On the encoding of transitivity-related features on the indirect object

Abstract

The present article examines the effects of transitivity on the encoding of indirect object. The examined features comprise affectedness, aspect and animacy. In addition, differences between what will be labelled as neutral vs. purposeful transfer will be discussed. The article shows that effects of transitivity are not confined to direct objects only, but transitivity has consequences for indirect object coding too. In addition, the article also shows that there are good reasons for coding the examined features on the indirect object. The most important of these reasons is represented by the fact that features of the referents of the indirect object are responsible for coding the relevant features. For example, an event of transfer is conceived of as completed, when the Recipient has received the transferred entity.

The present article examines the effects of transitivity on the encoding of indirect object. The examined features comprise affectedness, aspect and animacy. In addition, differences between what will be labelled as neutral vs. purposeful transfer will be discussed. The article shows that effects of transitivity are not confined to direct objects only, but transitivity has consequences for indirect object coding too. In addition, the article also shows that there are good reasons for coding the examined features on the indirect object. The most important of these reasons is represented by the fact that features of the referents of the indirect object are responsible for coding the relevant features. For example, an event of transfer is conceived of as completed, when the Recipient has received the transferred entity.

The present article examines the effects of transitivity on the encoding of indirect object. The examined features comprise affectedness, aspect and animacy. In addition, differences between what will be labelled as neutral vs. purposeful transfer will be discussed. The article shows that effects of transitivity are not confined to direct objects only, but transitivity has consequences for indirect object coding too. In addition, the article also shows that there are good reasons for coding the examined features on the indirect object. The most important of these reasons is represented by the fact that features of the referents of the indirect object are responsible for coding the relevant features. For example, an event of transfer is conceived of as completed, when the Recipient has received the transferred entity.