ARGUMENT REALIZATION IN IGBO: THE CASE OF ‘GIVE’ AND ‘THROW’-TYPE VERBS

Abstract

This paper adopts the basic tenets of Goldberg’s (1995) construction grammar and draws major reference from Levin’s (2008) paper on verbs of transfer and the cross linguistic realization of their arguments. Based on this, we set out to find the syntactic devices used in representing the two event schemas associated with the argument realization of these verbs in Igbo (the caused possession and caused motion events types). Consequently, it is discovered that the verbs ‘give’ and ‘throw’ and their equivalents in Igbo make use of the double object construction in realizing their arguments in the language. Finally, it is confirmed that this phenomenon is possible in Igbo due to the lack of overt dative case marking which leaves only one option available- the double object construction.