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Experiential Namespace

Core Definition

Experiential frames foreground the TELIC ROLE with a specialized focus on the Experiencer as the endpoint or locus of psychological, perceptual, or cognitive events. These frames center on sentient entities undergoing mental states, perceiving stimuli, or processing information. Unlike typical telic frames where a Patient undergoes physical change, Experiential frames involve mental/perceptual states where the Experiencer is affected psychologically rather than physically.

Theoretical foundation: Experiential frames encode events where a sentient being (Experiencer) has a mental state or perceptual experience triggered by or directed toward a Stimulus. The core template involves:

EXPERIENCE(Experiencer, Stimulus, Mental_State/Content)

Key characteristics:

  • Experiencer-centric: A sentient being is the primary participant
  • Mental/perceptual domain: Events occur in psychological/cognitive space
  • Stimulus-triggered: Often (but not always) involves an external trigger
  • Subjectivity: Events are inherently from the Experiencer's perspective
  • Aspectual flexibility: Can pattern as states, achievements, or activities

Philosophical background: Experiential frames relate to qualia (phenomenal experience), intentionality (aboutness of mental states), and subjectivity (first-person perspective). This connects to the TELIC quale emphasis - the Experiencer is the "endpoint" or "target" of the experiential event.

Experiencer Types: Four Major Domains

Experiential frames divide into four major subtypes based on the modality or domain of experience:

Perception (Sensory Experience)

Definition: Events involving sensory modalities where the Experiencer perceives external stimuli through sense organs.

Semantic template: PERCEIVE(Experiencer, Stimulus, via_Modality)

Sensory modalities:

a) Vision (ver, olhar, observar, enxergar)

  • JoĆ£o viu Maria ("JoĆ£o saw Maria")
  • Maria observou o pĆ”ssaro ("Maria observed the bird")
  • Eles olharam para o cĆ©u ("They looked at the sky")

b) Audition (ouvir, escutar, auscultar)

  • JoĆ£o ouviu o barulho ("JoĆ£o heard the noise")
  • Maria escutou a mĆŗsica ("Maria listened to the music")

c) Olfaction (cheirar, sentir)

  • JoĆ£o cheirou a flor ("JoĆ£o smelled the flower")
  • Maria sentiu o perfume ("Maria smelled/sensed the perfume")

d) Gustation (provar, saborear, degustar)

  • JoĆ£o provou o vinho ("JoĆ£o tasted the wine")
  • Maria saboreou a comida ("Maria savored the food")

e) Touch/Tactile (tocar, sentir, tatear)

  • JoĆ£o tocou a superfĆ­cie ("JoĆ£o touched the surface")
  • Maria sentiu a textura ("Maria felt the texture")

Theoretical properties:

  1. Direct object = Stimulus: The perceived entity is typically the direct object

    • Ver Maria, ouvir o barulho, cheirar a flor

  2. Perceptual source: Can specify the sensory source

    • Ver com os olhos, ouvir com os ouvidos

  3. Veridical vs. non-veridical: Some perception verbs imply truth

    • Ver (veridical): JoĆ£o viu Maria ā†’ Maria was there
    • Parecer (non-veridical): Parecia haver Maria ā†’ may not be true

  4. Content clauses: Can take sentential complements

    • JoĆ£o viu que Maria estava ali ("JoĆ£o saw that Maria was there")

Emotion (Affective Experience)

Definition: Events involving affective/emotional states experienced by sentient beings in response to stimuli or situations.

Semantic template: FEEL(Experiencer, Emotion, about_Stimulus)

Emotional categories (following basic emotion theory - Ekman, Plutchik):

a) Happiness/Joy (alegrar-se, contentar-se, deliciar-se)

  • JoĆ£o se alegrou com a notĆ­cia ("JoĆ£o became happy with the news")
  • Maria se contentou com o resultado ("Maria was pleased with the result")

b) Sadness (entristecer-se, afligir-se, desanimar)

  • JoĆ£o se entristeceu com a perda ("JoĆ£o became sad with the loss")
  • Maria se afligiu com o problema ("Maria was distressed with the problem")

c) Fear/Anxiety (temer, assustar-se, apavorar-se)

  • JoĆ£o teme o escuro ("JoĆ£o fears the dark")
  • Maria se assustou com o barulho ("Maria was startled by the noise")

d) Anger (zangar-se, irritar-se, enfurecer-se)

  • JoĆ£o se zangou com Pedro ("JoĆ£o got angry with Pedro")
  • Maria se irritou com o atraso ("Maria was irritated by the delay")

e) Disgust (enojar-se, repugnar)

  • JoĆ£o se enojou com a comida ("JoĆ£o was disgusted by the food")

f) Surprise (surpreender-se, espantar-se)

  • JoĆ£o se surpreendeu com a resposta ("JoĆ£o was surprised by the answer")

g) Love/Affection (amar, adorar, gostar)

