A Cognitive Analysis of Semantic Roles in the Causative–Anticausative Alternation of Change-of-State Verbs in Kalhori Kurdish

Articles in Press
Author
M. Dehghan
Associate Professor, Department of English and Linguistics, Faculty of Language and Literature, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran.
Abstract
The causative–anticausative alternation is one of the fundamental phenomena at the interface of syntax and verb semantics, which has received special attention within the framework of cognitive linguistics, particularly from the perspective of the causal event schema. This study aims to investigate the semantic roles in the causative–anticausative alternation of change-of-state verbs in the Kalhori dialect of Kurdish. Drawing on Croft’s (2012) theory of the causal event schema, the study investigates how causative and anticausative constructions are represented in this dialect from a cognitive perspective. The data were collected through interviews with native speakers of Kalhori and analyzed using a descriptive–analytical method. The findings indicate that, as in many natural languages and dialects, verbs whose subjects in causative constructions exhibit high agentivity are less likely to appear in anticausative forms. Conversely, verbs whose subjects tend to function as non-agentive causers or experiencers show a greater tendency to occur in anticausative structures. These patterns reflect Kalhori speakers’ cognitive understanding of causation, agency, and event structure. The results contribute to enriching cognitive linguistic studies on verbs, semantic roles, and event representation, while also serving as a significant step toward the documentation and scientific analysis of the underexplored Kalhori dialect of Kurdish.

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منابع فارسی
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Language Related Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 16 September 2025