Learnability and Cognition: The Acquisition of Argument Structure

Part 1 A learnability paradox: argument structure and the lexicon the logical problem of language acquisition Baker's paradox attempted solutions to Baker's paradox. Part 2 Constraints on lexical rules: morphological and phonological constraints semantic constraints how semantic and morphological constraints might resolve Baker's paradox evidence for criteria-governed productivity problems for the criteria-governed productivity theory. Part 3 Constraints and the nature of argument structure: overview - why lexical rules carry semantic constraints constraints of lexical rules as manifestations of more general phenomena a theory of argument structure on universality. Part 4 Possible and actual forms: the problem of negative exceptions transitive action verbs as evidence for narrow subclasses the nature of narrow conflation classes defining and motivating subclasses of verbs licensing the four alterations the relation between narrow-range and broad-range rules. Part 5 Representation: the need for a theory of lexicosemantic representation is a theory of lexical semantics feasible? evidence for a semantic subsystem underlying verb meanings a cross-linguistic inventory of components of verb meaning a theory of the representation of grammatically relevant semantic structures explicit representations of lexical rules an lexicosemantic structures summary. Part 6 Learning: linking rules lexical semantic structures broad conflation classes (thematic cores) and broad range lexical rules summary of learning mechanisms. Part 7 Development: developmental sequence for argument structure alterations the unlearning problem children's argument structure changing rules are always semantically conditioned do children's errors have the same cause as adults? acquisition of verb meaning and errors in argument structure some predictions about the acquisition of narrow-range rules summary of development. Part 8 Conclusions: a brief summary of the resolution of the paradox argument structure as a pointer between syntactic structure and propositions the autonomy of semantic representation implications for the semantic bootstrapping hyposthesis conservatism, listedness and the lexicon spatial schemas and abstract thought.