Resultatives

December is traditionally a month for looking back. I have been looking back quite far for an abstract on causative motion for a conference in Paris next year. During my PhD, I collected data on both non-causative motion (Robin ran out of the house) and causative motion (Alice threw the book out the window), but I never did anything with the causative data. If the abstract is accepted, maybe I can finally do something with it.

Coding things up for the abstract lead me to go even further back. Among the causative motion sentences selected from my parallel corpus, I included a resultative:

"A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red." (from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)

To paint something red is a resultative construction :). Resultatives were the topic of my MA thesis completed now seven years ago, and they have always kept a special place in my heart. They are one of three types of secondary predication:

Manner predication:  Sue walked slowly
Depictive:                  Lisa ate her vegetables raw
Resultative:               Melissa cut the grass short

Secondary predicates 'attach' to a normal predicative constituent that encodes an event, here walk, eat, and cut, and expres a state or a property regarding that event, here slow, raw, and short. They are well-known in construction grammar and generative linguistics, but in typology, major cross-linguistic work has only been done on manner predication by Flora Loeb-Diehl in her dissertation "The typology of manner expressions" from 2005.

Given that I'm not doing anything with secondary predication for the foreseeable future, I thought a little typology of the 'to paint red' resultative from Alice in translation in a few Indo-European languages would be a nice Christmas read for (perhaps one of) you.


The strategies used to translate the English construction 'to paint red' vary along several different axes. To start with the closest relatives of English, these are the Dutch, German, and Swedish translations (apologies for poor gloss alignment):

Dutch
Er   stond              een            grote rozenboom  bij de 
ER stand.PST.SG INDF.ART big    rose.tree      by  DEF.ART
ingang    van de            tuin;     de            rozen    die
entrance of    DEF.ART garden DEF.ART rose.PL DEM
eraan  groeiden        waren           wit     maar er   waren            drie 
on.it    grow.PST.PL COP.PST.PL white but    ER COP.PST.PL three
tuinlieden     druk  aan de             gang om ze    rood te   schilderen.
gardener.PL busy  on   DEF.ART  way  to   3PL red    TE paint.INF

German
Ein                              hoher                     Rosenstock        stand                  nah 
INDEF.ART.M.NOM  high.M.SG.NOM  rose.tree.M.SG  stand.3SG.PST  close
dem                       Eingang               zum                         Garten:
DEF.ART.M.DAT  entrance.M.DAT  to.DEF.ART.M.DAT  garden.M.DAT
die                           Rosen                   die   daran  wuchsen          waren         weiß   aber 
DEF.ART.PL.NOM  roses.F.NOM.PL  that  on.it    grow.3PL.PST  is.3PL.PST  white  but
drei    Gärtner                      waren         dabei               sie            geschäftig  rot  an-zu-streichen.
three  gardener.M.NOM.PL  is.3PL.PST  in.the.process  3PL.ACC  busily         red  on-to-paint.INF

Swedish
Vid  ingång-en                     stod            ett                    stort   rosenträd.     Ros-orna            
by    entrance-SG.DEF.UT  stand.PST  INDF.ART.NT large  rose.tree.SG  rose-PL.DEF.UT
som                         växte         på  det        var                vit-a             men
which.REL.PRON  grow.PST  on  3SG.N be.PST.COP  white-DEF  but
tre     trädgårdsmästare  var                sysselsatt-a      med  att  måla          dem         röd-a
three gardener.PL           be.PST.COP  occupy-ADV  with  to   paint.INF  3PL.OBJ  red-DEF

Dutch, German, and Swedish all make use of an adjective as a secondary predicate, similar to the English original. This can be an invariable form, as in Dutch, or the adjective can agree with the noun for 'roses' in terms of definiteness, person, gender, case, etc., as in Swedish. This 'bare' adjective strategy is quite big in Europe: in my MA thesis, I note that this is possible in Greek, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, and Spanish too. It is indeed used in the Greek translation:

