Cause-effect Transitivity: A Lexical Semantic Classification and Analysis of Underpassivized Verbs in L2 English

This dissertation is a lexical semantic study of underpassivized verbs in L2 English. By adopting a verb-oriented and meaning-based approach to underpassivization, this study produces a lexical semantic classification and analysis of frequently underpassivized verbs. A Hong Kong learner corpus is examined in order to determine the nature and extent of underpassivized constructions in L2 English. Based on a set of semantic features of cause-effect transitivity, underpassivization-prone verbs in the corpus are classified into four types, namely 1) Change of position verbs, 2) Tripartite verbs, 3) Dynamic effect verbs and 4) Non-agentive verbs. A total of nine sub-types are identified, and each verb is analyzed according to semantic features such as force transmission, causation, affectedness and telicity. The typology not only provides a lexical semantic account of L2 underpassivization but can also be applied to analyze other voice-related L2 phenomena such as overpassivization and to inform pedagogical practices.;The present study is an initial attempt to apply findings from lexical semantics to the description and explanation of learner errors. Previous studies mainly regard L2 underpassivization as a syntactic phenomenon that can be accounted for using transfer, and argue that L2 underpassivization is the result of the transfer of the topic-comment structure in L1s such as Chinese and Japanese to English (Yip 1995). The transfer theory overlooks the role verb meaning plays in voice-related errors, and is limited in its ability to explain the L2 phenomenon fully. This study investigates underpassivization as a lexical semantic phenomenon, drawing from previous works on proto-roles (Dowty 1991), event structure (Croft 1994) and transitivity (Hopper & Thompson 1980; Tsunoda 1985), and following the tradition in lexical semantics of analyzing verb meaning based on argument alternations (Pinker 1989; Levin 1993). It is believed that when learners underpassivize verbs, they are detransitivizing and decausativizing an originally transitive event. Using the features of cause-effect transitivity, the study shows that reduced transitivity will cause problems for learners in their construal of the event's cause-effect relation and hence their allocation of thematic roles in the verb's argument structure, resulting in underpassivization. It is hoped that by focusing on argument structure and event dynamics, this study can offer insights into the impact of verb meaning in the construal of transitivity and the use and misuse of grammatical voice.