theta role
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.16 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Example Sentences
- "Such an analysis would provide a natural way of accounting for the fact that (inter alia) transitive Objects and their ergative Subject counterparts are assigned the same theta-roles, and hence are subject to the same Selection Restrictions. For example, in (160) below: (160) (a) John might drown the kittens/his wife/??his goldfish/?!his frying-pan/!his birth (160) (b) The kittens/his wife/??his goldfish/?!his frying-pan/!his birth might drown the italicised transitive Object in (160) (a) has the same theta role ( = that of THEME or PATIENT (i.e. victim!) of drown) as the italicised ergative Subject in (160) (b), and accordingly is subject to the same Selection Restrictions."