  • JoĆ£o ama Maria ("JoĆ£o loves Maria")
  • Maria gosta de chocolate ("Maria likes chocolate")

Theoretical properties:

  1. Stimulus variability: Emotion can be triggered by:

    • Entities: temer o cachorro (fear the dog)
    • Events: alegrar-se com a vitĆ³ria (be happy with the victory)
    • Propositions: temer que chova (fear that it will rain)

  2. Intensity gradability: Emotions are scalar

    • Gostar um pouco, amar muito, adorar completamente

  3. Duration: Can be states or changes of state

    • State: JoĆ£o ama Maria (ongoing state)
    • Change: JoĆ£o se apaixonou por Maria ("JoĆ£o fell in love with Maria" - inchoative)

  4. Causative alternations: Many emotion verbs alternate (see section 5)

Cognition (Epistemic Experience)

Definition: Events involving cognitive processes, beliefs, knowledge, thoughts, and reasoning.

Semantic template: COGNIZE(Experiencer, Content/Proposition)

Cognitive categories:

a) Knowledge/Belief (saber, conhecer, acreditar, crer)

  • JoĆ£o sabe a resposta ("JoĆ£o knows the answer")
  • Maria acredita na teoria ("Maria believes in the theory")
  • Pedro conhece Paris ("Pedro knows/is familiar with Paris")

Key distinction:

  • Saber: Propositional knowledge (saber que)
  • Conhecer: Acquaintance knowledge (conhecer X)

b) Understanding/Comprehension (entender, compreender, captar)

  • JoĆ£o entendeu a explicaĆ§Ć£o ("JoĆ£o understood the explanation")
  • Maria compreendeu o problema ("Maria comprehended the problem")

c) Memory/Recall (lembrar, recordar, esquecer)

  • JoĆ£o lembrou do aniversĆ”rio ("JoĆ£o remembered the birthday")
  • Maria esqueceu a senha ("Maria forgot the password")

d) Thinking/Reasoning (pensar, raciocinar, refletir, considerar)

  • JoĆ£o pensa sobre o futuro ("JoĆ£o thinks about the future")
  • Maria reflete sobre a decisĆ£o ("Maria reflects on the decision")

e) Attention/Awareness (notar, perceber, reparar, atentar)

  • JoĆ£o notou o erro ("JoĆ£o noticed the mistake")
  • Maria percebeu a mudanƧa ("Maria perceived/noticed the change")

f) Decision/Judgment (decidir, julgar, concluir, determinar)

  • JoĆ£o decidiu partir ("JoĆ£o decided to leave")
  • Maria julgou o caso ("Maria judged the case")

Theoretical properties:

  1. Propositional content: Typically take clausal complements

    • Saber que, acreditar que, pensar que
    • JoĆ£o sabe que Maria viajou ("JoĆ£o knows that Maria traveled")

  2. Factive vs. non-factive:

    • Factive: saber presupposes truth (JoĆ£o sabe que P ā†’ P is true)
    • Non-factive: acreditar doesn't presuppose truth (JoĆ£o acredita que P ā†’ P may or may not be true)

  3. Mental effort: Some involve active processing (pensar, raciocinar), others are passive (saber, acreditar)

  4. Evidentiality: Often encode source of information (see section 7)

Bodily Sensation (Somatic Experience)

Definition: Events involving physical sensations experienced by the body, including pain, pleasure, and physiological states.

Semantic template: SENSE(Experiencer, Sensation, at_Body_Part)

Sensation categories:

a) Pain/Discomfort (doer, dolorido, machucar)

  • A perna de JoĆ£o dĆ³i ("JoĆ£o's leg hurts")
  • Maria se machucou ("Maria got hurt")
  • Pedro sente dor de cabeƧa ("Pedro feels headache")

b) Pleasure/Comfort (sentir prazer, deliciar-se)

  • JoĆ£o sentiu prazer com a massagem ("JoĆ£o felt pleasure from the massage")

c) Physiological states (ter fome, ter sede, ter sono)

  • JoĆ£o tem fome ("JoĆ£o is hungry")
  • Maria estĆ” com sono ("Maria is sleepy")

d) Temperature sensation (ter frio, ter calor)

  • JoĆ£o estĆ” com frio ("JoĆ£o is cold")
  • Maria sente calor ("Maria feels hot")

e) Fatigue/Energy (cansar-se, exaurir-se)

  • JoĆ£o se cansou ("JoĆ£o got tired")
  • Maria se exauriu ("Maria exhausted herself")

Theoretical properties:

  1. Body part localization: Often specify location

    • Doer na perna, sentir dor no braƧo

  2. Experiencer = possessor: Body part possessor is Experiencer

    • A perna de JoĆ£o dĆ³i (JoĆ£o's leg hurts ā†’ JoĆ£o experiences pain)

  3. Involuntary: Typically no control over bodily sensations

    • āœ— JoĆ£o decidiu ter fome (can't decide to be hungry)

  4. Physical basis: Unlike emotions/cognition, grounded in bodily states

  5. Overlap with emotion: Some sensations have affective component

    • Prazer (pleasure) - both bodily and emotional

The Control Dimension: Agentive vs. Non-agentive Experiencers

A crucial distinction in Experiential frames is whether the Experiencer has volitional control over the experience.

