Language Research

Abstract In this article, the causative alternation in Persian is discussed. First, it is shown that Persian anticausative verbs involve a CAUSE component and an implicit external argument. Second, we claim that causative alternation arises when a single change-of-state verb invokes more than one semantic frame (Fillmore, 1985): causative frame and anticausative frame. These semantic frames are the result of focusing a special part of the schematic scene described by the verb and together with the relevant syntactic frame, they are represented as lower level constructions (Iwata, 2008). Third, the role of arguments in participation in causative alternation can be accounted in a usage-based model of grammar. Based on this view, constructions sanction linguistic expressions as a whole.