Licensing of Instrumental Case in Hindi/Urdu Causatives
Keywords:
Hindi, Urdu, causative, instrumental, case, licensing, passive, by-phrase, adjunct, syntax, agent, event, event structure
Abstract
In this paper, I revisit the licensing and interpretation of instrumental case-marked nominals in Hindi/Urdu causative constructions to argue against the hypothesis that the se-marked phrase corresponds to a demoted agent. Rather, I will argue that a more unified analysis of se-phrases can be achieved through an event-structural analysis, in line with the standard interpretation of other adverbials in the syntax. Since the ‘intermediate agent’ interpretation is only possible with indirect causatives in Hindi/Urdu, the event structural analysis proposed here also has implications for the direct vs. indirect causation distinction in the syntax.
Published
2011-12-01
Issue
Section
Articles
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