Scalar Constraints on Anticausative SE: The Aspectual Hypothesis Revisited

Abstract

This chapter addresses the co-existence of two morphological mechanisms to express the causative-unaccusative alternation in Spanish: se and Ø. It has been observed that the choice between these patterns seems to be related to aspect in Romance. However, a detailed study of Spanish data will allow us to refine this hypothesis by claiming that aspect itself is determined by scale structure. Se and Ø will be analyzed as two lexical items competing to spell out the same head, v[BECOME], related to unaccusativity and located above AspP. Therefore, scale structure and, eventually, aspect will be the relevant grammatical factors determining the competition to spell out v[BECOME] in Spanish.