Chapter 2
Light Verb Constructions in English-Spanish translation
What corpora can tell us
Light Verb Constructions (LVCs) are combinations of a partially delexicalized verb and a noun indicating an action or
an event (e. g., give a description). Studies modelled on the Meaning-Text theory and qualia roles of the Generative
Lexicon model propose that LVCs combine nouns and verbs according to shared underlying, underspecified semantic features. This paper
explores these features’ role in translating English LVCs into Spanish. Data come from the parallel corpus P-ACTRES 2.0, including fiction
and nonfiction materials. Results indicate that translation choices for LVCs with have, take, make/do, and
give are governed by the same notions of transference, inception, and volition that determine their combinatorial
compatibility. Register also seems to influence the choice. This information may prove significant to machine translation, bi/multilingual
writing support, and post-editing.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Light Verb Constructions
- 3.Data and method
- 4.Results
- 5.Discussion
- 6.Conclusions
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Notes
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References