Agentive/Controlled Experience

Definition: Experiencer actively engages in the experience with intentionality and control.

Semantic features: [+volitional, +intentional, +control]

Examples:

Perception with control:

  • Olhar (look at): JoĆ£o olhou para Maria ("JoĆ£o looked at Maria")
  • Escutar (listen to): Maria escutou a mĆŗsica ("Maria listened to the music")
  • Observar (observe): Pedro observou o experimento ("Pedro observed the experiment")
  • Examinar (examine): O mĆ©dico examinou o paciente ("The doctor examined the patient")

Cognition with control:

  • Pensar (think): JoĆ£o pensou sobre o problema ("JoĆ£o thought about the problem")
  • Refletir (reflect): Maria refletiu sobre a decisĆ£o ("Maria reflected on the decision")
  • Considerar (consider): Pedro considerou as opƧƵes ("Pedro considered the options")
  • Decidir (decide): Ana decidiu partir ("Ana decided to leave")

Diagnostic tests

Test 1: Imperative Controlled experiences can take imperative form:

āœ“ Olhe para aqui! (Look here!)
āœ“ Escute isto! (Listen to this!)
āœ“ Pense sobre isso! (Think about this!)

Test 2: Purpose clauses Compatible with purpose expressions:

āœ“ JoĆ£o olhou para Maria para ver sua reaĆ§Ć£o (looked in order to see)
āœ“ Maria escutou a mĆŗsica para relaxar (listened in order to relax)

Test 3: Manner adverbs of intentionality

āœ“ JoĆ£o olhou deliberadamente para Maria (deliberately)
āœ“ Maria escutou atentamente a explicaĆ§Ć£o (attentively)

Test 4: "Decidir" (decide to) Can be embedded under decision verbs:

āœ“ JoĆ£o decidiu olhar para o quadro (decided to look)
āœ“ Maria decidiu pensar sobre o assunto (decided to think)

Cognitive status: Experiencer has:

  • Mental representation of intention
  • Executive control over experience
  • Responsibility for engaging in experience

Non-agentive/Uncontrolled Experience

Definition: Experiencer passively undergoes experience without volitional control.

Semantic features: [-volitional, -intentional, -control]

Examples:

Perception without control:

  • Ver (see - spontaneous): JoĆ£o viu Maria ("JoĆ£o saw Maria")
  • Ouvir (hear - spontaneous): Maria ouviu o barulho ("Maria heard the noise")
  • Sentir (feel/sense): Pedro sentiu o cheiro ("Pedro smelled it")

Emotion (typically uncontrolled):

  • Amar (love): JoĆ£o ama Maria ("JoĆ£o loves Maria")
  • Temer (fear): Maria teme o escuro ("Maria fears the dark")
  • Alegrar-se (become happy): Pedro se alegrou ("Pedro became happy")

Bodily sensation (involuntary):

  • Doer (hurt): A cabeƧa de JoĆ£o dĆ³i ("JoĆ£o's head hurts")
  • Ter fome (be hungry): Maria tem fome ("Maria is hungry")

Epistemic states (passive):

  • Saber (know - state): JoĆ£o sabe a resposta ("JoĆ£o knows the answer")
  • Lembrar (remember - spontaneous): Maria lembrou do evento ("Maria remembered the event")

Diagnostic tests

Test 1: Imperative Uncontrolled experiences resist imperatives:

āœ— *Veja Maria! (See Maria! - odd as command, can only mean "look")
āœ— *OuƧa o barulho! (Hear the noise! - odd, can only mean "listen")
āœ— *Ame JoĆ£o! (Love JoĆ£o! - cannot command emotion)
āœ— *Tenha fome! (Be hungry! - cannot command bodily state)

Test 2: Purpose clauses Incompatible or odd with purpose:

āœ— *JoĆ£o viu Maria para percebĆŖ-la (saw in order to perceive - circular/odd)
āœ— *Maria amou JoĆ£o para ter a emoĆ§Ć£o (loved in order to have emotion - odd)

Test 3: Manner adverbs Incompatible with intentionality adverbs:

āœ— *JoĆ£o viu Maria deliberadamente (saw deliberately - coerces to "looked")
āœ— *Maria amou JoĆ£o intencionalmente (loved intentionally - odd)

