Θ-role
Revision as of 06:45, 20 October 2007 by AndrewCarnie (talk | contribs) (clarification that theta role is not an exact synonym for thematic role, but is primarily a syntactic relation, added link to extensive wikipedia article on the topic.)
The term Θ-role (or theta role) is a synonym of thematic role or semantic role.
Comments
This is a typical Chomskyan abbreviated term (cf. terms like d-structure, r-expression, m-command), used by many syntacticians working in a Chomskyan framework.
Synonyms
- semantic role
- thematic relation
- thematic role
- case: deep case, case role, case relation
- semantic function
- kāraka
- argument structure
Origin
This Greek-letter based abbreviation of thematic role was introduced by Chomsky (1981), for unknown reasons. However, since Chomskyan syntax has generally not been interested in the actual semantic content of semantic roles, use of the term Θ-role (Theta role) probably also indicates the user's primary concern with the syntactic aspects of semantic roles.
References
- Chomsky, Noam A. 1981. Lectures on Government and Binding. Dordrecht:Foris.
External Links
wikipedia article on theta roles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theta_role
