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Linglib.Theories.Morphology.RootTypology

Root Typology: States and Changes of State (@cite{beavers-etal-2021}, B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020}) @cite{beavers-etal-2021} @cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} @cite{coon-2019} #

@cite{arad-2005} @cite{dixon-1982} @cite{embick-2004} @cite{dowty-1991} @cite{embick-2009} @cite{rose-nichols-2021} @cite{levin-1993}

Beavers, Everdell, Jerro, Kauhanen, @cite{beavers-etal-2021} "States and changes of state: A crosslinguistic study of the roots of verbal meaning." Language 97(3), 439–484.

Core contribution #

Change-of-state verb roots split into two types:

The key semantic distinction: result roots lexically entail change, while PC roots do not. This refutes the Bifurcation Thesis: contra bifurcation, some roots introduce templatic meaning (change = BECOME).

The deepest theorem #

A root's entailment of change determines ALL of its morphosyntactic behavior in a single four-way biconditional (§§3–8):

entailsChange R ↔ ¬hasSimpleStative R ∧ ¬verbalFormIsMarked R ∧ ¬allowsRestitutiveAgain R

This holds crosslinguistically (88-language typological study), ruling out bifurcation as an explanation. The deeper explanation is the Markedness Generalization (eq. 44): morphological markedness reflects semantic mismatch between functional head and root.

Bridges #

Unified Root (§§15–17) #

Extends the file with the Root structure (§16) bundling @cite{coon-2019}'s arity dimension (does the root select an internal argument?) with Beavers et al.'s change-entailment dimension. The two axes cross-classify orthogonally (arity_changeType_orthogonal): knowing whether a root selects a theme tells you nothing about whether it entails change, and vice versa.

inductive RootType :

Two types of change-of-state verb roots (@cite{beavers-etal-2021} §3.1).

Property concept (PC) roots: underlie deadjectival CoS verbs. The root describes a gradable property (dimension, color, value, etc.). Examples: flat, red, long, warm.

Result roots: underlie non-deadjectival CoS verbs. The root describes a specific result state that arises from a particular kind of event (breaking, cooking, killing, etc.). Examples: crack, break, shatter.

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        Whether a root lexically entails prior change (@cite{beavers-etal-2021} §3.6).

        PC roots denote simple states that can hold without any prior change event. Result roots denote states that entail a prior change event.

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          inductive RootArity :

          Whether a root selects an internal (theme) argument.

          @cite{coon-2019}: the central division of labor is that roots determine internal arguments while functional heads (v/Voice⁰) determine external arguments. This is orthogonal to change entailment.

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                Does this root arity entail an obligatory internal argument?

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                  The semantic denotation domain of a root (@cite{coon-2019}, (3)).

                  • eventPred ⟨e, ⟨s,t⟩⟩: entity → event → truth-value (√TV, √ITV)
                  • measureFn ⟨e, ⟨s,d⟩⟩: entity → event → degree (√POS; @cite{henderson-2019})
                  • entityPred ⟨e,t⟩: entity → truth-value, no event (√NOM)
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                      structure Root :

                      Unified root characterization bundling all classification dimensions.

                      A root is characterized along five independent axes:

                      1. Arity: does it select an internal argument?
                      2. Change entailment: does it lexically entail a prior change event?
                      3. Denotation type (@cite{coon-2019}, (3)): event predicate, measure function, or entity predicate.
                      4. Quality dimensions (@cite{spalek-mcnally-2026}): within-class root content
                      5. Class membership: verb class taxonomy

                      Axes 1, 2, and 3 cross-classify: Coon's four Chuj root classes are recovered as (arity × denotationType) pairs: √TV = selectsTheme + eventPred, √ITV = noTheme + eventPred, √POS = noTheme + measureFn, √NOM = noTheme + entityPred.

                      • arity : RootArity

                        Does this root select an internal argument?

                      • changeType : RootType

                        Does this root lexically entail prior change?

                      • denotationType : Option RootDenotationType

                        Semantic denotation domain (@cite{coon-2019}, (3)). Optional — not all roots have been annotated.

                      • profile : RootProfile

                        Within-class quality dimensions (@cite{spalek-mcnally-2026})

                      • levinClass : Option LevinClass

                        Verb class membership

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                            Does this root lexically entail prior change?

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                              inductive PCClass :

                              Property concept root subclasses (@cite{dixon-1982}; @cite{beavers-etal-2021} ex. 5).

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                                    inductive ResultClass :

                                    Result root subclasses (@cite{levin-1993}; @cite{beavers-etal-2021} ex. 6).

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                                          How a result root's change entailment is restricted (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §2.4).

                                          Break-type result roots (√CRACK, √SHATTER) entail change of ANY kind — spatial or temporal. A crack can "run from the tree to the house" without a temporal becoming event; the state itself extends spatially.

                                          Cook/kill-type result roots (√COOK, √KILL) entail only TEMPORAL change. Cooking, killing, and melting are necessarily temporal processes. "✱The meat cooked from the oven to the table" is ruled out.