Test 4: Spontaneity Can be modified by spontaneity markers:

āœ“ JoĆ£o viu Maria de repente (saw suddenly)
āœ“ Maria se apaixonou sem querer (fell in love unintentionally)

The Control Gradient

Many experience verbs exist on a gradient between full control and no control:

Portuguese perception verb pairs:

Uncontrolled Controlled Translation
ver olhar see / look
ouvir escutar hear / listen
sentir (smell) cheirar smell / sniff
sentir (feel) tocar feel / touch

Semantic contrast:

  • Uncontrolled: Stimulus enters awareness spontaneously
  • Controlled: Experiencer directs attention toward Stimulus

Example contrast:

JoĆ£o VIU Maria na rua (spontaneous perception - Maria entered JoĆ£o's visual field)
JoĆ£o OLHOU para Maria (intentional perception - JoĆ£o directed gaze toward Maria)

Cognition gradient:

Less control More control
saber (know - state) aprender (learn - process)
lembrar (remember - spontaneous) memorizar (memorize - intentional)
perceber (notice - sudden) observar (observe - sustained)
entender (understand - result) estudar (study - effort)

Stimulus Types: What Triggers Experience

Experiential frames vary based on the nature of the Stimulus that triggers or is the object of the experience.

Entity Stimuli (Object of Experience)

Definition: The Stimulus is a concrete or abstract entity.

Syntactic realization: Direct object NP

Examples:

Perception of entities:

  • JoĆ£o viu Maria (saw Maria - person)
  • Maria ouviu o barulho (heard the noise - sound)
  • Pedro cheirou a flor (smelled the flower - object)

Emotion toward entities:

  • JoĆ£o ama Maria (loves Maria - person)
  • Maria teme o cachorro (fears the dog - animal)
  • Pedro odeia a violĆŖncia (hates violence - abstract concept)

Cognition about entities:

  • JoĆ£o conhece Paris (knows Paris - place)
  • Maria entende matemĆ”tica (understands mathematics - domain)
  • Pedro lembra do JoĆ£o (remembers JoĆ£o - person)

Properties:

  • Stimulus is participant in experience
  • Direct syntactic encoding (NP complement)
  • Can be concrete or abstract

Event Stimuli (Triggering Event)

Definition: The Stimulus is an event or situation that triggers the experience.

Syntactic realization: PP with com (with), de (of/from), nominalized event

Examples:

Perception of events:

  • JoĆ£o viu Maria sair (saw Maria leave - event)
  • Maria ouviu o vaso quebrar (heard the vase break - event)

Emotion triggered by events:

  • JoĆ£o se alegrou com a vitĆ³ria (became happy with the victory)
  • Maria se entristeceu com a notĆ­cia (became sad with the news)
  • Pedro se irritou com o atraso (got irritated with the delay)

Cognition about events:

  • JoĆ£o percebeu que Maria saiu (noticed that Maria left)
  • Maria lembrou de quando viajou (remembered when she traveled)

Properties:

  • Stimulus is cause or trigger of experience
  • Often oblique syntactic encoding (PP)
  • Typically with change-of-state experiences (emotions)

Propositional Content (Mental Content)

Definition: The Stimulus is propositional content - a complete thought or proposition.

Syntactic realization: Clausal complement with que (that), infinitive, interrogative clause

Examples:

Perception with propositional content:

  • JoĆ£o viu que Maria estava ali (saw that Maria was there)
  • Maria ouviu que JoĆ£o viajou (heard that JoĆ£o traveled)

Epistemic verbs with propositions:

  • JoĆ£o sabe que Maria viajou (knows that Maria traveled)
  • Maria acredita que JoĆ£o Ć© honesto (believes that JoĆ£o is honest)
  • Pedro pensa que vai chover (thinks that it will rain)

Emotion with propositional content:

  • JoĆ£o teme que chova (fears that it will rain)
  • Maria se alegrou porque ganhou (became happy because she won)

Cognitive attitudes toward propositions:

  • JoĆ£o duvida que Maria venha (doubts that Maria will come)
  • Maria espera que tudo dĆŖ certo (hopes that everything goes well)

Properties:

  • Stimulus is propositional - has truth value
  • Requires clausal syntax
  • Characteristic of epistemic verbs
  • Can embed under attitude verbs

No Explicit Stimulus (Stimulus-less Experience)

Some experiential frames have no explicit external Stimulus - the experience is purely internal.

