Universal #461

Legacy number: 461

 Number  460
 Original  In a language, all (or almost all) verbs with the general meaning ‘to create’ or ‘to destroy’ are transitive verbs according to their formal-grammatical features.
 Standardized  Verb taking an effected or annihilated object (in particular verbs meaning ‘to create’ and ‘to destroy’) are transitive in all relevant morphosyntactic respects.
 Keywords  verb, transitive, effected object
 Domain  inflection, syntax, semantics
 Type  unconditional
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  ?
 Source  Kozinsky 1995: 152

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Discussion
Notes
In much work on transitivity and related semantic notions pertaining to subject-object relations, creation and annihilation are assumed to be the most prototypically transitive relations, hence are to be expected to show the fullest complement of morphosyntactic transitivity features (e.g. accusative rather than, say, dative objects).Verbs of PROcreation may diverge from the transitive prototype; but this should not be seen as counterevidence, since procreation is cognitively and culturally significantly different from creation. See Plank 1984.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
In much work on transitivity and related semantic notions pertaining to subject-object relations, creation and annihilation are assumed to be the most prototypically transitive relations, hence are to be expected to show the fullest complement of morphosyntactic transitivity features (e.g. accusative rather than, say, dative objects).

Verbs of PROcreation may diverge from the transitive prototype; but this should not be seen as counterevidence, since procreation is cognitively and culturally significantly different from creation. See Plank 1984.