                                          This three-way refinement (PC / break-type / cook-type) is invisible to the binary entailsChange flag but has consequences for spatial predication and the interpretation of directional PPs (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §2.4).

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                                              Breaking roots allow spatial change: "The road cracked from the tree to the house."

                                              Cooking roots restrict to temporal change: "✱The meat cooked from A to B."

                                              PC roots have simple (unmarked) stative forms; result roots lack them.

                                              Crosslinguistic evidence (§6, Fig. 1): PC median = 95.67% of languages have simple statives; result median = 1.59% (Mann-Whitney U = 1266.5, p < 0.001, n₁ = n₂ = 36).

                                              English: "bright" (PC, simple adj) vs *"shattered" requires prior change.

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                                                PC root verbs are morphologically marked (deadjectival: wid-en, flat-ten); result root verbs are unmarked (basic verbs: break, crack, shatter).

                                                Crosslinguistic evidence (§7, Fig. 5): PC median = 56.01% marked; result median = 15.20% (U = 1291, p < 0.001).

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                                                  PC roots allow restitutive 'again' (scope over root only); result roots allow only repetitive 'again' (scope over BECOME).

                                                  §3.4: "John sharpened the knife again" allows restitutive reading (could be just one sharpening), but "#Chris thawed the meat again" in a restitutive context is unacceptable (necessarily two defrostings).

                                                  Under the analysis in §3.6: 'again' can target √ROOT. For PC roots, this yields a restitutive reading (return to prior state without prior change). For result roots, since the root itself entails change, 'again' over the root still entails a prior change event.

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                                                    The main theorem of @cite{beavers-etal-2021}.

                                                    A root's entailment of change determines ALL of its morphosyntactic behavior in a single four-way biconditional. This is the paper's deepest result: four independently testable properties form a perfect correlation package.

                                                    For result roots (entailsChange = true):

                                                    • No simple stative forms (§6)
                                                    • Unmarked verbal forms (§7)
                                                    • No restitutive 'again' — only repetitive (§3.4)

                                                    For PC roots (entailsChange = false):

                                                    • Simple stative forms exist (§6)
                                                    • Marked verbal forms (§7)
                                                    • Restitutive 'again' available (§3.4)

                                                    This correlation holds crosslinguistically (88 languages, §§4–7) and refutes the Bifurcation Thesis: if roots couldn't introduce templatic meaning (change), there would be NO semantic basis for the morphological and syntactic correlations.

                                                    The converse: NOT entailing change determines the opposite package.

                                                    def bifurcationThesis (rootEntailsChange : RootTypeBool) :

                                                    The Bifurcation Thesis for Roots (@cite{embick-2009}:1, @cite{arad-2005}:79; @cite{beavers-etal-2021} eq. 2):

                                                    "If a component of meaning is introduced by a semantic rule that applies to elements in combination [i.e. by templatic operators], then that component of meaning cannot be part of the meaning of a [lexical semantic] root."

                                                    Under bifurcation, change (= BECOME) is introduced only by templates, never by roots. Therefore NO root should entail change.

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                                                      @cite{beavers-etal-2021} main result: bifurcation does not hold. Result roots entail change, violating the thesis (§§3.3, 3.6, 9).

                                                      Corollary: result roots are a witness to bifurcation failure.

                                                      PC roots are consistent with bifurcation (they don't entail change).

                                                      B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} strengthened bifurcation failure via RootEntailments.

                                                      @cite{beavers-etal-2021} show roots can entail CHANGE (one templatic notion). B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} show roots can entail CHANGE, CAUSATION, and MANNER — ALL notions traditionally reserved for templates. This is a strictly stronger refutation: even if one accepted that change is "special", roots encoding manner+cause (√GUILLOTINE, √HAND) violate bifurcation on three separate dimensions simultaneously.

                                                      Witness: RootEntailments.fullSpec has all four features true.

                                                      inductive Markedness :

                                                      Whether a form is morphologically marked (=derived/complex) or unmarked (=basic/simple).

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                                                            The Markedness Generalization (@cite{beavers-etal-2021} eq. 44).

                                                            Morphological markedness reflects semantic mismatch between a functional head and its root complement. A form is unmarked when the head's semantic contribution is REDUNDANT with the root's meaning:

                                                            (a) Default realization of v_become with complement √ROOT: - If √ROOT entails change → v_become is redundant → UNMARKED verb - If √ROOT does not entail change → v_become adds content → MARKED verb

                                                            (b) Default realization of Asp_{S/R} with complement X: - If X does not entail change → already stative → UNMARKED stative - If X entails change → change must be stripped → MARKED stative

                                                            This explains three attested language types:

                                                            1. English-type: markedness asymmetry realized overtly (-en, -ed)
                                                            2. Equipollent: both marked (high-marking languages like Hebrew)
                                                            3. Labile: neither marked (low-marking languages like Kinyarwanda)

                                                            And rules out the unattested fourth type (where the markedness pattern is the inverse of what the generalization predicts).

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                                                              Stative markedness is the mirror image of verbal markedness.

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                                                                Verbal and stative markedness are always complementary.