Examples:

Bodily sensations:

  • JoĆ£o tem fome (JoĆ£o is hungry - no external stimulus)
  • Maria estĆ” com sono (Maria is sleepy)
  • A cabeƧa de Pedro dĆ³i (Pedro's head hurts)

Moods (non-directed emotions):

  • JoĆ£o estĆ” feliz (JoĆ£o is happy - general mood, not directed at anything)
  • Maria estĆ” triste (Maria is sad - mood state)

Cognitive states:

  • JoĆ£o sabe (JoĆ£o knows - knowledge state without specified content)
  • Maria pensa (Maria thinks - thinking without specified object)

Properties:

  • Intransitive structure
  • Experience is internal state rather than response to external trigger
  • Often with copular constructions (estar feliz) or existential (ter fome)

Causative Variants: Psych Verb Alternations

Psychological/experiential verbs (psych verbs) exhibit fascinating argument structure alternations where the same semantic roles can be realized in different syntactic positions.

Experiencer-Subject vs. Stimulus-Subject

Two major patterns:

Pattern A: Experiencer-Subject (Object Experiencer)

Experiencer VERB Stimulus
JoĆ£o TEME o cachorro
(JoĆ£o fears the dog)

Pattern B: Stimulus-Subject (Subject Experiencer)

Stimulus VERB Experiencer
O cachorro ASSUSTA JoĆ£o
(The dog frightens JoĆ£o)

Same semantic relation, different syntactic realization!

Experiencer-Subject Psych Verbs

Structure: Experiencer = Subject, Stimulus = Object

Examples:

Fear verbs:

  • JoĆ£o teme o escuro ("JoĆ£o fears the dark")
  • Maria receia a resposta ("Maria dreads the answer")

Love verbs:

  • JoĆ£o ama Maria ("JoĆ£o loves Maria")
  • Pedro adora chocolate ("Pedro loves chocolate")

Cognitive verbs:

  • JoĆ£o sabe a resposta ("JoĆ£o knows the answer")
  • Maria entende o problema ("Maria understands the problem")

Properties:

  1. Experiencer has subject properties:

    • Controls reflexives: JoĆ£oā‚ teme a si mesmoā‚
    • Subject-verb agreement: JoĆ£o teme vs. Eles temem

  2. Stative aspect: Often denote states rather than events

    • JoĆ£o ama Maria (ongoing state)
    • Not punctual events

  3. Less causative: Don't strongly imply Stimulus caused the emotion

    • JoĆ£o teme o cachorro (JoĆ£o's fear may be independent of dog's properties)

  4. Belletti & Rizzi's analysis: Experiencer is base-generated in subject position

Stimulus-Subject Psych Verbs

Structure: Stimulus = Subject, Experiencer = Object

Examples:

Fear verbs (causative):

  • O cachorro assusta JoĆ£o ("The dog frightens JoĆ£o")
  • A notĆ­cia apavorou Maria ("The news terrified Maria")

Emotion verbs (causative):

  • O filme emocionou a plateia ("The film moved the audience")
  • A histĆ³ria entristeceu Pedro ("The story saddened Pedro")
  • O resultado alegrou todos ("The result made everyone happy")

Irritation/displeasure:

  • O barulho irritou Maria ("The noise irritated Maria")
  • A atitude ofendeu JoĆ£o ("The attitude offended JoĆ£o")

Surprise:

  • A resposta surpreendeu todos ("The answer surprised everyone")

Properties:

  1. Causative semantics: Stimulus causes Experiencer to feel emotion

    • CAUSE(Stimulus, FEEL(Experiencer, Emotion))

  2. Eventive aspect: Often denote changes of state (inchoative!)

    • O filme emocionou Maria = Maria became moved (achievement/accomplishment)

  3. Passive-like: Experiencer is Patient-like (affected by Stimulus)

    • Can passivize: JoĆ£o foi assustado pelo cachorro

  4. Agentivity ambiguous: Stimulus may or may not be intentional

    • O cachorro assustou JoĆ£o (dog may or may not intend to frighten)

Reflexive Psych Verbs (Middle Voice)

Portuguese has a third pattern using reflexive se where Experiencer is subject but marked reflexively.

Structure: Experiencer = Subject + se, Stimulus = Oblique (PP with com)

Examples:

Emotion verbs:

  • JoĆ£o se alegrou com a notĆ­cia ("JoĆ£o became happy with the news")
  • Maria se entristeceu com a perda ("Maria became sad with the loss")
  • Pedro se irritou com o atraso ("Pedro got irritated with the delay")
  • Ana se assustou com o barulho ("Ana was startled by the noise")

Properties:

  1. Inchoative/middle interpretation: Emphasizes change of state

    • BECOME(FEEL(Experiencer, Emotion))

  2. Stimulus is oblique: Introduced by com, de, por

    • Not direct object

  3. Spontaneous causation: Suggests emotion arose naturally/spontaneously

    • Less emphasis on Stimulus as active causer

  4. Related to inchoative namespace: These are emotional inchoatives!

Portuguese Psych Verb Alternation Patterns

Many verbs appear in multiple patterns:

