionality diagnostics from §2.2).
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Seven languages classified (six from Table 2.1 + Hebrew from §2.2).
For each language, Pylkkänen's annotated classification is derivable from the diagnostic results via the cluster-based classifier. The classification isn't stipulated and verified against itself — it's derived from the data and proved consistent with the analytical conclusion.
Anchor verifications for the two clusters. The aggregate
all_classifications_derive_from_diagnostics covers all seven
languages; these two anchor the cluster behavior at each pole.
Hebrew possessor datives are classified as .lowRecipient by
Table 2.1's three tests (all-fail cluster), but Pylkkänen's actual
classification is .lowSource. The two are both low; the
recipient-vs-source distinction requires additional diagnostics
not in Table 2.1. derivationConsistent accepts this case.
@cite{larson-1988}'s VP shell is the precursor of the modern Voice + Applicative decomposition. While the tree shapes differ (Larson uses one VP-shell layer; modern theory uses Voice and Appl heads), the c-command hierarchy among DP arguments is identical: agent > goal/IO > theme/DO.
@cite{larson-1988}'s DOC and the modern Voice + low-Appl derivation produce the same c-command hierarchy: IO asymmetrically c-commands DO.
This proves that @cite{larson-1988} and @cite{pylkkanen-2008}, despite different decompositions, converge on the same structural prediction for @cite{barss-lasnik-1986} asymmetries.
§7. Voice as the head that introduces the external argument #
(@cite{pylkkanen-2008} Ch. 3 §3.2 + Ch. 4 §4.2)
@cite{pylkkanen-2008}'s central claim about Voice (Ch. 4 §4.2, "Eliminating Linking"): the external argument is not projected by the verb itself but by a separate Voice head, following @cite{kratzer-1996}. Voice combines with VP via Event Identification (Event Identification, Ch. 1; -- UNVERIFIED: eq. number), introducing the external argument and relating it to the event described by the verb.
This is one of the two competing views of Voice surveyed in
Theories/Syntax/Minimalism/VoiceProjection.lean. The other view,
defended by @cite{collins-2005} and @cite{storment-2026}, treats Voice
as a structural head (the smuggling projection) and assigns
external-argument introduction to v instead. The two views are
orthogonal — see VoiceProjection.lean for the substantive contrast.
Pylkkänen's view applied to the canonical agentive Voice: it
satisfies IsExternalArgIntroducer (it does the job Pylkkänen
attributes to Voice).
§8. Voice-bundling for the English zero-causative #
(@cite{pylkkanen-2008} Ch. 3 §3.3; -- UNVERIFIED: eq. number)
A second contribution of Ch. 3: the difference between English (which lacks unaccusative causatives) and Japanese/Finnish (which have them) reduces to whether the language bundles Cause and Voice into a single morphological head. English bundles ([Cause, Voice]); Japanese and Finnish do not.
The VoiceBundlingChoice enum + CauseSelection axis + the full 2 × 3
typology cells (Pylkkänen Table 3.1) are defined in §13 below, since
this is the only Pylkkänen-derived consumer in the codebase. The two
canonical-instance affirmations (english_zero_is_bundled,
japanese_lexical_is_independent) live alongside the cell definitions
in §13.
§9. Cause is not a θ-role (@cite{pylkkanen-2008} Ch. 3 §3.2) #
Pylkkänen's other major Ch. 3 argument: the causative head Cause introduces a causing event, not a θ-role on the external argument. Evidence: Japanese adversity causatives (eq. 19–25) have causative morphology and meaning but no external argument. The bieventive analysis (Cause = relation between two events) is required by such data; the θ-role analysis (Cause = relation between a causer and a caused event) cannot accommodate them.
Formalizing the bieventive vs. θ-role contrast at the level of detail Pylkkänen offers requires event semantics infrastructure beyond this study file's scope; the substantive claim is recorded here for cross-reference.
§10. Hebrew possessor datives as low source applicatives #
(@cite{pylkkanen-2008} Ch. 2 §2.2, Table 2.2 p. 60)
The second major Chapter 2 contribution: possessor datives in Hebrew (and German, French, Korean) are low source applicatives — not double object constructions, not possessor-raising. The relation is reversed directionality: the dative argument is the source (former possessor) of the direct object, not the recipient.