                                                                The markedness generalization is equivalent to the semantic distinction.

                                                                @[reducible, inline]
                                                                abbrev RootDenotation (Entity State : Type) :

                                                                A root's denotation: a state predicate over entities and states. @cite{beavers-etal-2021} eq. 20a: ⟦√FLAT⟧ = λx.λs[flat'(x, s)].

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                                                                  def MeaningPostulateEntailsChange {Entity State Event : Type} (rootPred : RootDenotation Entity State) (become : EventStateProp) :

                                                                  A meaning postulate: the root's state predicate entails a prior change event. @cite{beavers-etal-2021} eq. 21a: ∀x.∀s[cracked'(x, s) → ∃e'[become'(e', s)]].

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                                                                    inductive RootDen (Entity State Event : Type) :

                                                                    Root denotation architecture (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §2.5, eqs. 37a–b), where change is CONSTITUTIVE of the result root's meaning rather than an external meaning postulate (cf. @cite{beavers-etal-2021} eq. 21).

                                                                    The formal contrast:

                                                                    • √FLAT = λxλs[flat'(x,s)] — pure state, no change in truth conditions
                                                                    • √CRACK = λxλs[cracked'(x,s) ∧ ∃e'[become'(s,e')]] — change IN the root

                                                                    The earlier @cite{beavers-etal-2021} analysis used a separate structure with an external meaning postulate constraining result roots. B&KG argue the change IS what the root means, not an external constraint.

                                                                    The empirical payoff: the again diagnostic's reading collapse for result roots (§12b below) follows logically from this architecture. If change is in the root, scoping again over root vs. over vP yields the same presupposition — explaining the collapse without stipulation.

                                                                    • pc {Entity State Event : Type} (statePred : EntityStateProp) : RootDen Entity State Event

                                                                      PC root: pure state predicate. The state can hold without prior change. √FLAT = λxλs[flat'(x,s)] — "the table is flat" doesn't presuppose any prior flattening event.

                                                                    • result {Entity State Event : Type} (statePred : EntityStateProp) (become : EventStateProp) (entailsChange : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), statePred x s∃ (e : Event), become e s) : RootDen Entity State Event

                                                                      Result root: state predicate constitutively entailing change. √CRACK = λxλs[cracked'(x,s) ∧ ∃e'[become'(s,e')]] The existential over becoming events is PART OF the root's truth conditions, not a separate meaning postulate.

                                                                    • mannerResult {Entity State Event : Type} (statePred : EntityStateProp) (become : EventStateProp) (manner : EventProp) (entailsChange : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), statePred x s∃ (e : Event), become e s) (entailsManner : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), statePred x s∃ (v : Event), manner v) : RootDen Entity State Event

                                                                      Manner+result root: state predicate entailing change AND manner restriction on the causing event (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §4.5.3, eq. 74). √GUILLOTINE = λxλs[dead'(x,s) ∧ ∃e'∃v[cause'(v,e') ∧ become'(s,e') ∧ ∀v'[cause'(v',e') → guillotining'(v')]]] The root packages both the result state AND a restriction on how that result is brought about. This violates Manner/Result Complementarity — manner and result coexist in one root.

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                                                                      def RootDen.rootType {Entity State Event : Type} :
                                                                      RootDen Entity State EventRootType

                                                                      Extract the RootType from a BKG denotation. Manner+result roots map to .result at the Boolean level — they entail change, which is all the Chapter 2 typology cares about. The manner dimension is only visible at the denotation level.

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                                                                        def RootDen.statePred {Entity State Event : Type} :
                                                                        RootDen Entity State EventEntityStateProp

                                                                        Extract the underlying state predicate from any root type.

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                                                                          def RootDen.carriesBECOME {Entity State Event : Type} :
                                                                          RootDen Entity State EventBool

                                                                          Whether the root carries its own BECOME relation (built into the denotation).

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                                                                            theorem RootDen.carriesBECOME_iff_entailsChange {Entity State Event : Type} (rd : RootDen Entity State Event) :

                                                                            Carrying BECOME built-in is the same as entailing change. This connects the denotation architecture to the Boolean flag.

                                                                            theorem RootDen.meaning_postulate_derived {Entity State Event : Type} (pred : EntityStateProp) (become : EventStateProp) (h : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), pred x s∃ (e : Event), become e s) :

                                                                            For result roots, the meaning postulate is DERIVED from the denotation — not a separate axiom. This is the formal content of B&KG's argument: change isn't externally constrained — it's what the root means.

                                                                            def RootDen.carriesMANNER {Entity State Event : Type} :
                                                                            RootDen Entity State EventBool

                                                                            Whether the root carries a manner restriction on causation (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §4.5.3). Only manner+result roots have this — PC and pure result roots do not restrict how causation proceeds.

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                                                                              def RootDen.denotationViolatesMRC {Entity State Event : Type} (rd : RootDen Entity State Event) :

                                                                              A root denotation violates MRC iff it carries both BECOME and a manner restriction — i.e., it encodes both result and manner in one root. Derived from the two independent predicates, not pattern-matched separately.

