Full Description
Causatives and Causation is the first comprehensive study of causative constructions found in the world's languages. This important new research, based on a data base of more than 600 languages, not only investigates fully the richness and variety of causative types, but also presents an alternative perspective to the traditional typological approach. The new typology enables a better understanding of how the human mind cognizes causation and how this is reflected in language. Causatives and Causation is also an important attempt to integrate language typology with diachrony by constructing a diachronic model of causative affixes on the basis of this new typology. Drawing on the theoretical insight of Role and Reference Grammar, this book provides a case study of the causative constructions in Korean, providing additional support for both the proposed new typology and the diachronic model. It also examines the pragmatic foundations of causatives, an important but previously unexplored area of study.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1. Preamble
2. A Typology of causative constructions
Language sample
Some operating terms
The COMPACT type
The AND type
The PURP type
Implicativity: a residual issue
3. The evolution of causative affixes
Introduction
Other studies on origins of causative affixes
A diachronic model of causative affixes
Causative affixes: a diachronic track-down
Implicativity and reduction
Closing remarks
4. Korean: A PURP-type language
Introduction
PURP causative and purposive constructions
The Clause Linkage Theory
Clause linkage in PURP causative and purposive constructions
Problems for the Clause Linkage Theory
A diachronic solution to the problems
5. The functional basis of the typology
Introduction
Implicativity as the distinguishing feature
Cognitive basis of the typology
Pragmatic basis of the typology
6. Comrie's theory of causatives: an alternative interptetation
Introduction
Comrie's theory of causatives
A critique of Comrie's theory
Data
An alternative interpretation: NP density control
Further evidence for NP density control
7. Finale
Appendix: Data base
Bibliography
Author index
language index
Subject index