Experiencer-Subject Stimulus-Subject Reflexive Meaning
temer assustar assustar-se fear/frighten
ā€” alegrar alegrar-se make happy/become happy
ā€” entristecer entristecer-se sadden/become sad
ā€” irritar irritar-se irritate/become irritated
ā€” surpreender surpreender-se surprise/be surprised
gostar agradar ā€” like/please

Example paradigm for "frighten/fear":

(A) JoĆ£o teme o cachorro (Exp-Subj: JoĆ£o fears the dog)
(B) O cachorro assusta JoĆ£o (Stim-Subj: The dog frightens JoĆ£o)
(C) JoĆ£o se assustou com o cachorro (Reflexive: JoĆ£o got frightened by the dog)

Semantic differences:

  • (A) State of fearing (stative, ongoing)
  • (B) Causing fear (causative, eventive)
  • (C) Becoming frightened (inchoative, change of state)

Theoretical Analysis: Belletti & Rizzi

The puzzle: Why do psych verbs have such unusual argument structures?

Belletti & Rizzi's (1988) proposal:

  • Psych verbs have special theta-role hierarchy violation
  • Normal hierarchy: Agent > Experiencer > Theme
  • Psych verbs: Stimulus (Theme-like) > Experiencer

Structural consequences:

  • Stimulus-Subject verbs involve exceptional case marking
  • Experiencer is not in canonical subject position
  • Creates special syntactic properties (binding, control, agreement)

Connection to your framework:

  • Experiencer-Subject: TELIC role (Experiencer as endpoint) in subject
  • Stimulus-Subject: AGENTIVE role (Stimulus as causer) in subject
  • Reflexive: TELIC role with explicit inchoative marking (se)

Cross-Categorial Behavior: States vs. Events

Experiential frames exhibit aspectual flexibility - they can pattern as either states or events depending on the verb and context.

Stative Experiential Frames

Definition: Experiences that are ongoing states without internal change.

Vendler class: States

Examples:

Epistemic states:

  • JoĆ£o sabe a resposta ("JoĆ£o knows the answer")
  • Maria acredita em Deus ("Maria believes in God")
  • Pedro conhece Paris ("Pedro knows Paris")

Emotional states:

  • JoĆ£o ama Maria ("JoĆ£o loves Maria")
  • Maria odeia barulho ("Maria hates noise")
  • Pedro gosta de mĆŗsica ("Pedro likes music")

Perceptual states (rare, mostly with adjectives):

  • JoĆ£o enxerga bem ("JoĆ£o sees well")

Diagnostic tests:

Test 1: Progressive incompatibility States resist progressive:

āœ— *JoĆ£o estĆ” sabendo a resposta (knowing)
āœ— *Maria estĆ” amando JoĆ£o (loving)
āœ“ JoĆ£o sabe a resposta (knows)
āœ“ Maria ama JoĆ£o (loves)

Test 2: Time span modification Compatible with durative expressions:

āœ“ JoĆ£o sabe a resposta hĆ” anos (has known for years)
āœ“ Maria ama JoĆ£o desde crianƧa (has loved since childhood)

Test 3: No agentivity Incompatible with agentive modifiers:

āœ— *JoĆ£o sabe a resposta deliberadamente (knows deliberately - can't control knowing)
āœ— *Maria ama JoĆ£o intencionalmente (loves intentionally - can't decide to love)

Properties:

  • No internal temporal structure
  • Hold over intervals
  • No inherent endpoint
  • Typically involuntary

Eventive Experiential Frames

Definition: Experiences that are dynamic events with internal temporal structure.

Vendler class: Achievements or Activities

Examples:

Perceptual events (achievements):

  • JoĆ£o viu Maria ("JoĆ£o saw Maria" - punctual perception)
  • Maria ouviu o barulho ("Maria heard the noise" - punctual hearing)

Cognitive events (achievements):

  • JoĆ£o entendeu a explicaĆ§Ć£o ("JoĆ£o understood the explanation" - punctual comprehension)
  • Maria lembrou do evento ("Maria remembered the event" - punctual recall)

Emotional events (achievements/inchoatives):

  • JoĆ£o se apaixonou ("JoĆ£o fell in love" - punctual change)
  • Maria se assustou ("Maria got frightened" - punctual reaction)

Perceptual activities:

  • JoĆ£o olhou para Maria ("JoĆ£o looked at Maria" - durative activity)
  • Maria escutou a mĆŗsica ("Maria listened to the music" - durative activity)

Cognitive activities:

  • JoĆ£o pensou sobre o problema ("JoĆ£o thought about the problem" - durative thinking)
  • Maria refletiu durante horas ("Maria reflected for hours" - durative reflection)

Diagnostic tests:

Test 1: Progressive compatibility Events allow progressive:

āœ“ JoĆ£o estĆ” olhando para Maria (is looking)
āœ“ Maria estĆ” pensando sobre o problema (is thinking)
āœ“ Pedro estava se apaixonando (was falling in love)