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                                                                                theorem RootDen.mannerResult_violates {Entity State Event : Type} (sp : EntityStateProp) (become : EventStateProp) (manner : EventProp) (hc : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), sp x s∃ (e : Event), become e s) (hm : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), sp x s∃ (v : Event), manner v) :
                                                                                (mannerResult sp become manner hc hm).denotationViolatesMRC = true

                                                                                Manner+result denotations violate MRC.

                                                                                theorem RootDen.result_respects {Entity State Event : Type} (sp : EntityStateProp) (become : EventStateProp) (hc : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), sp x s∃ (e : Event), become e s) :

                                                                                Result-only denotations respect MRC.

                                                                                theorem RootDen.pc_respects {Entity State Event : Type} (sp : EntityStateProp) :

                                                                                PC denotations respect MRC.

                                                                                theorem RootDen.mrc_requires_both {Entity State Event : Type} (rd : RootDen Entity State Event) (h : rd.denotationViolatesMRC = true) :

                                                                                Bridge: denotation-level MRC → Boolean RootEntailments MRC. MRC violation requires BOTH conditions — having manner alone (if such a constructor existed) would not be a violation.

                                                                                What a ditransitive root entails about possession (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §3.3). Templates always introduce PROSPECTIVE possession (via ◇ modality). Whether the ROOT adds actual or prospective possession on top determines cancellability: "gave X the ball, #but X never had it" vs. "sent X the ball, but it never arrived" (OK).

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                                                                                    Six classes of ditransitive verb roots (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §3.6). The ditransitive parallel to the PC/result distinction for CoS roots: templates contribute only PROSPECTIVE states; roots can contribute ACTUAL states.

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                                                                                        What a ditransitive root entails about the transfer event. Each field is a distinct semantic entailment from the ROOT, independent of what the template provides.

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                                                                                                Entailment profile for each ditransitive root class (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §3.6).

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                                                                                                  √GIVE entails actual possession — "Kim gave Sandy the ball, #but Sandy never had it" is contradictory (§3.3, ex. 17).

                                                                                                  √SEND does NOT entail possession — "Kim sent Sandy the ball, but it never arrived" is felicitous (§3.3, ex. 18).

                                                                                                  √THROW entails manner + caused motion but not possession.

                                                                                                  √BRING entails accompaniment — agent travels with theme.

                                                                                                  √CARRY entails manner + accompaniment but not possession.

                                                                                                  inductive DitransitiveDen (Entity Event : Type) :

                                                                                                  A ditransitive root's denotation (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §3.5, eqs. 46–55). Parallel to RootDen for CoS roots (§7b).

                                                                                                  The formal contrast:

                                                                                                  • √SEND = λyλzλe[send'(y,z,e)] — event predicate only
                                                                                                  • √GIVE = λyλzλe[give'(y,z,e) ∧ have'(z,y)] — possession IN the root

                                                                                                  Templates always add prospective possession (via ◇). Whether the root ALSO adds actual possession determines cancellation behavior, telicity, and again readings — the same architecture as CoS roots with BECOME.

                                                                                                  • simple {Entity Event : Type} (eventPred : EntityEntityEventProp) : DitransitiveDen Entity Event

                                                                                                    Root WITHOUT possession entailment. Like PC roots for CoS: the template provides the (prospective) possession.

                                                                                                  • withPossession {Entity Event : Type} (eventPred : EntityEntityEventProp) (possess : EntityEntityProp) (entailsPoss : ∀ (y z : Entity) (e : Event), eventPred y z epossess z y) : DitransitiveDen Entity Event

                                                                                                    Root WITH actual possession entailment. Like result roots for CoS: possession is IN the root's truth conditions. The entailsPoss proof is constitutive — not a meaning postulate.

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                                                                                                    def DitransitiveDen.possessionCancelable {Entity Event : Type} :
                                                                                                    DitransitiveDen Entity EventBool

                                                                                                    Whether possession is cancelable for a verb with this root. Root-entailed actual possession is NOT cancelable; template-only prospective possession IS cancelable.

                                                                                                    Structural parallel to RootDen.carriesBECOME: root-constitutive content cannot be canceled in either domain.

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                                                                                                      theorem simple_possession_cancelable {Entity Event : Type} (ep : EntityEntityEventProp) :

                                                                                                      A send-type denotation (simple) has cancelable possession.

                                                                                                      theorem withPossession_not_cancelable {Entity Event : Type} (ep : EntityEntityEventProp) (poss : EntityEntityProp) (h : ∀ (y z : Entity) (e : Event), ep y z eposs z y) :

                                                                                                      A give-type denotation (withPossession) has uncancelable possession.

                                                                                                      inductive MRCDiagnostic :

                                                                                                      The six MRC diagnostics developed in B&KG (2020 §§4.2–4.3). Three test for result entailment in the root; three test for manner. An MRC violation is a verb that passes diagnostics from BOTH sets.

                                                                                                      Result diagnostics (§4.2):

                                                                                                      Manner diagnostics (§4.3):

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                                                                                                          Each diagnostic tests for exactly one of manner or result.

