2005/07/01 by Tanya Reinhart, Tal Siloni · 3 citations
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Linguistic Variation and Morphology #Phonetics and Phonology Research #Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
paper · doi:10.1162/0024389054396881
crossref issued 2005/07/01 · crossref published 2005/07/01 · crossref published-print 2005/07/01 · openalex publication_date 2005/07/01 · crossref created 2005/07/08 · crossref deposited 2024/01/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
We argue that crosslinguistic variation regarding verbal reflexivization is parametric, reflecting a broader lexicon-syntax parameter: arity operations—operations on θ-roles, which affect the valence of a predicate—can apply in the lexicon or in the syntax. The significant empirical coverage of this parameter supports the view that the lexicon must be an active component of the grammar. The discussion focuses mainly on the formation of reflexive verbs. We argue that the prevailing view that reflexive verbs have an unaccusative derivation cannot be maintained. Rather, the reflexivization operation bundles a θ-role with an external θ-role, forming a combination that must merge externally. Next, we also briefly review other arity operations: (a) reciprocalization, (b) decausativization, and (c) saturation, which is involved in the formation of passives, middles, and impersonals. Variation in auxiliary selection, owing to the application of reflexivization or other arity operations, is independent of the lexicon-syntax parameter and follows under our approach from a structural accusative Case parameter.