Pylkkänen's Table 2.2 contrasts the predictions of the possessor- raising analysis (Landau 1999, Ura 1996, Kubo 1992) with the low applicative analysis on six properties. The contrast is the paper's own argument — Pylkkänen explicitly compares the two analyses.
The two competing analyses of possessor dative constructions (@cite{pylkkanen-2008} §2.2).
- possessorRaising : PossessorDativeAnalysis
- lowSourceApplicative : PossessorDativeAnalysis
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- Pylkkanen2008.instDecidableEqPossessorDativeAnalysis x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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Property of possessor dative constructions tested in Table 2.2.
quantifierBindingContrast is named to make the encoded property
explicit: "qbind possible from DOC IO but NOT from possessor
dative" (Landau's contrast claim).
- pseudopossessiveInterpretation : PossessorDativeProperty
- affectedness : PossessorDativeProperty
- lackOfAgentiveInterpretation : PossessorDativeProperty
- transitivityRestriction : PossessorDativeProperty
- quantifierBindingContrast : PossessorDativeProperty
- inabilityToControl : PossessorDativeProperty
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- Pylkkanen2008.instDecidableEqPossessorDativeProperty x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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A 3-valued verdict for what an analysis says about a property:
predicts (analysis says the property holds), antipredicts
(analysis says the property does not hold), noCleanPrediction
(analysis is silent or doesn't make a sharp claim).
- predicts : PredictsVerdict
- antipredicts : PredictsVerdict
- noCleanPrediction : PredictsVerdict
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- Pylkkanen2008.instDecidableEqPredictsVerdict x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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Pylkkänen's Table 2.2 verdict: which analysis predicts each property. The qbind row is the most subtle: possessor-raising predicts the Landau contrast (qbind from possessor dative but not from DOC), while the low-applicative analysis predicts no contrast (both should permit qbind). Pylkkänen empirically vindicates the low-applicative side: "when pragmatics is controlled for, contrast disappears" (Ch. 2 §2.2.5, p. 56–57).
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- Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeAnalysis.possessorRaising.predicts Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeProperty.pseudopossessiveInterpretation = Pylkkanen2008.PredictsVerdict.predicts
- Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeAnalysis.possessorRaising.predicts Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeProperty.affectedness = Pylkkanen2008.PredictsVerdict.antipredicts
- Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeAnalysis.possessorRaising.predicts Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeProperty.lackOfAgentiveInterpretation = Pylkkanen2008.PredictsVerdict.antipredicts
- Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeAnalysis.possessorRaising.predicts Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeProperty.transitivityRestriction = Pylkkanen2008.PredictsVerdict.predicts
- Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeAnalysis.possessorRaising.predicts Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeProperty.quantifierBindingContrast = Pylkkanen2008.PredictsVerdict.predicts
- Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeAnalysis.possessorRaising.predicts Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeProperty.inabilityToControl = Pylkkanen2008.PredictsVerdict.predicts
- Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeAnalysis.lowSourceApplicative.predicts Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeProperty.quantifierBindingContrast = Pylkkanen2008.PredictsVerdict.antipredicts
- Pylkkanen2008.PossessorDativeAnalysis.lowSourceApplicative.predicts x✝ = Pylkkanen2008.PredictsVerdict.predicts
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The 5 properties where the low source analysis predicts the
property holds. (Excludes quantifierBindingContrast, where LA
antipredicts: it says no contrast exists — empirically vindicated
in §2.2.5.)
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The low source applicative analysis predicts every property in
lowAnalysisPredictedProperties.
The possessor-raising analysis fails on affectedness and lack of agentive interpretation — Pylkkänen's two key objections to the raising analysis (§2.2.2, §2.2.3).
On the qbind row, the two analyses make opposing predictions.
Pylkkänen's empirical argument (§2.2.5) is that the contrast
Landau claimed disappears when pragmatics is controlled — so
LA's .antipredicts (no contrast) wins, PR's .predicts
(contrast exists) loses.
§11. Japanese adversity passives: high vs low split #
(Kubo's 1992 work (cited by @cite{pylkkanen-2008}; not yet in linglib bib) diagnostics, reanalyzed in
@cite{pylkkanen-2008} Ch. 2 §2.3)
Japanese adversity passives split into gapped (low source applicative) and gapless (high applicative). The gapped/gapless distinction itself is Kubo's 1992 work (cited by @cite{pylkkanen-2008}; not yet in linglib bib)'s; @cite{pylkkanen-2008}'s contribution is the reanalysis as a low-source vs. high applicative typology. Both share the -rare- morphology, but only the gapless type carries an obligatory adversative entailment (Kubo's 1992 work (cited by @cite{pylkkanen-2008}; not yet in linglib bib)). The diagnostic bundle distinguishing the two types is not formalized here; this section records the type-level split for cross-reference.