                                                                                                          A verb's diagnostic profile: which of the six diagnostics it passes. B&KG (2020 §§4.2–4.3) survey these for each verb class.

                                                                                                          • denialOfResult : Bool
                                                                                                          • objectDeletion : Bool
                                                                                                          • restrictedResultatives : Bool
                                                                                                          • selectionalRestriction : Bool
                                                                                                          • denialOfAction : Bool
                                                                                                          • actorParaphrase : Bool
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                                                                                                                  Whether the profile shows result entailment (passes ≥1 result diagnostic).

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                                                                                                                    Whether the profile shows manner entailment (passes ≥1 manner diagnostic).

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                                                                                                                      An MRC violation is a verb whose diagnostics show BOTH manner and result.

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                                                                                                                        Cut passes all 6 diagnostics (B&KG §4.4): manner of cutting + separation. "Kim cut the bread, #but the bread wasn't separated" (result) "Kim cut the bread, #but Kim didn't do anything" (manner)

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                                                                                                                          Break passes result diagnostics only: pure result (√CRACK), no manner.

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                                                                                                                            Hit passes manner diagnostics only: pure manner (impact), no result.

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                                                                                                                              Drown passes all 6 (B&KG §4.5): manner of drowning + death result.

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                                                                                                                                Cut is MRC-violating by BOTH diagnostics AND RootEntailments.

                                                                                                                                Break is MRC-respecting by BOTH diagnostics AND RootEntailments.

                                                                                                                                Hit is MRC-respecting by BOTH diagnostics AND RootEntailments.

                                                                                                                                Dowty's P-Patient entailment (a) "undergoes change of state" is precisely the result root entailment. An object bearing a result root's state predicate has changeOfState = true.

                                                                                                                                This bridges the root typology to the entailment profile via the shared property.

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                                                                                                                                  Result roots MUST combine with a template containing BECOME (achievement or accomplishment), because the root's change entailment is semantically redundant with BECOME.

                                                                                                                                  PC roots CAN combine with any template — with BECOME (achievement/ accomplishment) they get change compositionally; without it (state) they denote simple states.

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                                                                                                                                    Result roots always get templates with BECOME.

                                                                                                                                    State template lacks BECOME — only available to PC roots.

                                                                                                                                    Bridge: templates with BECOME map to achievement/accomplishment Vendler classes, both of which are telic (bounded by the result state). This connects the template operator to the existing aspectual profile.

                                                                                                                                    Result root verbs are typically achievements or accomplishments (they have BECOME in their template). PC root verbs in their inchoative (change-of-state) use are also achievements/accomplishments, but their stative use is a state (derived from profile).

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                                                                                                                                      @cite{embick-2004} posits two adjectival structures:

                                                                                                                                      (8a) BASIC STATIVES: [AspP AspS √ROOT] Simple adjective directly combining with stativizer. Only available to PC roots.

                                                                                                                                      (8b) RESULT STATIVES: [AspP AspR [vP DP v_become √ROOT]] Deverbal adjective containing v_become. Available to result roots; superficially also to PC roots.

                                                                                                                                      Under the non-bifurcated analysis, result root adjectives are ALWAYS (8b) because the root requires v_become. PC root adjectives are (8a) by default but can also be (8b).

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                                                                                                                                          PC roots admit both structures; result roots only admit resultStative.

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                                                                                                                                            This is equivalent to NOT entailing change.

                                                                                                                                            inductive AgainReading :

                                                                                                                                            Sublexical modifier 'again' has two readings:

                                                                                                                                            (14a) RESTITUTIVE: again attaches to just the root → restores a prior state (one sharpening event) (14b) REPETITIVE: again attaches to the whole vP (including v_become) → repeats the entire change event (two sharpenings)

                                                                                                                                            Under the non-bifurcated analysis:

                                                                                                                                            • PC roots: again over √ROOT yields a pure state → restitutive OK
                                                                                                                                            • Result roots: again over √ROOT still entails change (root has it) → restitutive reading collapses into repetitive
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                                                                                                                                                PC roots have strictly more 'again' readings than result roots.

                                                                                                                                                Result roots lack the restitutive reading.

                                                                                                                                                What again presupposes at a given scope position.

                                                                                                                                                again is a presupposition trigger: attaching it to constituent C presupposes that C's denotation held at some prior time. The distinction between priorState and priorChange determines whether restitutive and repetitive readings are distinct or collapse into one.

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                                                                                                                                                    def RootDen.againOverRoot {Entity State Event : Type} :
                                                                                                                                                    RootDen Entity State EventAgainPresupposition

                                                                                                                                                    What again presupposes when scoping over just the root.

                                                                                                                                                    For PC roots (√FLAT): again√FLAT presupposes x was previously flat. This is a pure state presupposition — no change is implied.

                                                                                                                                                    For result roots (√CRACK): again√CRACK presupposes x was previously cracked. But √CRACK's denotation INCLUDES ∃e'[become'(s,e')], so this presupposition ENTAILS a prior change event.