Test 2: Temporal modification Compatible with punctual time expressions:

āœ“ JoĆ£o viu Maria Ć s 3h (saw at 3pm - punctual)
āœ“ Maria se assustou de repente (got frightened suddenly - punctual)

Test 3: Agentivity (for controlled events) Compatible with intentional modifiers:

āœ“ JoĆ£o olhou para Maria deliberadamente (looked deliberately)
āœ“ Maria pensou cuidadosamente (thought carefully)

Properties:

  • Have internal temporal structure
  • Can be punctual or durative
  • May have endpoints
  • Can be voluntary (activities) or involuntary (achievements)

Ambiguous Cases: State-Event Flexibility

Some experience verbs can be construed as either state or event:

Example: Sentir (feel/sense)

Stative construal:

JoĆ£o sente dor de cabeƧa (JoĆ£o has a headache - ongoing state)
[State spanning interval]

Eventive construal:

JoĆ£o sentiu uma dor aguda (JoĆ£o felt a sharp pain - punctual event)
[Achievement at time point]

Example: Ver (see)

Stative construal (with generic/habitual):

Daqui JoĆ£o vĆŖ a montanha (From here JoĆ£o sees the mountain - generic ability)
[Stative relation]

Eventive construal:

JoĆ£o viu Maria ontem (JoĆ£o saw Maria yesterday - punctual perception)
[Achievement]

Factors determining construal:

  1. Temporal modification: Punctual time ā†’ event; durative ā†’ state
  2. Aspect marking: Progressive ā†’ event; simple present ā†’ state
  3. Stimulus type: Dynamic stimulus ā†’ event; static ā†’ state
  4. Context: Generic/habitual ā†’ state; specific occurrence ā†’ event

Evidentiality: Information Source in Epistemic Frames

Evidentiality is a semantic category marking the source of information or basis for knowledge. While Portuguese doesn't have grammaticalized evidential marking like some languages (Quechua, Turkish), epistemic Experiential frames encode evidential distinctions.

What is Evidentiality?

Definition: Linguistic marking of the evidence type or information source for a statement.

Evidential categories (Aikhenvald 2004):

  1. Direct/Visual: Speaker saw the event
  2. Sensory (non-visual): Speaker heard/smelled/felt
  3. Inference: Speaker infers from evidence
  4. Hearsay/Reportative: Speaker heard from others
  5. Assumption: Speaker assumes based on general knowledge

Portuguese Epistemic Verbs Encoding Evidentiality

Visual perception ā†’ Visual evidence:

  • JoĆ£o viu Maria sair ("JoĆ£o saw Maria leave")
  • Evidential: Direct visual evidence
  • Highest certainty

Auditory perception ā†’ Auditory evidence:

  • JoĆ£o ouviu que Maria saiu ("JoĆ£o heard that Maria left")
  • Evidential: Can be direct (heard event) or reportative (heard report)
  • Ambiguous between direct auditory and hearsay

Inference ā†’ Inferential evidence:

  • JoĆ£o percebeu/notou que Maria saiu ("JoĆ£o noticed/perceived that Maria left")
  • Evidential: Indirect evidence (saw coat missing, door open, etc.)
  • Inference from observable evidence

Hearsay/Report ā†’ Reportative evidence:

  • JoĆ£o soube/ficou sabendo que Maria saiu ("JoĆ£o learned/found out that Maria left")
  • Evidential: Information from others
  • Lower certainty than direct

Belief/Assumption ā†’ Assumptive evidence:

  • JoĆ£o acha/acredita que Maria saiu ("JoĆ£o thinks/believes Maria left")
  • Evidential: No specific evidence, personal belief
  • Lowest certainty

Evidential Hierarchy in Portuguese

Portuguese epistemic verbs form a certainty/evidence hierarchy:

Highest certainty/directness:

  1. Ver (see) - direct visual
  2. Ouvir/escutar (hear) - direct auditory
  3. Perceber/notar (notice) - inference from observation
  4. Saber (know) - established knowledge
  5. Acreditar/achar (believe/think) - belief/assumption
  6. Supor/imaginar (suppose/imagine) - conjecture

Lowest certainty/directness

Example paradigm:

(Highest certainty)
JoĆ£o VIU que Maria estava grĆ”vida (saw that Maria was pregnant - visual evidence)
JoĆ£o PERCEBEU que Maria estava grĆ”vida (noticed - inferred from signs)
JoĆ£o SOUBE que Maria estava grĆ”vida (learned - told by someone)
JoĆ£o ACHA que Maria estĆ” grĆ”vida (thinks - belief/assumption)
(Lowest certainty)

Syntactic Consequences of Evidentiality

Mood selection (indicative vs. subjunctive):

High certainty (indicative):

