Diagnosing Serial Verb Constructions: The Case of Resultatives in Vurës

Abstract

Abstract:Resultative constructions are monoclausal cause-effect constructions involving two constituents, the first of which expresses the manner or process of the event, and the second expresses the result of the action. In serializing languages, resultatives are often analyzed as serial verb constructions where the first element is a transitive verb, and the second element is a stative intransitive verb. However, result states in serializing languages may also be expressed by result adverbials of other non-verb forms, which may appear to some extent verb-like. Resultative constructions therefore raise the problem of distinguishing verb serialization from constructions involving non-verbal elements. We propose three tests to determine the status of relevant forms: a Sole Predicate Test; a Corresponding Semantics Test; and a No Intervening Modifier Test. We trial these tests by applying them to data from Vurës, a language of Vanuatu with resultative constructions that involve a second element with certain verb-like qualities. Our tests provide evidence that only a small subset of Vurës resultative constructions are serial verb constructions. The proposed tests demonstrate that the majority of these resultative constructions are adverbial, not serialized.