THE SEMANTIC ROLES OF THE ENGLISH ACTION VERBS
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ISSN: 2302-920X
Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud
Vol 16.2 Agustus 2016: 159-166
THE SEMANTIC ROLES OF THE ENGLISH ACTION VERBS
Ni Luh Nyoman Yenni Priyastini1*, Ida Ayu Made Puspani2, Ni Made Suwari 3
Antari
[123]English Department Faculty Of Arts, Udayana University 1[yenn.by.yp@gmail.com] 2[dayupuspani@yahoo.com] 3[suwari@fs.unud.ac.id] *
Corresponding Author
Abstrak
Kata kerja adalah sebuah kata yang menyatakan keadaan, tindakan. Hubungan antara predikat dengan argumennya disebut struktur semantis. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui struktur semantis kata kerja aksi, susunan konfigurasi kata kerja aksi dan peran semantis kata kerja aksi. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah struktur semantis kata kerja aksi ditunjukkan oleh susunan konfigurasinya, kata kerja aksi mempunyai susunan konfigurasi sebagai kata kerja aksi, kata kerja aksi pengalaman, kata kerja aksi benefaktif, kata kerja aksi lokatif. Peran semantis kata kerja aksi adalah sebagai agent, experiencer, benefactive, object dan locative.
Kata Kunci: Aksi, semantis, kata kerja
A verb is a word that characteristically is the grammatical center of a predicate and expresses an act, occurrence, or mode of being. Semantic structures are basically a set of relationships between a central verb and a series of nouns. Semantically, the relation between the predicate and its arguments known as semantic role because each of its argument is assign a certain role by its predicate. This study exclusively analyzed the English Action Verbs. The Action Verbs have their own case frames configuration, semantic structure, semantic role, lexicalized, build in, and coreferential cases.
From the background above, there are three problems which are taken in the study, they are:
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1. What are the Semantic Structures of the English Action Verbs?
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2. What are the Case Frames of the English ActionVerbs?
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3. What are the Semantic Roles of the English ActionVerbs?
The aims of this study are:
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1. To identify the Semantic Structures of English Action Verbs.
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2. To explain the Case Frame of English Action Verbs.
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3. To describe the Semantic Roles of English Action Verbs.
The data of this study were taken from two novels, The Lightning Thief written by Rick Riordan (2005) and Twilight By Stephenie Meyer (2005). Those novels provide data of the action verb in case grammar. The data source is chosen because it can fulfill the need of data that have relevance to the types of verbs according to the Case Grammar Matrix Model and there were the sources filled with many sentences connected with the English action verbs.
The data for this study were collected by using library research. The data also collected by reading the novel intensively, and then collecting the data in accordance with the parameters required, and searching for sentences in the data source that has only one single verb or one clause which then used as the data.
The data were analyzed by qualitative method. The method is used in order to explain the characteristics of the data and to find out the factor that stands behind the data itself. There are three techniques that are used to analyze the data: The first technique is identification. The relevant data were marked out. The second is classification. The collected data were classified in terms of the types of the verbs it involves, that is action verb. And then, sentences with the verbs which occur more than once eliminated from the data, because only one of them isused further. The third is analysis. The data were analyzed by using the Case Grammar Theory in order to identify the case frames of the verbs, to explain semantic structures of the verbs and also to identify the semantic roles of the verbs.
For example: She closed her eyes. +[-A-O] (Riordan, 2005: 360)
She sentence above expresses Agent case, as it is the animate doers of the activity. Syntactically, the Agent cases on the sentence above takes the function of
subject. The objects of the sentence which is also the Object case of the verbs’ case frame is her eyes.
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5.2 Semantic Structure of Action Experiential Verb
For example: He told us about the carvings on the sides. +[-A-E-O]
(Riordan, 2005: 5)
Tell is a communication verb which must be accompanied by three arguments. The first argument is He as the Agent case as this argument affects the occurrence of the experience which experienced by the Experiencer. About the carvings on the sides is the Object case and also the direct object of the sentence. It is the content of the experience. The experiential case is us as the one who undergoes the experience.
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5.3 Semantic Structure of Action Benefactive Verb
For example: Alice bought Edward new clothes. +[-A-B-O]
(Meyer, 2005: 248)
The Action Benefactive verb bought above involving three arguments. The first argument, Alice functions as an Agent case, the one who did the activity or the cause of the gain. The second argument, new clothes is the Object Case of the verb, specifying the entity transferred. While the third argument, Edward is the Benefactive case; the one who undergoes the gain.
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5.4 Semantic Structure of Action Locative Verb
For example: The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week.
+[-A-O-L] (Riordan,2005:19)
The action locative verb in the sentence above needs three arguments to accompany it. The first argument, the headmaster, which takes the function of the subject of the sentence, is the Agent case of the verb. A letter is the Object case. It is the thing transferred or the thing that is changed its location by the Agent (the headmaster). The Location of the object is changed to a certain location, my mom is the third argument as the Locative case.
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5.5 Agent Case
In action verb analysis, the Agent Case is chosen as subject in the basic action verb, action experiential, action benefactive, and action locative.
