Arguments of phrasal verbs in a corpus of spoken Italian

This paper deals with the semantic role played by locative particles of phrasal verbs (PhVs) in the argument structure of authentic utterances. The analysis focuses on the occurrences recorded in a corpus of spoken Italian (KIParla), produced by speakers of various regional origins in different communicative situations (semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, exams and lessons). The PhVs that are analysed are formed by the combination of a verb (in particular, state and intransitive/transitive movement verbs) with one of the five most frequent locative particles (fuori ‘out’, via ‘away’, su ‘up’, giù ‘down’, dietro ‘behind’, ‘after’). Six main groups of constructions are recognised, depending on the semantic information given by the particle. The different semantic contribution of the particle to the conceptualisation of the event confirms the need of overcoming the dichotomy [+/-argument].