The two types of Japanese adversity passive (@cite{pylkkanen-2008} §2.3).
- gappedLowSource : JapaneseAdversityType
Gapped: low source applicative. The affected DP is inside VP, with a transfer-of-possession relation to the underlying object.
- gaplessHigh : JapaneseAdversityType
Gapless: high applicative. The affected DP is outside VP, relating to the event as a whole.
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- Pylkkanen2008.instDecidableEqJapaneseAdversityType x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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The classification of an adversity passive type into the standard
ApplType taxonomy.
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§12. Spanish static low applicatives (@cite{cuervo-2003}, #
discussed in @cite{pylkkanen-2008} §2.1.4.2)
@cite{cuervo-2003}'s thesis proposes a three-way split of low
applicatives in Spanish: low-to (recipient, dynamic), low-from
(source, dynamic), and low-AT (static possession). The static type is
Cuervo's contribution; Pylkkänen briefly endorses it in §2.1.4.2 as
compatible with her event-vs-state distinction. The static applicative
combines with small clause predicates (e.g. Pablo le admira la paciencia a Valeria "Pablo admires Valeria's patience"), unlike
English low recipients which require event-creating verbs.
Cuervo's three-way split of low applicatives. The third type
(staticPossession) is @cite{cuervo-2003}'s extension; it is
not in the canonical ApplType taxonomy because it requires
static rather than dynamic semantics, and (per Cuervo) it
specifically takes a small-clause complement.
- recipient : CuervoLowAppl
- source : CuervoLowAppl
- staticPossession : CuervoLowAppl
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- Pylkkanen2008.instDecidableEqCuervoLowAppl x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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- Pylkkanen2008.instReprCuervoLowAppl = { reprPrec := Pylkkanen2008.instReprCuervoLowAppl.repr }
Both of Pylkkänen's two low types correspond to dynamic transfer; Cuervo's third is static.
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The static low applicative is not one of Pylkkänen's two types — it requires the event-vs-state generalization in §2.1.4.2.
§13. Causative typology (Pylkkänen Table 3.1, §3.4) #
Pylkkänen Table 3.1 (§3.4) is a 2 × 3 typology of causative constructions
parameterized by Voice-bundling × selection. The inventory
(VoiceBundlingChoice, CauseSelection, MorphologyAccess,
CausativeCell + 6 canonical instances + 4 prediction theorems) lives
here; Pylkkanen2008 is the sole writer in the codebase, so substrate
promotion is unwarranted (per CLAUDE.md "promote when ≥2 consumers").
Orthogonal to @cite{song-1996}'s expression-style typology in
Phenomena/Causation/Studies/Song1996.lean: Song classifies the
morphosyntactic packaging of a causative (compact / and / purp);
Pylkkänen classifies the underlying syntactic configuration
(Voice-bundled vs independent; selecting root, verb, or phase). A
language is characterized along both axes (English is COMPACT in Song,
bundled-root in Pylkkänen).
If Wood 2015 / Cuervo 2003 / Folli-Harley 2005 get formalized later as generative-side updates of this typology and re-use these cells, they should consume them from here. The earlier extracted-to-Causation/Typology plan was overengineering for n=1 writer; the file relocates here when the natural single home turns out to be the only home.
@cite{pylkkanen-2008} §3.3: whether Cause and Voice are bundled into one morphological head. English bundles ([Cause, Voice]); Japanese and Finnish do not.
- bundled : VoiceBundlingChoice
- independent : VoiceBundlingChoice
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- Pylkkanen2008.instDecidableEqVoiceBundlingChoice x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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@cite{pylkkanen-2008} §3.4: what does Cause select for?
- root : CauseSelection
Cause + √Root: causes a category-free root (English zero-causative).
- verb : CauseSelection
Cause + v + √Root: causes a category-defined verb (Bemba -eshya, Finnish -tta).
- phase : CauseSelection
Cause + (something at least as big as a phase, can include external args): causativizes unergatives and transitives (Luganda -sa, Venda -is).
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- Pylkkanen2008.instDecidableEqCauseSelection x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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Three levels of root-Cause morpheme intervention. The three-way distinction is essential — collapsing to Bool would lose §3.4's central typological claim.
