Thematic Relation (definition) - Revision history

AndrewCarnie at 20:44, 6 June 2012

2012-06-06T20:44:20Z

AndrewCarnie at 20:32, 6 June 2012

2012-06-06T20:32:15Z

AlanHogue at 18:26, 23 June 2009

2009-06-23T18:26:39Z

AlanHogue at 18:24, 23 June 2009

2009-06-23T18:24:07Z

AlanHogue at 18:22, 23 June 2009

2009-06-23T18:22:38Z

AlanHogue at 18:22, 23 June 2009

2009-06-23T18:22:09Z

AndrewCarnie: I don't believe the distinction between patients and themes is a linguistically significant one, so I'll never use it, so I delete patient.

2009-06-23T14:14:47Z

I don't believe the distinction between patients and themes is a linguistically significant one, so I'll never use it, so I delete patient.

AndrewCarnie at 14:13, 23 June 2009

2009-06-23T14:13:06Z

AndrewCarnie at 14:04, 23 June 2009

2009-06-23T14:04:03Z

AndrewCarnie: /* External Links */

2009-06-23T14:03:01Z

‎External Links

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Category:Technical Definitions]]
-Semantically, every clause contains a verb which, in combination with the nouns present in the clause, forms a notion of an event or a state. Thematic relations classify the semantic relationships between a verb and the nouns in its clause.
+Thematic relations classify the semantic relationships between a verb and the nouns in its clause.
-For instance, the notion of kissing requires an agent and a patient (sometimes called a theme) to make a complete semantic event. These thematic relations are expressed through nouns, so we may say that in (1) ''Smith'' takes the agent thematic relation, and ''Jones'' takes the patient (or theme) thematic relation.
+For instance, the notion of kissing requires an [[Agent (definition)|agent]] and a [[Theme (definition)|theme]] to make a complete semantic event. These thematic relations are expressed through noun phrases, so we may say that in (1) ''Smith'' takes the agent thematic relation, and ''Jones'' takes the theme thematic relation.
 :''1) Smith kissed Jones.''
-''Smith'' takes the agent role because he or she is the one who does the kissing. ''Jones'' takes the patient role because he or she is the one being kissed.
+''Smith'' takes the agent role because he or she is the one who does the kissing. ''Jones'' takes the theme role because he or she is the one being kissed.
 Linguists disagree on what an exhaustive inventory of thematic relations would consist of. However, the following are widely accepted (adapted from Carnie 2006):
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 :&bull; [[Agent (definition)|'''Agents''']] do or precipitate the action
 :&bull; [[Experiencer (definition)|'''Experiencers''']] feel or perceive an event
-:&bull; [[Theme (definition)|'''Themes''']] are moved, experienced or perceived
+:&bull; [[Theme (definition)|'''Themes''']] are moved, experienced or perceived (often also called "patients"
 :&bull; [[Goal (definition)|'''Goals''']] are entities toward which movement occurs
 :&bull; [[Source (definition)|'''Sources''']] are entities from which movement occurs
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 ==External Links==
 *wikipedia article on Thematic Relations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thematic_relation

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:32, 6 June 2012
Line 35:		Line 35:
	[[Category: Syntax]]		[[Category: Syntax]]
	[[Category: Semantics]]		[[Category: Semantics]]
		+	[[Category: Thematic Relations]]

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 ==References==
-*Carnie, Andrew. 2006. Syntax: A Generative introduction. 2nd Edition. Blackwell Publishers.
+*Carnie, Andrew. 2006. Syntax: A Generative introduction. 2nd Edition. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 1405133848
 [[Category: Technical Definitions]]
 [[Category: Syntax]]
 [[Category: Semantics]]

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 :&bull; [[Beneficiary (definition)|'''Beneficiaries''']] are those for whom an event takes place
-Note that many of these thematic roles correlate with traditional [[Case (definition)|case]] distinctions. Thematic relations are considered purely semantic classes, and one syntactic argument may bear more than one thematic role. But clearly thematic roles do have an effect on syntax; in some generative grammars this interface with syntactic structure is handled through [[Theta Role (definition)|theta roles]].
+Note that many of these thematic relations correlate with traditional [[Case (definition)|case]] distinctions. Thematic relations are considered purely semantic classes, and one syntactic argument may bear more than one thematic relation. But clearly thematic relations do have an effect on syntax; in some generative grammars this interface with syntactic structure is handled through [[Theta Role (definition)|theta roles]].
 ==See Also==

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 :''1) Smith kissed Jones.''
-''Smith'' takes the agent role because he or she is the one who does the kissing. ''Jones'' takes the patient thematic role because he or she is the one being kissed.
+''Smith'' takes the agent role because he or she is the one who does the kissing. ''Jones'' takes the patient role because he or she is the one being kissed.
 Linguists disagree on what an exhaustive inventory of thematic relations would consist of. However, the following are widely accepted (adapted from Carnie 2006):