Linking Theory Predictions → Hand-Annotated θ-Roles

[Kra96] [RHL98]

Two accounts of argument realization make predictions about external argument theta roles. The two predicates live next to the types they project from: severing in VoiceFlavor.thetaRole (Syntax/Minimalist/Verbal/Voice.lean) and lexicalist in Verb.predictedSubjectTheta (Semantics/Lexical/VerbEntry.lean). Both operate over proto-role entailment profiles (subjectEntailments / objectEntailments) rather than the legacy subjectTheta / objectTheta labels (which were removed from Verb). Studies comparing the two accounts apply both predicates to the same Verb and inspect divergence; the LinkingTheory packaging that previously lived in VoiceTheta.lean was dissolved as having no remaining consumers.

Account 1: Severing

Voice flavor determines the theta role: Voice_AG → agent, Voice_CAUSE → stimulus. The current Voice typology has only two θ-assigning flavors, so it cannot distinguish experiencer from agent or theme from internal- arg derivation.

Account 2: Lexicalist ([Lev93], [RHL98])

The verb's lexical semantics — attitude, causalSource, factivePresup, levinClass, unaccusative, controlType, and proto-role entailments — determines the theta role, bypassing Voice.

This file retains only the causative-alternation tree derivations (Part III); per-verb θ-role comparison theorems were removed with the subjectTheta / objectTheta fields.

The causative alternation is the structural prediction of Voice severing: transitive "John broke the vase" has agentive Voice with an agent in Spec,VoiceP; anticausative "The vase broke" has non-thematic Voice with no specifier. Both share the same VP core. Event-structure predictions are verified in Core/Voice.lean via buildDecomposition.

def Kratzer1996.voice_ag_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.voice_ag_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.Voice [Minimalist.Cat.v] "Voice[AG]", id := 200 }

def Kratzer1996.voice_nth_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.voice_nth_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.Voice [Minimalist.Cat.v] "Voice[∅]", id := 210 }

def Kratzer1996.voice_mid_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.voice_mid_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.Voice [Minimalist.Cat.v] "Voice[MID]", id := 211 }

def Kratzer1996.v_head_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.v_head_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.v [Minimalist.Cat.V] "v", id := 201 }

def Kratzer1996.V_broke_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.V_broke_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.V [Minimalist.Cat.D] "broke", id := 212 }

def Kratzer1996.V_sank_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.V_sank_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.V [Minimalist.Cat.D] "sank", id := 213 }

def Kratzer1996.V_opened_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.V_opened_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.V [Minimalist.Cat.D] "opened", id := 214 }

def Kratzer1996.DP_john_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.DP_john_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.D [] "John", id := 206 }

def Kratzer1996.DP_vase_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.DP_vase_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.D [] "the vase", id := 215 }

def Kratzer1996.DP_ship_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.DP_ship_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.D [] "the ship", id := 216 }

def Kratzer1996.DP_door_t : Minimalist.LIToken

Equations

• Kratzer1996.DP_door_t = { item := Minimalist.LexicalItem.simple Minimalist.Cat.D [] "the door", id := 217 }

def Kratzer1996.transitiveTree : Minimalist.SyntacticObject

Transitive: "John broke the vase" [VoiceP John [Voice' Voice_AG [vP v [VP broke [DP the vase]]]]]

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Kratzer1996.anticausativeTree : Minimalist.SyntacticObject

Anticausative: "The vase broke" [VoiceP Voice_∅ [vP v [VP broke [DP the vase]]]]

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Kratzer1996.unaccusativeTree : Minimalist.SyntacticObject

Unaccusative: "The ship sank" [VoiceP Voice_∅ [vP v [VP sank [DP the ship]]]]

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Kratzer1996.middleTree : Minimalist.SyntacticObject

Middle: "The door opened" [VoiceP Voice_MID [vP v [VP opened [DP the door]]]]

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

theorem Kratzer1996.transitive_agent_ccommands_theme : Minimalist.SO.cCommandsIn transitiveTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_john_t) (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_vase_t)

Agent c-commands theme in the transitive.

theorem Kratzer1996.transitive_theme_not_ccommands_agent : ¬Minimalist.SO.cCommandsIn transitiveTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_vase_t) (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_john_t)

Theme does NOT c-command agent.

theorem Kratzer1996.anticausative_contains_theme : Minimalist.SO.contains anticausativeTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_vase_t)

Anticausative contains theme but no agent DP.

theorem Kratzer1996.unaccusative_contains_theme : Minimalist.SO.contains unaccusativeTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_ship_t)

Unaccusative contains theme.

theorem Kratzer1996.middle_contains_theme : Minimalist.SO.contains middleTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_door_t)

Middle contains theme.

theorem Kratzer1996.causative_pair_shared_vp : Minimalist.SO.contains transitiveTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf V_broke_t) ∧ Minimalist.SO.contains transitiveTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_vase_t) ∧ Minimalist.SO.contains anticausativeTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf V_broke_t) ∧ Minimalist.SO.contains anticausativeTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_vase_t)

The transitive and anticausative share the VP core: both contain V("broke") and DP("the vase").

theorem Kratzer1996.causative_pair_agent_contrast : Minimalist.SO.contains transitiveTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_john_t) ∧ ¬Minimalist.SO.contains anticausativeTree (Minimalist.SO.lexLeaf DP_john_t)

The transitive has an agent DP; the anticausative does not.

theorem Kratzer1996.causative_pair_voice_contrast : Minimalist.voiceAgent.AssignsTheta ∧ ¬Minimalist.voiceAnticausative.AssignsTheta

Voice determines the alternation: agentive assigns θ, non-thematic does not. This is [Kra96]'s severing verified structurally on the tree derivations.