Greek
Mia                               megal-i                  triantafylli-a              fytron-e
INDF.ART.F.NOM.SG  large-F.NOM.SG  rose.tree-F.NOM.SG grow-PST.IPFV.3SG
kont-a        s-tin                                 eisod-o                      toy                                 perivoli-oy. 
near-ADV  in-DEF.ART.F.ACC.SG  entrance-F.ACC.SG  DEF.ART.M.GEN.SG  garden.M-GEN.SG
Ta                               triantafyll-a           tis                 itan              aspr-a
DEF.ART.N.NOM.PL roses-N.NOM.PL POSS.F.3SG be.PST.3PL white-N.NOM.PL
alla  ypirch-an                   kont-a         tis                treis                 kipoyr-oi                      poy   me 
but   exist.PST.IPFV-3PL  near-ADV  3SG.F.OBJ  three.M.NOM  gardener-M.NOM.PL  who  with
poly-aschol-o                yf-os                    ta              e-vaf-an                            kokkin-a.
very-busy-N.ACC.SG   look-N.ACC.SG  3PL.OBJ  PST-paint-PST.IPFV.3PL  red-N.ACC.PL

And also in Irish:

Irish
Bhí       crann   mór   róis            ina                        sheasamh  gar   do  gheata
is.PST  tree      great  rose.GEN  in.3SG.M.POSS  standing    near  to  gate
an              ghairdín:       is       geal    a                  bhí        na                   rósanna
DEF.ART  garden.GEN COP  white  REL.PART  is.PST  DEF.ART.PL  rose.PL
ag  fás             air                  ach  bhí       triúr   gairneoirí             ina
at   grow.INF  on.3SG.M/N  but  is.PST  three  gardner.GEN.PL  in.3SG.M/N.POSS
thimpeall       agus  iad            go               gnóthach  á                bpéinteáil   dearg.
surrounding   and   3PL.OBJ  ADJ.PART busy         3PL.POSS  paint.INF  red

But not in Italian:

Italian
Presso  l’-entrata                                   del                            giardino 
near     DEF.ART.F.SG-entrance.F.SG  of.DEF.ART.M.SG  garden.M.SG
c’-er-a                      un         grande  rosaio:               vi        cresce-v-ano
there-be.IPFV-3SG  one.M  big.SG  rose.tree.M.SG  there   grow-IPFV.PST-3PL
rose           bianche      ma  c’-er-ano                  tre      giardinieri         tutti  indaffarati 
rose.F.PL  white.F.PL  but  there-be.IPFV-3PL  three  gardener.M.PL  all    busy.M.PL
a   diping-er-le                  di   rosso.
to  paint-INF-ACC.F.3PL of  red

Italian uses a combination of a preposition and an adjective meaning 'red'. This strategy is in fact used by all other Romance translations, even though the 'bare' adjective strategy is supposedly possible as well:

French
Un                   grand   rosier          se                 trouv-ai-t              près  de 
ART.INDF.M  big.M  rose.tree.M  REFL.3SG  found-IPFV-3SG  near  to
l'entrée                        du                       jardin:      ses                 rose-s 
ART.DEF.F-entrance  of.ART.DEF.M  garden.M  3PL.F.POSS  rose.F-PL
ét-ai-ent          blanche-s     mais  trois   jardinier-s     s-'affair-ai-ent
be-IPFV-3PL  white.F-PL  but     three  gardener-PL  REFL.3PL-be.busy-IPFV-3PL
à    les           peindre     en  rouge.
to  3PL.OBJ  paint.INF  in  red

Portuguese
Perto  d-a                          entrada       d-o                            jardim      estava
near   of-DEF.ART.F.SG  entrance.F  of-DEF.ART.M.SG  garden.M  be.IND.IPFV.3SG
uma                      grande  roseira        com  rosa-s        branca-s,     mas  havia                              três
INDF.ART.F.SG  large     rosebush.F  with  rose.F-PL  white.F-PL  but   there.be.IND.IPFV.3SG three
jardineiro-s        muito  atarefado-s               a    pintar-em-na-s                            de  vermelho.
gardener.M-PL  very    burden.PTCP.M-PL  to  paint.INF-PERS.3PL-OBJ.3F-PL  of  red.M