                                                                                                                                                    For manner+result roots (√GUILLOTINE): again over the root presupposes prior change+manner. The root packages BECOME + manner restriction, so root-scope again entails a prior mannered change event (§4.5.2).

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                                                                                                                                                      What again presupposes when scoping over vP (v_become + root). Always presupposes prior change, regardless of root type, because v_become introduces BECOME compositionally.

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                                                                                                                                                        theorem pc_again_distinct {Entity State Event : Type} (pred : EntityStateProp) :

                                                                                                                                                        PC roots: root-scope and vP-scope again yield DISTINCT presuppositions. Root-scope → prior state (no change); vP-scope → prior change. Two distinct presuppositions → two available readings.

                                                                                                                                                        theorem result_again_collapsed {Entity State Event : Type} (pred : EntityStateProp) (become : EventStateProp) (h : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), pred x s∃ (e : Event), become e s) :

                                                                                                                                                        Result roots: root-scope and vP-scope again yield THE SAME presupposition. Both presuppose prior change — root-scope because change is in the denotation, vP-scope because v_become introduces it. Same presupposition → readings collapse into one.

                                                                                                                                                        def RootDen.predictedAgainReadings {Entity State Event : Type} :
                                                                                                                                                        RootDen Entity State EventList AgainReading

                                                                                                                                                        Predicted again readings from the BKG denotation architecture. Distinct presuppositions → both readings available. Collapsed presuppositions → only repetitive. Manner+result roots collapse like result roots — the manner restriction adds no new scope point because it's within the root.

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                                                                                                                                                          theorem bkg_again_matches_boolean {Entity State Event : Type} (rd : RootDen Entity State Event) :

                                                                                                                                                          The key bridge: the BKG denotation architecture predicts the SAME again-reading distribution as the Boolean RootType.againReadings.

                                                                                                                                                          This validates the compositional explanation: the reading collapse for result roots is not stipulated — it follows from change being constitutive of the root's meaning. The Boolean function encodes the SAME prediction, but the compositional analysis explains WHY.

                                                                                                                                                          Whether a ditransitive verb is obligatorily telic in the IO frame (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §3.7).

                                                                                                                                                          Telicity correlates with whether the root spells out a state in the template. If the root entails actual possession, the template's prospective possession is discharged → definite endpoint → telic.

                                                                                                                                                          "Kim gave Sandy balls for an hour" — # (bounded by possession transfer) "Kim sent Sandy balls for an hour" — OK (endpoint only prospective)

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                                                                                                                                                            Telicity aligns exactly with actual possession entailment.

                                                                                                                                                            What again presupposes over the root of a ditransitive denotation. Parallel to RootDen.againOverRoot (§12b): root-constitutive content makes root-scope and vP-scope again collapse.

                                                                                                                                                            -.withPossession: root carries possession → again over root presupposes prior possession (= prior change) → collapse -.simple: root has no possession → again over root presupposes prior event only (= prior state) → distinct readings

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                                                                                                                                                              again over the ditransitive vP always presupposes prior caused possession (from template CAUSE + ◇have').

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                                                                                                                                                                theorem give_den_again_collapsed {Entity Event : Type} (ep : EntityEntityEventProp) (poss : EntityEntityProp) (h : ∀ (y z : Entity) (e : Event), ep y z eposs z y) :

                                                                                                                                                                Give-type: root-scope and vP-scope again yield the SAME presupposition. Parallel to result_again_collapsed.

                                                                                                                                                                theorem send_den_again_distinct {Entity Event : Type} (ep : EntityEntityEventProp) :

                                                                                                                                                                Send-type: root-scope and vP-scope again yield DISTINCT presuppositions. Parallel to pc_again_distinct.

                                                                                                                                                                theorem mannerResult_again_collapsed {Entity State Event : Type} (sp : EntityStateProp) (become : EventStateProp) (manner : EventProp) (hc : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), sp x s∃ (e : Event), become e s) (hm : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), sp x s∃ (v : Event), manner v) :

                                                                                                                                                                Manner+result roots: root-scope and vP-scope again yield THE SAME presupposition, just like pure result roots. But the reason is RICHER: the root packages BECOME + manner, so root-scope again presupposes a prior mannered change event — which is strictly MORE than what vP-scope presupposes (just prior change).

                                                                                                                                                                Observable prediction: only repetitive reading available. Same as result roots, but for a different reason — manner is also caught in the collapse because it's inside the root.

                                                                                                                                                                theorem mannerResult_no_restitutive {Entity State Event : Type} (sp : EntityStateProp) (become : EventStateProp) (manner : EventProp) (hc : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), sp x s∃ (e : Event), become e s) (hm : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), sp x s∃ (v : Event), manner v) :

                                                                                                                                                                Manner+result roots lack the restitutive reading.

                                                                                                                                                                The three-way root denotation typology (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} §4.5.5): PC, result, and manner+result roots ALL correctly predict again readings via the unified bkg_again_matches_boolean bridge.

