内容

目次

Part 1 Theoretical premises: introduction - constructional variationwith causative verbs, structural organization of this book, theoreticalframework, empirical methodology; the semantics of causative constructions -analytical versus lexical causatives, transitive versus ergative lexicalcausatives; the semantics of causative verbs - the structure of lexicalcategories, the structure of lexical fields, lexical versus constructionalsemantics, conclusions to part 1. Part 2 Case studies: lexically determinedflexibility and constraints - introduction, a synchronic perspective onconstructional constraints, a diachronic perspective on constructionalflexibility, conclusions; the agent-centredness of the transitive paradigm -the experimental basis of agentivity, lexical blueprints for agentivity - theMURDER verbs, morphological blueprints for agentivity - agentive nominals,constructional blueprints for agentivity - the objectless transitive,conclusions; the medium-centredness of ergative paradigm - the experimentalbasis of ergativity, lexical and constructional convergence in early modernEnglish, lexical and constructional differentiation in contemporary English,transitivity and force-dynamics - phrasal verbs, conclusions; complexities ofthe transitive-ergative interplay - the experiential basis of thetransitive/ergative interplay, lexical and constructional variation in modernEnglish, ergativization of abort in early modern English, transitivization ofabort in modern English; summary and evaluation - further research.