- none : MorphologyAccess
- categoryDefiningOnly : MorphologyAccess
- allMorphology : MorphologyAccess
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- Pylkkanen2008.instDecidableEqMorphologyAccess x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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A causative-typology cell: Voice-bundling × selection.
bundling is Option because Pylkkänen Table 3.1 footnote a
explicitly states the Voice-bundling properties of Bemba,
Luganda, and Venda causatives are not known.
- bundling : Option VoiceBundlingChoice
- selection : CauseSelection
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- Pylkkanen2008.instReprCausativeCell = { reprPrec := Pylkkanen2008.instReprCausativeCell.repr }
Table 3.1 prediction (1): can a language have unaccusative
causatives? Bundled → no (Voice forces ext arg); independent →
yes; unknown → no clean prediction. (Reuses the PredictsVerdict
enum defined in §10 above for PossessorDativeAnalysis.predicts.)
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Table 3.1 prediction (2): can the language causativize unergatives and transitives? Only phase-selecting Cause can.
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Table 3.1 prediction (3): what morphology can intervene between root and Cause?
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English zero-causative: Voice-bundling root-selecting.
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- Pylkkanen2008.englishZeroCausative = { bundling := some Pylkkanen2008.VoiceBundlingChoice.bundled, selection := Pylkkanen2008.CauseSelection.root }
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Japanese lexical causative: non-Voice-bundling root-selecting.
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- Pylkkanen2008.japaneseLexicalCausative = { bundling := some Pylkkanen2008.VoiceBundlingChoice.independent, selection := Pylkkanen2008.CauseSelection.root }
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Bemba -eshya causative: verb-selecting; bundling unknown (Table 3.1 footnote a).
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- Pylkkanen2008.bembaEshyaCausative = { bundling := none, selection := Pylkkanen2008.CauseSelection.verb }
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Finnish -tta causative: non-Voice-bundling verb-selecting.
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- Pylkkanen2008.finnishTtaCausative = { bundling := some Pylkkanen2008.VoiceBundlingChoice.independent, selection := Pylkkanen2008.CauseSelection.verb }
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Luganda -sa causative: phase-selecting; bundling unknown.
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- Pylkkanen2008.lugandaSaCausative = { bundling := none, selection := Pylkkanen2008.CauseSelection.phase }
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Venda -is causative: phase-selecting; bundling unknown.
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- Pylkkanen2008.vendaIsCausative = { bundling := none, selection := Pylkkanen2008.CauseSelection.phase }
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§11 Voice-bundling cross-references. English bundles, Japanese does not — the two canonical affirmations §11 promised live here alongside the Cell definitions they consume.
§14. Broader Voice taxonomy under Pylkkänen's view #
Pylkkänen's Voice = external-argument introducer. Per
Theories/Syntax/Minimalism/VoiceProjection.lean, this is one of two
competing views of Voice (the other being Collins/Storment's smuggling
projection). Test Pylkkänen's view against the broader VoiceHead
taxonomy in Theories/Syntax/Minimalism/Voice.lean: which Voice flavors
do introduce external arguments?
Pylkkänen's view of Voice tested against all 8 named canonical
flavors: voiceAgent, voiceCauser, voiceReflexive, and
voiceExperiencer introduce external arguments; voiceMiddle
(expletive), voiceImpersonal, voiceAnticausative, and voicePassive
do not. The Pylkkänen-coherent Voice flavors are exactly the
θ-assigning ones. (.antipassive is defined as a flavor in the
Voice taxonomy but lacks a canonical voiceAntipassive constant
in Voice.lean.)
§15. Transitivity restriction grounded in EntailmentProfile #
(@cite{pylkkanen-2008} Diagnostic 1; semantic argument at eq. 103 /
p. 55; -- UNVERIFIED: eq. 17 number)
Pylkkänen's predicted generalization (book Ch. 2 §2.1.1, Diagnostic 1): "Only high applicative heads should be able to combine with unergatives. Since low applicative heads denote a relation between the direct object and the indirect object, a low applicative head cannot appear in a structure that lacks a direct object."
The semantic argument (eq. 103, p. 55): combining low Appl
(λx.λy.λf.λe. f(e,x) ∧ theme(e,x) ∧ HAVE(x,y)) with an unergative
VP (λe. agent(e, Mary) ∧ run(e)) yields agent(e, x) ∧ theme(e, x)
when both arguments bind the same variable — a thematic-uniqueness
contradiction (Carlson, Parsons).
