Thematic role: Difference between revisions

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A '''thematic role''' or '''semantic role''' is a way in which an object can relate to an event.
A '''thematic role''' or '''semantic role''' is a way in which an object can relate to an event.



Revision as of 01:10, 8 December 2022

This page was written for Toaq Gamma. Its contents are not yet up to date with the latest version of Toaq, Toaq Delta.

A thematic role or semantic role is a way in which an object can relate to an event.

Some examples of thematic roles are:

  • “agent”: who is willfully causing this event?
  • “instrument”: what is used to carry out this event?
  • “patient”: who or what is affected/changed by this event?

Syntactic and thematic roles

Thematic roles exist in contrast to syntactic roles, like “subject” or “direct object”: these describe a way in which something participates in a verb at the syntax level.

In Toaq, syntactic roles are the ones already represented by the “blanks” in verb definitions:

choıdea: ___ stabs ___.

Whereas thematic roles are represented using verbs that relate an event to an object, generally used as prepositions (mid-falling tone):

chou: ___ is an event with ___ as its instrument.

An example

In the two sentences below, the syntactic subject and object are exchanged, but the thematic roles stay the same: Brutus, the agent, is causing change, while Caesar, the patient, suffers this change.

Sentence Syntactic roles Thematic roles
Subject Object Agent Patient
(1) Chỏıdea mí Bủtusy mí Kảısary da.
Brutus stabs Caesar.
Brutus Caesar Brutus Caesar
(2) Mủ chỏıdea mí Kảısary mí Bủtusy da.
Caesar is-stabbed-by Brutus.
Caesar Brutus Brutus Caesar

Note that the assignment of Agent and Patient roles to Brutus and Caesar happens “automatically” according to the semantics of choıdea. To stab is for an agent to stab a patient.

We can further dress the event up with an “instrument” using a thematic role word:

(3) Chỏıdea mí Bủtusy mí Kảısary chòu sa tỏemy da.
(4) Mủ chỏıdea mí Kảısary mí Bủtusy chòu sa tỏemy da.

We say that the stabbing-event, or the being-stabbed-event, “happens using” a knife.

Table of thematic role words

Each of these has a definition like: “___ is an event with ___ as its (Role).”

Toaq word Role Example
chou Instrument chòu sa tỏemy, “using a knife”
nhe Extent lỏq náo nhè néıheı kẻıcıu, “the water is 90°C hot”
Words below this line are unofficial
sıny / sıy Starting point, source, origin jảra nháo sìy búe, “they run from the house”
fany / fay End point, direction, goal jảra nháo fày búe, “they run toward the house”
puoq Purpose pùoq jâı súq, “so that you may be happy”
gekyı[1] Stimulus ảchu jí gèkyı hóegıo, “I sneeze from the sunlight”
juqkyı Recipient, benefactor sủaq jí jùqkyı súq, “I sing for you”
toıkyı Agent pỏaq núoqmy tòıkyı jí, “the mirror shatters by my doing
tekyı Patient rủqshua tètyı jí, “it rains on (affecting, i.e. wetting) me”
taqkyı Agent + patient (affecting self)
lıekyı Experiencer

“Agent” and “patient” roles are usually baked into a transitive verb, so translating toıkyı and tekyı can be a bit tricky or ambiguous.

  1. kyı is an invalid syllable, marking these words as somewhat more experimental than the others.