āœ“ JoĆ£o viu que Maria ESTAVA grĆ”vida (indicative - certain)
āœ“ JoĆ£o sabe que Maria ESTƁ grĆ”vida (indicative - factual)

Low certainty (can take subjunctive):

āœ“ JoĆ£o acha que Maria ESTƁ grĆ”vida (indicative - belief presented as fact)
āœ“ JoĆ£o duvida que Maria ESTEJA grĆ”vida (subjunctive - doubt)

Complement type:

Direct perception verbs - can take bare infinitive or gerund:

āœ“ JoĆ£o viu Maria SAIR (bare infinitive - direct perception)
āœ“ JoĆ£o viu Maria SAINDO (gerund - ongoing perception)

Reportative verbs - require finite complement:

āœ“ JoĆ£o soube QUE Maria saiu (finite complement)
āœ— *JoĆ£o soube Maria sair (no bare infinitive)

Summary Table: Experiential Frame Properties

Type Modality Control Aspect Stimulus Example
Perception Sensory Ā±controlled Event/State Entity/Event ver, ouvir, olhar
Emotion Affective -controlled State/Inchoative Entity/Event/Prop amar, temer, alegrar-se
Cognition Epistemic Ā±controlled State/Event Proposition saber, pensar, entender
Bodily Somatic -controlled State āˆ… or Entity doer, ter fome
Dimension Type A Type B Diagnostic
Control Agentive (olhar) Non-agentive (ver) Imperative test
Argument Exp-Subj (temer) Stim-Subj (assustar) Subject role
Aspect Stative (amar) Eventive (apaixonar-se) Progressive test
Evidentiality Direct (ver) Indirect (achar) Certainty level

Diagnostic Tests for Experiential Frames

Test 1: Experiencer Identification

Does the frame require a sentient being undergoing mental/perceptual state?

āœ“ JoĆ£o viu Maria (JoĆ£o = Experiencer, sentient) ā†’ EXPERIENTIAL
āœ— A pedra caiu (pedra ā‰  sentient) ā†’ NOT EXPERIENTIAL

Test 2: Mental/Perceptual Content

Does the frame involve mental states, perception, or psychological events?

āœ“ JoĆ£o sabe a resposta (knowledge = mental) ā†’ EXPERIENTIAL
āœ“ Maria sentiu dor (sensation = perceptual) ā†’ EXPERIENTIAL
āœ— JoĆ£o quebrou o vaso (physical action) ā†’ NOT EXPERIENTIAL

Test 3: Control Test

Can the frame take imperatives naturally?

āœ“ Olhe! (look - controlled) ā†’ Agentive experience
āœ— *Veja! (see - uncontrolled, can only mean "look") ā†’ Non-agentive experience

Test 4: Stimulus Requirement

Does the frame require or allow a Stimulus?

āœ“ JoĆ£o viu [Maria] (requires Stimulus) ā†’ Perception
āœ“ JoĆ£o tem fome (no Stimulus) ā†’ Bodily sensation

Test 5: Psych Alternation

Does the verb participate in Experiencer-Subject / Stimulus-Subject alternation?

āœ“ JoĆ£o teme o cachorro / O cachorro assusta JoĆ£o ā†’ PSYCH VERB
āœ— JoĆ£o viu Maria / *Maria viu JoĆ£o (no alternation with role switch) ā†’ PERCEPTION (not psych)

Test 6: Evidential Source

What type of evidence/information source does the verb encode?

Ver ā†’ visual/direct
Ouvir ā†’ auditory/direct or reportative
Perceber ā†’ inferential
Achar ā†’ assumptive

Boundary Cases and Overlaps

Experiential vs. Inchoative

Overlap: Emotional inchoatives (reflexive psych verbs)

  • JoĆ£o se alegrou - both EXPERIENTIAL (emotion) and INCHOATIVE (change of state)
  • Classification: Experiential-Inchoative hybrid

Recommendation: Tag with both namespace features:

  • Primary: Experiential (domain is psychological)
  • Secondary: Inchoative (aspectual structure is change-of-state)

Experiential vs. Causative

Overlap: Stimulus-Subject psych verbs

  • O filme emocionou Maria - both EXPERIENTIAL (emotion) and CAUSATIVE (film causes emotion)
  • Classification: Experiential-Causative hybrid

Recommendation:

  • Primary: Experiential (Experiencer is core participant)
  • Relation: Causative_variant_of linking to Experiencer-Subject frame

Experiential vs. Stative

Overlap: Epistemic states, emotional states

  • JoĆ£o sabe a resposta - EXPERIENTIAL (knowledge) and STATIVE (no change)
  • JoĆ£o ama Maria - EXPERIENTIAL (emotion) and STATIVE (ongoing state)

Recommendation: Experiential frames can be aspectually stative while remaining in Experiential namespace (domain-based classification takes precedence)