Argument positions and semantic properties

Abstract

This paper presents a different approach to projection rules between a syntactic structure and a conceptual semantic structure. The approach is different in the sense that, to propose those rules, also known as Thematic Hierarchy Principle, I deal only with four semantic properties – trigger, affected, state, and control – and their combinations. Besides, the projection rules are not constructed by thematic roles as is usual in the current literature. Differing from other proposals, the localization of an argument in a specific syntactic position is due to the property that composes the thematic role (and not to the thematic role per se). Thematic roles here are defined as a set of semantic properties, assigned to a certain argument, derived from the entailments established for the whole proposition where this argument is located.