                                                                                                                                                                PC roots: two readings (restitutive + repetitive) Result roots: one reading (repetitive) — change in root Manner+result roots: one reading (repetitive) — change + manner in root

                                                                                                                                                                Bridge: MRC-violating roots → collapsed again readings. If a root denotation violates MRC (manner+result), it has only repetitive again. The diagnostic MRC violation predicts the again collapse.

                                                                                                                                                                theorem again_collapse_not_sufficient_for_mrc {Entity State Event : Type} (sp : EntityStateProp) (become : EventStateProp) (hc : ∀ (x : Entity) (s : State), sp x s∃ (e : Event), become e s) :

                                                                                                                                                                Bridge: MRC-respecting result roots → collapsed again too. Collapsed again is necessary but NOT sufficient for MRC violation. Pure result roots also collapse, but they don't violate MRC.

                                                                                                                                                                Beavers et al.'s conclusion (§9): accepting that result roots entail change does NOT blunt the predictive power of event structures. It simply means the theory of possible root meanings is richer than bifurcation allows. A verb that entails change should have v_become-type grammatical behavior (argument structure, morphology) even if the change comes from the ROOT rather than the template.

                                                                                                                                                                Formally: if a root entails change, then the verb should be associated with a template containing BECOME.

                                                                                                                                                                And conversely: if a root does NOT require BECOME, it doesn't entail change (it can stand alone as a simple stative).

                                                                                                                                                                The full correlation package.

                                                                                                                                                                Starting from the single Boolean entailsChange, we can derive ALL of the paper's morphosyntactic predictions. This is the formal content of the paper's main contribution: one semantic property (whether the root lexically entails change) is the sole determinant of six independently observable properties.

                                                                                                                                                                Predicted verbal markedness from change entailment.

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                                                                                                                                                                  Predicted stative markedness from change entailment.

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                                                                                                                                                                    √BREAK: selects theme + entails change (result root, Levin 45.1). "Break X" — the root obligatorily takes a patient that undergoes breaking, and the root lexically entails a prior change event.

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                                                                                                                                                                      √HIT: selects theme + does not entail change (Levin 18.1). "Hit X" — the root takes a contactee, but hitting does not entail that the patient undergoes a change of state (@cite{levin-1993} pp. 5–8). .propertyConcept is used broadly here: the formal content (entailsChange = false) is what matters, not the label.

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                                                                                                                                                                        √DIE: no theme + entails change. "Die" — intransitive; the dying entity is introduced by functional structure (unaccusative vGO/vBE), not selected by the root. Dying lexically entails a prior change event (becoming dead).

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                                                                                                                                                                          √SIT: no theme + does not entail change (positional root). "Sit" — Coon's √POS class: denotes a spatial configuration state. No internal argument, no entailed change.

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                                                                                                                                                                            Orthogonality of arity and change entailment.

                                                                                                                                                                            All four cells of the 2×2 cross-classification are inhabited. This proves the two dimensions are genuinely independent: knowing that a root selects a theme tells you nothing about whether it entails change, and vice versa.

                                                                                                                                                                            Change entailment does not determine arity (and vice versa).

                                                                                                                                                                            Beavers et al.'s grand unification (§14) shows that entailsChange determines ALL morphosyntactic correlates (markedness, simple stative, again readings, template requirements). But it determines NOTHING about internal argument selection. Coon's arity adds an independent dimension of prediction: whether the root will surface with an internal argument across voice alternations.

                                                                                                                                                                            Theme persistence (@cite{coon-2019} main empirical claim).

                                                                                                                                                                            If a root selects a theme, the internal argument persists regardless of what v/Voice⁰ head combines with it. In Chuj, √TV roots surface with an internal argument in transitive (Ø), passive (-ch, -j), and antipassive (-w) constructions alike.

                                                                                                                                                                            This is expressed by design: arity is a field of Root, not of the derived verb. No functional head modifies it.

                                                                                                                                                                            Change entailment determines markedness in the unified Root.

                                                                                                                                                                            Roots with the same change type have identical morphosyntactic behavior regardless of arity — markedness, stative forms, and again readings are orthogonal to internal argument selection.

                                                                                                                                                                            structure FullRootSpec :

                                                                                                                                                                            Full root specification: entailment features + structural position. This is B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020}'s Table 12 in full — the 4 binary entailment features × 2 positions give 32 theoretical cells, of which 7 are attested and the rest are principled gaps.

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                                                                                                                                                                              def instDecidableEqFullRootSpec.decEq (x✝ x✝¹ : FullRootSpec) :
                                                                                                                                                                              Decidable (x✝ = x✝¹)
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                                                                                                                                                                                    Adjoined position requires +manner: a root in adjunct position must specify a manner of action. Without manner, there is nothing to adjoin — the adjunct slot expects an action modifier.

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                                                                                                                                                                                      +manner +state −result −cause is semantically incoherent (B&KG §5.4.1): the root would specify both a manner of action and a state, but with no result or cause linking them. What would such a verb mean? "Perform manner M while in state S" — with no causal connection.

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                                                                                                                                                                                        Full well-formedness: entailment constraints + position licensing + semantic coherence.

