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The present paper focuses on the effects of discourse and pragmatic factors on the determination of case system in Hawrami. Du Bois (1987) argues that dominant case systems in any language cannot be thoroughly accounted for unless pragmatic factors are taken into consideration. He further shows that certain features of narrative discourse creates a special discourse tendency, called “Preferred Argument Structure”, whose defining characteristics are exactly the same as those of “Ergative systems”. The way this pragmatic tendency competes with other pragmatic factors, which exhibit accusative-like features, ultimately determines the case system in syntax. In this paper, it is first shown that, although preferred argument structure is observed in all syntactic constructions of Hawrami, its effect in aorist constructions is more prominent than in the present constructions, and this very fact causes the former set of constructions to become Ergative. Other competing pragmatic tendencies like topic animacy and topic continuity, unlike the preferred argument structure, always motivate the accusative case pattern in syntax. The effects of each of these two factors on determination of accusative case system in the present constructions are not the same; only topic animacy has the potential to set the ultimate case system in syntax as accusative. From a theoretical point of view, the empirical findings of this research may lend more support to those functionally-oriented theories of language, which consider the syntactic properties of languages as direct results of pragmatic considerations and communicative needs of speakers.   

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In the present investigation, experimental framework has been used to clarify the nature of lexical information arrayed against the lexical entries of Persian transitive verbs. In the test, we categorized the transitive verbs into 5 groups. What differs them is the number of argumental structural and sub-categorization frame options of each verb. We are going to find out which one is more fundamental in sentence processing, and that whether the verbs with less structural argument and sub-categorization frame options are processed faster or not. Twenty normal native speakers of Farsi participated in these tests. The subjects were divided into two groups. They had to perform a secondary visual lexical decision task in the immediate vicinity of the verb while listening to the sentence for meaning. Reaction times to this secondary task showed the representational complexity of  the verbs. This is called "cross modal lexical decision method". Using DMDX software program, the tests were performed, and using ANOVA and t-tests, the data were analyzed. The results showed that both the argumental structure and sub-categorization frame possibilities of verb can affect sentence processing due to time.  

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Focusing on the argument alternation of some Light Verb Constructions (LVCs) in Persian, we will show how a frame-based description of verbal polysemy may be used to answer some questions about syntactic behavior and argument structures associated with such verbs. In Persian, a number of LVCs consisting of a light verb and a preverb (PV) participate in causative alternation. The causative variant is formed with the LV ændaxtæn 'cause to fall', and the anti-causative variant is formed with oftadæn 'fall'. But in some cases, the anti-causative variant is not acceptable by native speakers of Persian, whereas the causative variant is acceptable. The peculiar behavior of these verbs in different contexts is explained in the framework of Frame Semantics (Fillmore & Atkins, 1992). We will argue that these verbs are associated with two semantic frames. Contrary to Karimi-Doostan (2005) who claims that the argument structure of LVCs is determined by PVs, and Folli, Harley & Karimi (2005) who propose that both PVs and LVs compositionally contribute to the A-structure of LVCs, using the notion of Frames (Fillmore & Baker, 2010), we propose that the whole construction including the LVC determines its A-structure.

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Many linguists have studied argument structure and argument realization in causative/inchoative alternations within the framework of lexicalist approaches. In the present paper, we will study, criticize and compare various derivatives of lexicalist approaches. Subsequently, we will test the main hypothesis underlying the mentioned accounts. In these accounts it is assumed that the verb’s lexical semantic features determine its argument structure and alternation. In this paper, based on Persian data, we will show that verb’s lexical semantics plays an important role in determination of its alternation, but the verb’s participation in causative alternation cannot be attributed sole to the verb’s semantic content. Overall, the findings of this survey cast doubt on the results of previous researches and show that  other factors which transcend the verb’s lexical features determine its argument structure and its participation in causative alternation. With this regard, the other aim of this paper is to specify the factors affecting Persian verbs’ participation in causative alternation. Amongst these factors one can point to contextual factors such as semantic features of verb’s arguments and non-arguments alongside encyclopedic factors which coalesce at the level of logical form of the utterance.

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The realization of the argument structure of nouns corresponding with ditransitive verbs is a complicated subject since those nouns involve categorical, morphological, syntactic and semantic features of both nouns and verbs. The aim of this article is to survey the argument structure including categorization, syntactic structure and phonetic and semantic realization of main ditransitive verbs and their corresponding nouns in Hawrami Kurdish-a north western Iranian language. Dividing and describing the nouns into possessive and agentive nominals, this article analyzes and contrasts them with corresponding verbs under the framework of MP/DM. The results show that syntactic structure of main verbs and their corresponding nouns involve verbal category (VP) to introduce theme and low ApplP to introduce benefective goal or location. The subject of the sentence merges as the possessor in EzafP_poss of possessive nouns and as the same agent in VoiceP of agentive nouns. The heads of the TP and CP select vP in statements; hence, the heads of PEP and DP choose nP in nominals. The root in possessive and the whole VP features in agentive nominal move to np and PEP to value their nominal and Ezafe features. Agentive nouns have more nominal properties and take plural, (in) definiteness, possessive and adjectival markers and also do not take manner adverbs. Therefore, argument structure analysis of nouns corresponding with ditransitive verbs using the MP/DM approach shows that syntactic structure is the driving engine for the categorization, syntactic structure and phonetic and semantic realization of possession and location transfer of ditransitive verbs and their corresponding nouns in Hawrami.