Romanian
Un                 arbust                     stufos  de  trandafir-i           se                 înălț-a
INDF.M.SG  shrub.M.NOM.SG bushy  of   rose-M.ACC.PL REFL.3SG  go.up-IPFV.3SG
aproape  de  intrar-ea                       în  grădină;                  trandafir-i-i                    înflori-seră 
near        of  entry-F.ACC.SG.DEF  in  garden.F.ACC.SG  rose-M.NOM.PL-DEF  bloom-PPRF.3PL
alb-i         dar   trei    grădinar-i                    dădeau              zor     pe  lângă    arbust
white-PL  but  three  gardener-M.NOM.PL  give.IPFV.3PL  haste  on  next.to  shrub.M.NOM.SG
și     vops-eau          florile                             în  roșu.
and  dye-IPFV.3PL  flower.F.ACC.PL.DEF  in  red

Perhaps the Romance translations can be related to the Latin translation, which uses the ablative case marker. Latin also uses a nominal construction, pigmento rubro 'red paint', rather than just the adjective. Many more languages do this, especially those with case-marked adjectives.

Latin
Prope              adit-um                       hort-i                        arbor 
close.to.ADV  entrance-M.ACC.SG  garden-M.GEN.SG  tree.F.NOM.SG
ros-arum            magn-a                 sit-a                                    est 
rose-F.GEN.PL  large-F.NOM.SG  lie-PASS.PFV.F.NOM.SG  be.PRS.3SG
in  ea                 ros-ae                  alb-ae                    er-ant 
in  3SG.F.ABL  rose-F.NOM.PL  white-F.NOM.PL  be-IPFV.3PL
sed  tr-es                        hort-i                         cultor-es                     
but   three-M.NOM.PL  garden-M.GEN.SG   grower-M.NOM.PL
eas                pigment-o             rubr-o                strenu-e        ping-ebant
3PL.F.ACC   paint-N.ABL.SG  red-N.ABL.SG  active-ADV  paint-IPFV.3PL

Other languages that use the adposition strategy common in the Romance languages are Breton:

Breton
E-tal       toull             al                liorzh               e           oa                    ur
in-front   hole.M.SG   DEF.ART   garden.M.SG   PART   be.PST.AUX   INDF.ART
bod-roz:                        gwenn        e         oa                     ar               roz            anezh-añ 
bush.M.SG-rose.F.PL   white.ADJ  PART  be.PST.AUX   DEF.ART  rose.F.PL   of-3SG.M.OBJ
met  tri       liorzhour            a          oa                   a-zevri         ouzh  o           livañ         e    ruz.
but   three   gardener.M.SG  PART  be.PST.AUX  really.ADV  to       PROG  paint.INF  in   red.ADJ

Albanian uses the instrumental preposition me (and again a nominal, 'red colour', rather than simply the adjective 'red'):

Albanian
Pranë  hyrjes                                së  kopshtit                            kishte                    një
near     entrance.F.DEF.DAT.SG  of  garden.M.DEF.DAT.SG  have.IMPRF.3SG  INDF.ART
shkurre                          të                          madhe                         trëndafilash.
bush.F.INDF.ACC.SG  INDF.F.ACC.SG  big.F.INDF.ACC.SG  rose.M.INDF.DAT.PL
Aty    lulëzonin                 lule                                   të                           bardha                             që
there  bloom.IMPRF.3PL  flower.F.INDF.NOM.PL  INDF.F.NOM.PL  white.F.INDF.NOM.PL  that
tre      kopshtarë                               lodheshin                              gjithë  ditën                          duke
three  gardener.M.INDF.NOM.PL   get.tired.PASS.IMPRF.3PL  all       day.F.DEF.ACC.SG  by
i                        lyer                     me    ngjyrë                            të                          kuqe.
3PL.F.AB.SBJ  paint.GER.PRS  with colour.F.INDF.ACC.SG  INDF.F.ACC.SG red.F.INDF.ACC.SG

Hindi does the same with the instrumental se (and yet again a nominal, 'red paint'):

