Italian VerbNet: A Construction based Approach to Italian Verb Classification

This paper proposes a new method for Italian verb classification -and a preliminary example of resulting classes- inspired by Levin (1993) and VerbNet (Kipper-Schuler, 2005), yet partially independent from these resources; we achieved such a result by integrating Levin and VerbNet’s models of classification with other theoretic frameworks and resources. The classification is rooted in the constructionist framework (Goldberg, 1995; 2006) and is distribution-based. It is also semantically characterized by a link to FrameNet’ssemanticframesto represent the event expressed by a class. However, the new Italian classes maintain the hierarchic “tree” structure and monotonic nature of VerbNet’s classes, and, where possible, the original names (e.g.: Verbs of Killing, Verbs of Putting, etc.). We therefore propose here a taxonomy compatible with VerbNet but at the same time adapted to Italian syntax and semantics. It also addresses a number of problems intrinsic to the original classifications, such as the role of argument alternations, here regarded simply as epiphenomena, consistently with the constructionist approach

Gender Stereotypes in Film Language: A Corpus-Assisted Analysis

The present study concentrates on the representation and the reception of gender stereotypes. The analysis was first carried out on an ad hoc corpus of cult romantic comedies and dramedies of AngloAmerican pop contemporary culture and secondly with a perception test. Both the corpus-driven analysis and the test results provide useful insights into the representation, recognition and entrenchment of gender stereotypes in language and in western culture. The preliminary findings generally confirm and validate the scientific literature, although showing some notable new elements

Italian VerbNet: A Construction-based Approach to Italian Verb Classification

L'elaborato consiste nella proposta di una nuova classificazione verbale per l'italiano, sulla base dell'autorevole modello inglese di VerbNet. Il metodo elaborato, punto centrale della ricerca, è stato sviluppato in modo da consentire la creazione di classi compatibili con il modello inglese, ma allo stesso tempo autonome e basate su criteri teorici indipendenti. Ad una parte esplicativa segue l'esposizione dei dati correlati da commenti

Modelling Italian construction flexibility with distributional semantics: are constructions enough?

The present study combines psycholinguistic evidence on Italian valency coercion and a distributional analysis. The paper suggests that distributional properties can provide useful insights on how general abstract constructions influence the resolution of coercion effects. However, complete understanding of the processing and recognition of coercion requires to take into consideration the complex intertwining of lexical verb and abstract constructions

Caused Motion constructions between standard and substandard: entrare, uscire, salire and scendere in contemporary Italian

The paper presents the first quantitative investigation of the causative use of four Italian prototypically path-encoding verbs: entrare, uscire, salire, scendere (‘to enter’, ‘to exit’, ‘to ascend’, ‘to descend’) (Talmy 1985; Ricca 1993). These uses are gradually expanding from generally southern varieties to substandard Italian as well, as part of the general re-emergence of Umgangssprache features. We use Construction Grammar as a reference framework and interpret the phenomenon as the gradual standardization (via lexicalization) of a coercion phenomenon. Specifically, we investigate the role of both linguistic (i.e. animacy of the referent of the second argument) and sociolinguistic (i.e. dialectal competence) factors on the standardization of the analysed verbs. The study consists of two acceptability ratings tasks on three datasets, tested on two different groups of subjects. Main findings are consistent with our hypotheses: the four verbs show different degrees of acceptability, and dialectal proficiency is shown to significantly influence Caused Motion Construction use. Animacy is also shown to significantly affect acceptability. Moreover, salire and scendere uses in Caused Motion Constructions is found to be likely influenced by their standard transitive use

Constructional associations trump lexical associations in processing valency coercion

