Frame
A verb's frame is a little "signature" that tells you what arguments can go in what slots, and what happens when the verb is used to make a serial verb.
For example, the frame of sue is c c 1, meaning it has two "concrete" slots, and one "1-ary" property slot that will, in a serial verb, merge away with the subject of the next verb.
A frame consists of as many space-separated glyphs as it has argument slots, and each one describes what can go in that slot:
| Glyph | Meaning | Telltale phrase | Serial behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
c |
"Concrete" (non-property) argument | None | |
0 |
0-ary relation (proposition) | "that ▯ is the case" | Merge-into |
1 |
1-ary relation (property) | "to satisfy property ▯" | Merge-away one |
2 |
2-ary relation (relation) | "to be in relation ▯ with" | Merge-away two |
Coindexation
Sometimes you might see the letters ijx in a frame. For example, sue's frame is listed as c c 1j in the official dictionary.
The letters i j refer to the first and second arguments of the verb. They express a "coindexation" between the lambda arguments inside of a property or relation, and the arguments of the verb itself. A 1 slot is followed by one such letter and a 2 by two such letters.
For example, nue is c c 1i, because "i promises j to satisfy property P" really means "i promises to j that P(i) will be brought about."
But sue is c c 1j because "i asks j to satisfy property P" really means "i asks of j that P(j) be brought about."
And the frame of taq is c 2ii, as "i is in relation R with itself" really means "i is such that R(i, i)."
The letter x means that there is no coindexation between the arguments of the verb and that lambda argument. The frame of mıa is c 2ix because the relation is applied between i and "many things x".
When recovering the deep structure of clauses using serial verbs, this coindexation info is used to translate serial verbs into non-finite clauses, turning their lambda arguments into covert pronouns (called "PRO") that correctly coindex with earlier DPs.
Nue caq mí Joq mí Bıo túe.
mí Joqi vcause [mí Bıo nue [PROi vcause [caq túe]]]
Sue caq mí Joq mí Bıo túe.
mí Joq vcause [mí Bıoj sue [PROj vcause [caq túe]]]
See PRO (linguistics) on Wikipedia.