Hindi
baġīce               ke                praveśdvar  ke               nazdīk            hī         gulāb     ka           ek
garden.M.OBL  GEN.OBL  entrance.M  GEN.OBL  nearby.ADV EMPH  rose.M  GEN.M  DEF.ART
baṛa             peṛ       thā.                   is-me                         safed           gulāb    lage
big.ADJ.M  tree.M  be.PST.M.SG  3SG.PROX.OBL-in  white.ADJ  rose.M  attach.PFV.PTCP.M.PL
the,                           par  tīn      mālī                  in-kī                                    pankhuṛiyoṃ
be.AUX.PST.M.PL  but  three  gardener.M.PL  3SG.PROX.OBL-GEN.F  petal.F.PL.OBL
ko      lāl           rang       se      rangane              meṃ  vyast          the.
DAT  red.ADJ  paint.M  with  paint.OBL.INF  in       busy.ADV  be.PST.M.PL

Persian uses the dative postposition be in combination with a nominal:

Persian
yek  deraḵt-e      gol-e           sorḵ-e        bozorg  dar  qesmat-e    vorud-i               bāġ 
a       tree-of.EZ  rose-of.EZ  red-of.EZ  large     in    part-of.EZ  entrance-INDF  garden
vojud       dāšt:                            gol-hā-ye           ān    sepid-rang      bud 
existence  have.AUX.PST.3SG  rose-PL-of.EZ   that  white-colour   be.COP.PST.3SG
amā  se       bāġ-bān-e                   sar-garm-e              rang=kardan-e 
but    three  garden-keeper-of.EZ  head-warm-of.EZ  colour=make.AUX.INF-of.EZ
gol-hā    be  rang-e            qermez  budand.
rose-PL  to  colour-of.EZ  red         be.PST.3PL

Polish likewise uses the dative na, in combination with an adverbial suffix:

Polish
U  wejści-a                     do  ogrod-u                    sta-ło                            spor-e
at  entrance-N.GEN.SG  to  garden-M.GEN.SG  stay.IPFV-PST.3SG.N  fair.sized-N.NOM.SG
drzew-k-o                     różan-e;                          kwit-ły                                 na  nim
tree-DIM-N.NOM.SG  rose(ADJ)-N.NOM.SG  flower.IPFV-PST.3PL.NM  in   3SG.LOC.N
biał-e                         róż-e                        ale  trzech                    ogrodnik-ów               pracowici-e
white-NM.NOM.PL  rose-NM.NOM.PL  but  three.M.GEN.PL  gardener-M.GEN.PL  diligent-ADV
przemalowywa-ło              je                       na  czerwon-o.
repaint.IPFV-PST.3SG.N   3PL.ACC.NM   to  red-ADV

Russian uses the preposition v 'in' and a nominal, 'red colour':

Russian
U      vhod-a                        v   sad                            ros                                   bol’š-oj 
near  entrance-SG.M.GEN  in  garden.SG.M.ACC  grow.PST.3SG.M.IPFV  big-SG.M.NOM
rozov-yj                 kust -                      roz-y                na  nem                by-l-i
rose-SG.M.NOM   bush.SG.M.NOM  rose-PL.NOM  on  3SG.M.OBJ   be-PST.IPFV-PL
bel-ye                no   vozle  stoja-l-i                     tri       sadovnik-a               i 
white-Pl.NOM  but  near    stand-PST.IPFV-PL  three   gardener-PL.NOM  and
userdno  kras-i-l-i                     ih              v   al-yj                    cvet.
busily      paint-IPFV-PST-PL   3PL.OBJ  in  red-SG.M.ACC  colour.SG.M.ACC

The remaining languages also use spatial markers to encode that the roses are painted red, but these markers are case markers rather than free-standing adpositions. This true for Latvian (Latvian also uses a nominal):

