Contrastive Analysis of Olfactory Verbs.

The present paper focuses on investigating the situation of the olfactory perception (smell perception) on the morphologic, semantic, and syntactical levels in English, Latvian, and Ukrainian. Lexicographic sources and text corpora are the basis for the empirical analyses of olfactory verbs. These verbs can be classified into three semantic groups on the basis of differential semantic features. Semantic groups with the meanings 'to produce some smell' and 'to smell unpleasantly' are inherent in all three languages, third group with the semantics 'to smell pleasantly' is presented in Latvian and Ukrainian, the semantic group 'to be smelled' can be elicited only in Ukrainian. The systemic approach to the predicative lexemes enables to reveal the basic types of constructions with the semantic and syntactical arguments of the olfactory verbs. Experiencer and Stimulus are two obligatory semantic arguments, though the olfactory situation may require such arguments, as Qualifier and Specifier that serve to provide additional characteristics to Stimulus. The realization of these arguments on the syntactical level varies. Latvian and Ukrainian olfactory verbs can enter constructions without subject; this fact becomes the distinctive feature of these languages. Subjectless constructions require an obligatory syntactical argument Locative, that on the semantic level corresponds to Stimulus. The conducted analyses elicited the fact that Latvian and Ukrainian olfactory verbs have more common morphologic, semantic, and syntactical features than each of these languages with English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]