Ablative causes in Hungarian

In this paper, I discuss the grammar of ablative causes in Hungarian, and the ensuing ramifications for the general treatment of cause PPs in anticausative constructions. I argue that ablative causes are more diverse than they are generally assumed to be. In particular, a distinction must be made between what I call low ablative causes, which are licensed by anticausative predicates, and high ablative causes, which are not lexically governed and can appear with agentive predicates, too. Assuming a particular extension of Reinhart’s (2000, 2002) Theta System, I analyze the former as adjuncts that bear thematic specification. As such, they are of the same grammatical type as other optional participant phrases, which I have discussed in Rákosi (2006).

Published online: 19 November 2009
https://doi.org/10.1075/atoh.11.08rak