"theta role" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "theta roles",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "theta role (plural theta roles)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "thematic role"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
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          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
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          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Grammar",
          "orig": "en:Grammar",
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            "Language",
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            "Fundamental"
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          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 8, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 447:",
          "text": "Such an analysis would provide a natural way of accounting for the fact that (inter alia) transitive Objects and their ergative Subject counterparts are assigned the same theta-roles, and hence are subject to the same Selection Restrictions. For example, in (160) below:\n (160) (a) John might drown the kittens/his wife/??his goldfish/?!his frying-pan/!his birth\n (160) (b) The kittens/his wife/??his goldfish/?!his frying-pan/!his birth might drown\n the italicised transitive Object in (160) (a) has the same theta role ( = that of THEME or PATIENT (i.e. victim!) of drown) as the italicised ergative Subject in (160) (b), and accordingly is subject to the same Selection Restrictions.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Abbreviation of thematic role."
      ],
      "id": "en-theta_role-en-noun-oxPXwZpJ",
      "links": [
        [
          "grammar",
          "grammar"
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        [
          "transformational grammar",
          "transformational grammar"
        ],
        [
          "thematic role",
          "thematic role#English"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "especially transformational grammar",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(grammar, especially transformational grammar) Abbreviation of thematic role."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "thematic relation"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "theta-role"
        },
        {
          "word": "θ-role"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "grammar",
        "human-sciences",
        "linguistics",
        "sciences"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "theta role"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "theta role"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "theta roles",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "expansion": "theta role (plural theta roles)",
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "thematic relation"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "thematic role"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English abbreviations",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
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        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "en:Grammar"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 8, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 447:",
          "text": "Such an analysis would provide a natural way of accounting for the fact that (inter alia) transitive Objects and their ergative Subject counterparts are assigned the same theta-roles, and hence are subject to the same Selection Restrictions. For example, in (160) below:\n (160) (a) John might drown the kittens/his wife/??his goldfish/?!his frying-pan/!his birth\n (160) (b) The kittens/his wife/??his goldfish/?!his frying-pan/!his birth might drown\n the italicised transitive Object in (160) (a) has the same theta role ( = that of THEME or PATIENT (i.e. victim!) of drown) as the italicised ergative Subject in (160) (b), and accordingly is subject to the same Selection Restrictions.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Abbreviation of thematic role."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
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          "grammar"
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          "transformational grammar"
        ],
        [
          "thematic role",
          "thematic role#English"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "especially transformational grammar",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(grammar, especially transformational grammar) Abbreviation of thematic role."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
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      ],
      "topics": [
        "grammar",
        "human-sciences",
        "linguistics",
        "sciences"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "theta role"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "theta-role"
    },
    {
      "word": "θ-role"
    }
  ],
  "word": "theta role"
}