Latvian
pie    ieej-as                       dārz-ā                       aug-a                        liels
near  entrance-SG.F.GEN  garden-SG.M.LOC  grow-PST.IND.SG  large.SG.M.NOM
balt-u                    rož-u                   koks                     bet  trīs                dārznieki
white-PL.F.GEN   rose-PL.F.GEN  tree.SG.M.NOM  but  three.NOM   gardener.PL.M.NOM
pašreiz     steidzīgi  ņēmā-s                             pār-krāsot          ziedus                       sarkan-ā 
presently  hastily     undertake-PST.IND.SG   again-paint.INF  blossom.PL.F.ACC  red-SG.F.LOC
krās-ā
colour-SG.F.LOC

Assamese uses the locative case marker -ɔt (and yet again a nominal):

Assamese
pʰʊl-ɔrɛ            ʊposɪ      tʰɔka ɛ-jʊpa         bɔr daŋɔr  bɔga gʊlap-ɔr    gɔs-ɛ 
flower-MEANS  over.flow-CVP  stay    NUM-CLF  very big    white rose-GEN  tree-NOM
prɔtʰɔmɔtɛ  ɛlɪs-ɔr drɪʃtɪ akɔrxɔn korɪ-lɛ.  kɪntʊ  taɪr 
at.first     alice-GEN attention attract do-3.PST.PFV  but      3.SG.F.GEN
asorjy-ɔr   xima  na-tʰak-ɪl      jetɪya taɪ      dekʰɪ-lɛ         jɛ hat-ɔt 
wonder-GEN limit   NEG-stay-PST   when 3.SG.NOM   see-3.PST.PFV  that hand-LOC
rɔŋ-ɔr       tɛma arʊ bʊrʊʃ  lo-ɪ      tɪnɪ-ta malɪ-ɛ   bɔr 
colour-GEN   container and brush    take-CVP  three-CLF gardener-NOM  great
byɔstɔ  bʰabɛ bɔga   gʊlap-bʊr-ɔt     rɔŋa  rɔŋ  xan-i           pʰʊrɪ-sɛ
busy      way white  rose-CLF-LOC  red   colour  paint-CVP  roam.around-3.PST.PROG

Nepali similarly uses the locative case marker in combination with a nominal:

Nepali
bagaica  bhitra  pas-ne                   bittikai  us-le           euta   thulo  gulāph-ko   rukh  dekh-i
garden    inside  enter-IPFV.PTCP  soon      3SG-ERG  one    big      rose-GEN  tree    see-PST.3SG.F
jas-mā      gulāph-ka        seta     phul     phul-eka                      thi-e                           tehã   tin-jana
that-LOC  rose-GEN.PL  while  flower  bloom-PFV.PTCP.PL  be.AUX-PST.3PL.F  there  three-CLF
mali         ubhiy-eka                       thi-e                       tiniharu-le  hāt-ma        burus  liyera         euta 
gardener  stand.up-PFV.PTCP.PL  be.AUX-PST.3PL  3PL-ERG  hand-LOC  brush  hold-CVB  one
euta  phul-lāi        gulāphi  rang-mā      rangau-dai     thi-e
one   flower-DAT  red          colour-LOC  colour-PROG  be.AUX-PST.3PL

Armenian uses the instrumental case marker -ov and a nominal:

Armenian
Partez-i          mutk’-i              mot   ach-el                   er                            mi              mets 
garden-GEN  enterance-DAT  near  grow-PRF.PTCP  be.AUX.3SG.PST  one.INDF  large
spitak  vard-eni.                       Surjy   kangn-ats              yerek’  partizpan
white   rose-tree.NOM.INDF   round  stand-RES.PTCP  three    gardener.NOM.INDF
shtap-shtap              karmir guyn-ov      nerk-um              ein                         vard-er-y.
hurriedly-hurriedly  red       colour-INS  paint-PRS.PTCP  be.AUX.3PL.PST  rose-PL-ACC.DEF

The remaining two languages are different: Lithuanian and Serbo-Croatian both use and adverbial marker, and no nominal, to encode the secondary predicate 'red':

