CHAPTER SIX

THE SEMANTIC BASIS FOR A TYPOLOGY

R. M. W. Dixon*

1. Syntactic Functions and Semantic Roles

Syntax and semantics are distinct but interrelated components of a

language. It is important to distinguish between:

• syntactic functions. These are the functions of arguments (which

may be expressed by NPs and/or bound pronouns). An intransi-
tive clause has one core argument, in S (intransitive subject) func-
tion, and a transitive clause has two, in A (transitive subject) and
O (transitive object) functions. There is almost always a subtype of
transitive—extended transitive (or ditransitive), with three obliga-
tory arguments—A, O and E, for ‘extension to core’ (this is typically
marked by dative case).
• semantic roles. Verbs divide into a number of semantic types,
each being associated with a set of semantic roles. Illustrating for
English (fuller details are in Dixon 1991, 2005):
– One set of verbs of MOTION (including go and wiggle) typically
has just one semantic role, the Moving (thing).
– Verbs of the ATTENTION type (such as see and hear) typically
have two semantic roles, Perceiver and Impression.
– Verbs of the THINKING type (such as believe and suppose) typi-
cally have two roles, Cogitator and Thought.

* My major debt is to Okomobi, Soki, Mioto, Kamo, Botenawaa, Kakai, Wero and
all the other Jarawara people of the village of Casa Nova, for their friendship and
skilled instruction. I am grateful to Alan Vogel, who invited me to share his field loca-
tion and assisted with the grammar of Jarawara (Dixon 2004b). And also to Alexandra
Y. Aikhenvald, Timothy Jowan Curnow and Suzanne Kite, who provided most useful
comments on a draft of the chapter.
206 r. m. w. dixon

In many languages, each semantic role corresponds to (that is, is

mapped onto) a consistent syntactic function. In English, the Moving
role is associated with S, Perceiver and Cogitator roles with A, and
Impression and Thought roles with O.

2. Correspondences between Functions and Roles

In some language a certain semantic roles is always mapped onto the

same syntactic function. In others there is a degree of fluidity.
The most extreme fluidity I have encountered is found in Jarawara,
spoken in the dense jungle of southern Amazonia. This can be illus-
trated for two verbs.1 (Note that all the examples given here are taken
from texts.) Consider tisa -na-, a transitive verb which describes using
an arrow (or slingshot) to hit something; it is most frequently used
for shooting fish in the water. The A argument will be the hunter, but
the O argument can be any of the other semantic roles involved in the
activity. It is most frequently the animal or fish that is shot at:

(1) abaO mee otaa tisa na otaa-ke

fish(m) 3nsgO 1exclA shoot auxiliary 1excl-decl:f
We shot lots of fish

(Note that Jarawara has two genders, feminine (f ) and masculine (m).
Feminine is the unmarked gender. For instance, all pronouns are
cross-referenced as feminine, irrespective of the sex of their referent.
Thus in (1) the declarative suffix has f form -ke (m would be -ka),
agreeing with the 1st person non-singular exclusive pronoun, otaa, in
A function.)
Alternatively, the arrow that is used in the action can be placed in
O function:2

1
Note that there are two classes of verb in Jarawara: inflecting (e.g. -tafa- ‘eat’) and
non-inflecting (e.g. hoo -na- ‘snore’). Verbal prefixes and suffixes are added directly to
an inflecting verb but to an auxiliary (generally -na-) which follows a non-inflecting
verb. The auxiliary -na- is omitted with certain prefix and suffix combinations; this
happens in (5) and (22).
2
Jarawara has three past tenses: immediate past (IP), recent past (RP) and far past
(FP). Each must be accompanied by an evidentiality marker: eyewitness (e) or non-
eyewitness (n).