Status of this formalization: The composition predicate below uses
Core.Verbs.EntailmentProfile.pPatientScore to check whether a verb
has theme-like Proto-Patient entailments. An unergative has either no
object profile (objectEntailments = none) or an empty one
(pPatientScore = 0). The composition theorem is structural — it
does not re-derive the type clash from event-semantic λ-calculus
(that requires the compositional type-driven semantics in
Theories/Semantics/Composition/, not yet wired in here). The
substantive content captured: "low Appl needs a theme; unergative
provides none; composition fails."
A verb has an unsaturated theme argument iff its object entailment
profile (if any) carries Proto-Patient entailments. Unergatives have
objectEntailments = none; transitives have pPatientScore ≥ 1.
Equations
- Pylkkanen2008.hasUnsaturatedTheme (some p) = (p.pPatientScore > 0)
- Pylkkanen2008.hasUnsaturatedTheme none = False
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
A composition of an applicative head with a verb's object profile is well-formed iff either the applicative doesn't require a theme (high) or the verb's object profile provides one (transitive).
Equations
- Pylkkanen2008.applicativeComposition a objectProfile = (¬a.RequiresThemeInComplement ∨ Pylkkanen2008.hasUnsaturatedTheme objectProfile)
Instances For
Pylkkänen's Diagnostic 1: low applicatives cannot combine with
unergative verbs (whose object profile is none). The composition
theorem follows from ApplType.RequiresThemeInComplement for low
types and the empty object profile of an unergative.
Note: this is structural, not a re-derivation of the eq. 103 type
contradiction from event-semantic composition. The substantive
semantic argument requires λ-calculus infrastructure not present
in Theories/Semantics/Composition/ for applicatives. The theorem
captures the empirical content (low + unergative fails) without
proving it from event-semantic types.
High applicatives can combine with unergatives — the empirical
finding for Luganda/Venda/Albanian (PDF eq. 23a/24a/25a, all
verified). Follows from ¬ ApplType.high.RequiresThemeInComplement.
A toy theme-bearing object profile: Proto-Patient with
incrementalTheme set. Used to demonstrate transitive composition
in the next two theorems.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
Low recipient applicatives can combine with verbs providing a
theme — the canonical English DOC pattern (I baked him a cake).
Low source applicatives also combine with theme-providing verbs — Hebrew possessor datives (book §2.2).
§16. Voice × Appl licensing matrix #
(`Theories/Syntax/Minimalism/Applicative.lean.licensedWith`)
ApplHead.licensedWith (in Applicative.lean) checks whether a
particular Appl head is licensed with a given Voice head: high
applicatives require event-introducing Voice (hasSemantics = true);
low applicatives are licensed with any Voice. Cross @cite{pylkkanen-2008}'s
high/low Appl typology with the VoiceHead taxonomy: which Voice
flavors license high Appl, and which don't?
This connects §14's Pylkkänen-Voice partition with the @cite{pylkkanen-2008} Appl typology in a single matrix.
High Appl requires Voice with event semantics. The named Voice
flavors split: voiceAgent/voiceCauser/voiceMiddle/
voiceImpersonal/voiceReflexive/voiceExperiencer carry event
semantics and license high Appl; voiceAnticausative/voicePassive
do not (they're event-semantically inert in this Voice taxonomy)
and so don't license high Appl.
§17. WALS-vs-Pylkkänen divergence on English/Japanese applicatives #
The WALS Ch 109 typology classifies English and Japanese as having "no applicative" (no overt valence-increasing morphology). Pylkkänen's analysis classifies the English double-object construction (DOC) and the Japanese -ni recipient construction as low recipient applicatives (structural Appl head merged below V relating recipient to theme).
The divergence is not empirical — both accounts agree on the same constructions. It is a methodological choice about what counts as an "applicative." WALS counts overt verbal applicative morphology; Pylkkänen counts the structural ApplP projection regardless of morphological exponent. The substrate is designed to make this kind of cross-framework editorial disagreement visible.
WALS Ch 109 (per Studies/Polinsky2013.lean's english.applicative)
and Pylkkänen's analysis (english_appl.classification) make
contradictory predictions about English: WALS says no applicative,
Pylkkänen says low recipient. Same for Japanese. The disagreement
is about the criterion for "applicative," not about the data.