Lithuanian
Prie  įėjim-o                         į       sod-ą                        aug-o            didel-is                  rož-ių
near  entrance-SG.M.GEN  into  garden-SG.M.ACC  grow-3.PST  large-SG.M.NOM rose-PL.F.GEN
krūm-as.                Rož-ės                 žydė-jo                      balt-ai           bet  prie   jų 
bush-SG.M.NOM  rose-PL.F.NOM  bloom-3SG.PL.PST  white-ADV  but  near  3PL.GEN
stovė-jo       trys               sodinink-ai              ir     paskubomis   daž-ė             žied-us 
stay-3.PST   three.NOM  gardener-PL.NOM  and  hastily.ADV  paint-3.PST   blossom-PL.M.ACC
raudon-ai.
red-ADV

Serbo-Croatian 
Kraj      ulaz-a                          u  vrt                            ras-l-o
next.to  entrance-M.GEN.SG  in  garden.M.ACC.SG  grow.IPFV-PST.ACT.PTCP-N.SG
je                   velik-o                 ruž-in-o                        drv-o.                  Ruž-ic-e 
be.PRS.3SG   big-N.NOM.SG  rose-ADJ-N.NOM.SG  tree-N.NOM.SG  rose-DIM-F.NOM.PL
koj-e                    su                 na  njemu           cva-l-e 
REL-F.NOM.PL  be.PRS.3PL  on  3SG.N.LOC  bloom.IPFV-PST.ACT.PTCP-F.PL
bi-l-e                                su                bijel-e                    ali su                 oko
be-PST.ACT.PTCP-F.PL  be.PRS.3PL  white-F.NOM.PL  but  be.PRS.3PL  around
njih           radi-l-a                                            tr-i                         vrtlar-a                       i 
3PL.GEN  work.IPFV-PST.ACT.PTCP-N.PL  three-M.NOM.PL  gardener-M.GEN.SG  and
žuri-l-a                                            se                da ih              što prije
hurry.IPFV-PST.ACT.PTCP-N.PL  REFL.ACC  to  3PL.ACC   as   soon.ADV
o-boj-e                                  crven-o.
PRFX-paint.IPFV-PRS.3PL  red-AD

So, basically we have four classes of translations of 'to paint red':

'bare' adjective:                    Dutch, English, German, Swedish, Greek, Irish
adposition plus adjective:    French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Breton, Albanian, Hindi, Persian,        
                                             Polish, Russian
case marker plus adjective:  Latin, Latvian, Assamese, Nepali, Armenian
adverbial marker:                 Lithuanian, Serbo-Croatian

There are of course alternative ways of categorising the data. An alternative would be to code for the case relation that is employed, which would give us another typology:

no case relation:                  Dutch, English, German, Swedish, Greek (well, Greek is accusative
                                             technically), Irish, Lithuanian, Serbo-Croatian
locative:                               Italian, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Breton, Russian, Latvian,
                                             Assamese, Nepali
ablative:                               Latin
instrumental:                       Albanian, Armenian, Hindi
dative:                                 Polish, Persian

We can also look at the use of a nominal 'red colour' rather than a bare adjective/adverb 'red/red-ly', and find the following split:

'paint red':                            Dutch, English, German, Swedish, Greek, Irish, Lithuanian, Polish,
                                             Serbo-Croatian
'paint in red colour':             Italian, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Breton, Russian, Latvian,
                                             Assamese, Nepali, Latin, Albanian, Armenian, Hindi, Persian

The use of a nominal seems clearly related to the use of case marking, so if a language has case marking, it is more likely to use a clause 'paint in a red colour' rather than 'paint it red'. There are probably all kinds of interesting underlying case assignment issues involved.

This is just one sentence in one book, so me including it in my causative motion dataset was really just butterfly collecting. But sometimes it is nice to collect butterflies and these are particularly cool ones :). Merry Christmas - if you have read this far down you especially deserve it!



EDIT: Natalia on Twitter drew my attention to the 2015 dissertation on resultatives in the European languages by Benita Riaubienė, so cool! Riaubienė (2015) discusses resultative strategies in 31 European languages, focusing on telicity, causation, and verb semantics to explain the use of different strategies in different constructions and languages. I am so happy I wrote this post now, otherwise it might have been far longer before I found out about this thesis :).

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