For example: I eat hellhounds for breakfast. +[-A-O] (Riordan, 2005:139)
I expresses agent case, as it is the animate doer of the action. The verb in this sentence, eat must be accompanied by an object. The object of the sentence is Hellhounds
The agent case is also as the subject in the Action Experiential Verb.
For example: Mr.D would show me worse things. +[-A-E-O] (Riordan, 2005:76)
Show is the action experiential verb. It must be accompanied by the Agent Case. The Agent Case is Mr.D. This action verb also need object case. Worse things indicate the object cases.
The Agent Case as the subject in Benefactive Verb shown in following example: Mrs.Dodds would give me the evil eye. +[-A-B-O] (Riordan, 2005:5)
Mrs.Dodds functions as Agent, someone who did something. The verb give is action verb because it needs Agent and also the Object. The object is the evil eye. In addition, the Benefactive functions take by the nominal me.
The locative case in the action verb also needs an agent as the subject.
For example: She'd send me right back to Yancy. +[_A-O-L] (Riordan, 2005:10)
The Agent Case in the Action Locative Verb takes position as the subject of the sentence. The Agent case is She. The object case is me. The locative which specifies the location of an object is to Yancy.
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5.6 Experiencer Case
For example: I spoke to my brothers about it. +[-A-E-O]
(Meyer, 2005: 126)
The experiencer case cannot as subject in the example above. It accompanied by an agent and an object. The agent in the sentences above is I. The verbs spoke is Action Verb and this verb must be accompanied by the noun 162
which express the experiencer. My brothers is the experiencer which undergoes the psychological experience. In addition, the object as the content or stimulus for the experience is taken by about it.
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5.7 Benefactive Case
For example: He could give me some pointers. +[-A-B-O]
(Meyer, 2005: 20)
In the example above, the nominal He functions as the agent which has caused of the lost a respect to given object. The object is some pointers. The benefactive noun which function as the undergoer of the gain something is me.
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5.8 Object Case
In the Action Verb, the object case can occur with the basic action verb, experiential verb, benefactive verb, and also locative verb.
In the basic Action Verb, the object case accompanied with the agent case. In addition, the agent case as the subject.
For example: I touched its dorsal fin. +[-A-O] (Riordan,2005:280)
In the sentence above, its dorsal fin is the object. The object case in the action verb analysis always needs an agent. The agent case is I.
In the action experiential verb, the object cannot occur as the subject. the Object case may occur with the accompany of the agent and experiencer case.
For example: He reminded me of a beach comber from Key West. +[-A-E-O]
(Riordan,2005:353)
The object case in the action experiential verb specifies the content for the experience or stimulus for the experience. The object is a beachcomber from Key West. The Agent in the action verb takes function as the subject and manifested by animate noun. The agent is He. Me as the experiencer that specifies the undergoer of a psychological event of sensation, emotion, or cognition.
The object case also may occur with the benefactive verb in action verb
analysis. The object specifies the object which gained or loss.
For example: She gave Grover a nudge. +[-A-B-O] (Riordan,2005:295)
The object case in the action benefactive verb always needs the accompany of the agent and the benefactive case. The object case is a nudge. The agent is She. The benefactive that undergoer of the gain is Grover who gains the object transferred.
The object case takes the position in the middle of case as agent and locative case in the action locative verb. The object case in the action locative verb specifies the object in allocation, or undergoing change of position.
For example: Grover took his reed pipes out of his pocket. +[-A-O-L]
(Riordan,2005: 198)
His reed pipes is the object of the case. The object case in the sentence above specifies the change of location. Grover as the agent and also the subject of the sentence. Out of his pocket is the locative case which specifies the change of location.
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5.9 Locative Case
For example: Grover put his hand on my shoulder. +[-A-O-L]
(Riordan,2005: 329)
The action locative verb needs the accompany of agent and object case. The agent of the sentence is Grover, the agent which specifies the instigator of the action. The object of the sentence is his hand. On my shoulder indicates as the locative case which specifies the change of position.
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5.10 Lexicalized Case
For example: I answered automatically.+[A-*O/O –lex] (Meyer,2005: 57) It means: I answered with an answer. It implies that the Agent said the answer. Therefore, the Object case is lexicalized into the verb.
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5.11 Build in Case
For example: He was wearing blue jeans. +[A-O*L/L build in]
(Riordan,2005: 63)
It means: He was wearing blue jeans on his body. We do not need to mention on his body because the verb wearing already explain that we used on our body. So without using on his body, the meaning can be understood because it is impossible to say that we wear jeans on our nose (for example). Therefore, the locative is build in.
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5.12 Coreferential Cases
For example: I'll get your bag. +[A-*B-O/A=B] (Meyer,2005: 18)
It means:This is an example of the Agent case which is coreferential with the Benefactive case. Besides becomes the cause of the gain (Agent case), I is also the one who undergoes the gain with respect to a given object (bag, as the Object case).
It can be concluded that the semantic structures of the English Action Verbs are shown by the case frame configuration as Basic action Verb [-A-O], Action Experiential Verb [-A-E-O], Action Benefactive Verb [-A-B-O], Action Locative Verb [-A-O-L]. The English Action Verbs have the case frame configurations as basic action verb, action experiential, action benefactive, and action locative. The semantic roles of the Action Verbs are agent, experience, benefactive, locative, and object.
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