Kasta bort bollen och äta bort sin huvudvärk : En studie av argumentstrukturen i kausativa bort-konstruktioner

Sammanfattning: This thesis investigates the argument structure of transitive particle constructions with the adverb bort, meaning ‘away’, ‘off’. On the basis of approximately 2000 authentic instances of the partially schematic structure [subject verb bort object], I have identified a number of constructions at different levels of abstraction. The overall aim of the thesis is to account for the argument structure of the bort-constructions and to provide an overview of the relation between verb meaning and constructional meaning.Based on the empirical investigation, the argument structure of these constructions seems most adequately accounted for by combining lexical and constructional factors. The investigation shows that the argument structure forms a lexical-constructional continuum: some constructions clearly have verb-specific meaning, whereas others have meaning more or less independently of the verb. In between we find constructions exhibiting various degrees of influence over the lexical properties of the verb.Verb meaning is analyzed within a causative semantic framework, and I assume an association between causation and argument structure. The bort-constructions form a causative continuum ranging from direct, physical to indirect, abstract causation. By analyzing the verbs’ semantics in relation to these different causative structures (semantic frames), I demonstrate that the causative continuum and the argument structure continuum are aligned: the more indirect the causation, the more constructionally dependent (less verb-specific) the argument structure.