Remarks on the ditransitive construction in German

This article compares three definitions of "ditransitive" with a view to determining how the differences and similarities between them can be accommodated under an overarching notion of ditransitive that takes into account the specifics of both verb valency and the category of construction. The first definition takes its starting point in "ditransitive verbs" in German, the second definition focuses on the "ditransitive construction" from a typological perspective and the third definition is developed with the aim of accounting for the form and function of the ditransitive "Double Object Construction" in English. As well as providing support for the view that the three definitions are to some extent complementary and that each can have a role to play in advancing our understanding of the formal and semantic properties of the ditransitive construction, the article emphasizes the critical importance of establishing a neat distinction between universal "denotational roles" and language-specific "semantic roles" for a coherent account of the ditransitive construction in any particular language, e. g. German.

Publication year:2020

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