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                                                                                                                                                                                          Attested cells of Table 12 #

                                                                                                                                                                                          √FLAT: +S −M −R −C, complement. Property concept root.

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                                                                                                                                                                                            √BLOSSOM: +S −M +R −C, complement. Pure result root.

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                                                                                                                                                                                              √CRACK: +S −M +R +C, complement. Causative result root.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                √JOG: −S +M −R −C, adjoined. Pure manner root.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                  √DROWN: +S +M +R +C, complement. Manner+result in complement position — the manner restricts HOW the state is caused.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                    √TOSS: +S +M +R +C, adjoined. Manner+result in adjunct position — the manner is the primary event that happens to cause a state change.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                      @[reducible, inline]

                                                                                                                                                                                                      √HAND: same entailments + position as √TOSS. The difference is in the ditransitive layer (DitransitiveRootClass.causedPossession vs .ballisticMotion), not in FullRootSpec's 4+1 features.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                        √EXIST: −S −M −R −C, complement. Minimal stative root.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                          √DROWN and √TOSS have identical entailments but different positions.

                                                                                                                                                                                                          inductive TemplateHead :

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Templatic functional heads in event structure (B&@cite{beavers-koontz-garboden-2020} Table 13).

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Each root type PREDICTS which templatic heads its verb will entail. If the root's own meaning already includes what a template head provides, that head is "entailed by the root" — its semantic contribution is redundant (though structurally still present).

                                                                                                                                                                                                          v_act, v_cause, v_become are verbal heads. P_loc and P_have are prepositional heads specific to ditransitive structures.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                            Which template heads a root's entailments make redundant (Table 13).

                                                                                                                                                                                                            The mapping is monotone: more root entailments → more heads entailed.

                                                                                                                                                                                                            • +result → v_become (root entails the change v_become would provide)
                                                                                                                                                                                                            • +cause → v_cause (root entails the causation v_cause would provide)
                                                                                                                                                                                                            • +manner ∧ +cause → v_act (manner that causes = activity)
                                                                                                                                                                                                            • +manner alone → no v_act (manner without causation doesn't entail activity — √JOG specifies jogging manner but v_act still provides the activity frame)
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                                                                                                                                                                                                              Table 13 verification #

                                                                                                                                                                                                              √JOG (pureManner): no template heads entailed. The root specifies jogging manner, but v_act still provides the activity frame — the root doesn't make it redundant.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              √FLAT (propertyConcept): no template heads entailed. The root names a state, but doesn't entail change or cause.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              √BLOSSOM (pureResult): v_become entailed. The root entails change — v_become's contribution is redundant.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              √CRACK (causativeResult): v_become + v_cause entailed. The root entails change AND causation.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              √DROWN (fullSpec): v_become + v_cause + v_act entailed. The root entails change, causation, AND activity (manner that causes).

                                                                                                                                                                                                              √TOSS (fullSpec + ballistic): v_become + v_cause + v_act + P_loc. Verbal heads from entailments + P_loc from ditransitive class.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              √HAND (fullSpec + causedPossession): all 5 heads. Verbal heads from entailments + P_loc + P_have from ditransitive class.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Monotonicity: more root entailments → weakly more heads entailed. Pure result ⊂ causative result ⊂ full spec (by inclusion).

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Whether a FullRootSpec cell is attested in B&KG's Table 12.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                Gap explanations #

                                                                                                                                                                                                                B&KG (§5.4.1) identify three principled gap types:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                1. Adjoined without manner: the adjunct position in event structure hosts manner modifiers. Without +manner, there's nothing to adjoin. This rules out all −manner roots in adjoined position.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                2. +manner +state −result −cause: the root would need to encode both a manner of action and a state, with no causal/change connection between them. No known verb has this pattern.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                3. Well-formedness violations: +result −state and +cause −result are ruled out by the entailment constraints (result→state, cause→result).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Gap type 1: adjoined position requires manner.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                theorem gap_manner_state_no_result :
                                                                                                                                                                                                                { entailments := { state := true, manner := true, result := false, cause := false }, position := RootPosition.complement }.semanticallyCoherent = false

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Gap type 2: +manner +state −result −cause is incoherent.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                theorem gap_manner_state_no_result_adj :
                                                                                                                                                                                                                { entailments := { state := true, manner := true, result := false, cause := false }, position := RootPosition.adjoined }.semanticallyCoherent = false
                                                                                                                                                                                                                theorem gap_result_no_state :
                                                                                                                                                                                                                { state := false, manner := false, result := true, cause := false }.wellFormed = false

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Gap type 3: well-formedness violations.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                theorem gap_cause_no_result :
                                                                                                                                                                                                                { state := true, manner := false, result := false, cause := true }.wellFormed = false

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Attested cells are well-formed and recognized #

                                                                                                                                                                                                                The open question: +S +M +R −C (mannerResult without cause) in complement position. B&KG note this cell may be inhabited by verbs like slide — manner of motion + change of location, without external causation. Left as NOT attested per Table 12, pending further research.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                The complement/adjoined split for fullSpec roots is the only case where position differentiates otherwise identical entailments.