theta role

plural theta roles · alternative theta-role · alternative θ-role

1. abbreviationespecially transformational grammargrammarAbbreviation of thematic role.

   1 more example

   Such an analysis would provide a natural way of accounting for the fact that (inter alia) transitive Objects and their ergative Subject counterparts are assigned the same theta-roles, and hence are subject to the same Selection Restrictions. For example, in (160) below: (160) (a) John might drown the kittens/his wife/??his goldfish/?!his frying-pan/!his birth (160) (b) The kittens/his wife/??his goldfish/?!his frying-pan/!his birth might drown the italicised transitive Object in (160) (a) has the same theta role ( = that of THEME or PATIENT (i.e. victim!) of drown) as the italicised ergative Subject in (160) (b), and accordingly is subject to the same Selection Restrictions.

   1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 8, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 447