The paper investigates the interaction of lexical and constructional meaning in valency coercion processing, and the effect of (in)compatibility between verb and construction for its successful resolution (Perek, Florent & Martin Hilpert. 2014. Constructional tolerance: Cross-linguistic differences in the acceptability of non-conventional uses of constructions. Constructions and Frames 6(2). 266–304; Yoon, Soyeon. 2019. Coercion and language change: A usage-based approach. Linguistic Research 36(1). 111–139). We present an online experiment on valency coercion (the first one on Italian), by means of a semantic priming protocol inspired by Johnson, Matt A. & Adele E. Goldberg. 2013. Evidence for automatic accessing of constructional meaning: Jabberwocky sentences prime associated verbs. Language & Cognitive Processes 28(10). 1439–1452. We test priming effects with a lexical decision task which presents different target verbs preceded by coercion instances of four Italian argument structure constructions, which serve as primes. Three types of verbs serve as target: lexical associate (LA), construction associate (CA), and unrelated (U) verbs. LAs are semantically similar to the main verb of the prime sentence, whereas CAs are prototypical verbs associated to the prime construction. U verbs serve as a mean of comparison for the two categories of interest. Results confirm that processing of valency coercion requires an integration of both lexical and constructional semantics. Moreover, compatibility is also found to influence coercion resolution. Specifically, constructional priming is primary and independent from compatibility. A secondary priming effect for LA verbs is also found, which suggests a contribution of lexical semantics in coercion resolution – especially for low-compatibility coercion coinages

Narrating Gender Violence A Corpus-Based Study on the Representation of Gender-Based Violence in Italian Media

Using a corpus-based and cross-modal approach, this study explores mediatic linguistic representations of gendered violence. Specifically, we analyse a journalistic corpus (WItNECS, Women in Italian Newspaper Crime Sections) and a multimedia dataset of the Italian TV program Amore Criminale (AC). The corpus is explored via collocational analysis of key terms and topic modelling. AC is investigated with a multimodal analysis of speech and gestures. Finally, we compare similarities and differences of newspaper and television language. Findings from this innovative methodology bring new evidence on the mediatic representation of ‘women as victims’

The mediatization of femicide:a corpus-based study on the representation of gendered violence in Italian media

This methodological study deploys hybrid techniques to investigate how femicide is framed in media. Results are consistent with ISTAT data and with the literature, and also offer novel insights. We find a tendency of not holding offenders accountable; that most femicides are perpetrated by men that victims know well; and that mediatic discourse around such crimes increases in certain circumstances and moments of the year. The analysis of the docu-fiction Amore Criminale reveals that metaphors are frequently used to sketch the participants’ sociopsychological portraits. Iconic speech and gestures are frequently employed by interviewees to report and mime episodes of violence. Questo studio propone un metodo ibrido per indagare la rappresentazione linguistica del femminicidio nei media italiani. I risultati sono coerenti con i dati ISTAT e con la letteratura, e offrono nuovi spunti di riflessione. Si riscontra: una tendenza a deresponsabilizzare i colpevoli; che la maggior parte dei delitti sono compiuti da uomini vicini a esse; e che su tali delitti i media si concentrano in specifiche circostanze e momenti dell’anno. L’analisi sulla docu-fiction Amore Criminale rivela che per delineare ritratti sociopsicologici di vittime e carnefici si impiegano metafore, mentre per descrivere/mimare episodi di violenza si impiegano strategie iconich

Operation Heron – Latent topic changes in an abusive letter series

The paper presents a two-part forensic linguistic analysis of an historic collection of abuse letters, sent to individuals in the public eye and individuals’ private homes between 2007-2009. We employ the technique of structural topic modelling (STM) to identify distinctions in the core topics of the letters, gauging the value of this relatively underused methodology in forensic linguistics. Four key topics were identified in the letters, Politics A and B, Healthcare, and Immigration, and their coherence, correlation and shifts in topic evaluated. Following the STM, a qualitative corpus linguistic analysis was undertaken, coding concordance lines according to topic, with the reliability between coders tested. This coding demonstrated that various connected statements within the same topic tend to gain or lose prevalence over time, and ultimately confirmed the consistency of content within the four topics identified through STM throughout the letter series. The discussion and conclusions to the paper reflect on the findings as well as considering the utility of these methodologies for linguistics and forensic linguistics in particular. The study demonstrates real value in revisiting a forensic linguistic dataset such as this to test and develop methodologies for the fiel