Labile verb

In general linguistics, a labile verb (or ergative verb) is a verb that undergoes causative alternation; that is, it can be used both transitively and intransitively, with the requirement that the direct object of its transitive use corresponds to the subject of its intransitive use,[1] as in "I ring the bell" and "The bell rings." Labile verbs are a prominent feature of English, and also occur in many other languages.[2] When causatively alternating verbs are used transitively they are called causatives since, in the transitive use of the verb, the subject is causing the action denoted by the intransitive version. When causatively alternating verbs are used intransitively, they are referred to as anticausatives or inchoatives because the intransitive variant describes a situation in which the theme participant (in this case "the bell") undergoes a change of state, becoming, for example, "rung".[3][4][5]

  1. ^ Kulikov, Leonid & Nikolaos Lavidas. 2014. Introduction: Typology of labile verbs. Linguistics 52(4). 871–877. doi:10.1515/ling-2014-0010
  2. ^ Letuchiy, Alexander. 2009. Towards a typology of labile verbs: Lability vs. derivation. In Alexandre Arkhipov & Patience Epps (eds.), New challenges in typology: Transcending the borders and refining the distinctions, 223–244. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter
  3. ^ Schäfer, Florian. 2009. "The Causative Alternation". Language and Linguistics Compass 3.2: 641. Print.
  4. ^ Coppock, Elizabeth. "The Logical and Empirical Foundations of Baker's Paradox." Diss. Standford, 2008. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Web. 2 Oct. 2013. p. 20.
  5. ^ Levin, Beth. "Causative Alternation". English Verb Classes and Alternations. Chicago: University Press of Chicago, 1993. 26–27. Print.