First Set of Questions:
In some languages, speakers can't say, in a single, simple, monotransitive clause, which of the two participants was the Agent or Actor, and which was the Patient or Undergoer.
To illustrate by a made-up example, let's assume they have a verb (written "verb") which we can gloss as "kiss" (or "kist" or other inflexional variants).
Then the clauses "Jack Jill verb" and "Jill Jack verb" (or "verb Jack Jill" and "verb Jill Jack", or "Jack verb Jill and "Jill verb Jack")
all mean "One of Jack or Jill kissed the other".
At least some of these languages also have detransitivizing morphology. For instance, they may have an antipassive form of verb, such that
"Jack verb-ANTIP" means "Jack was the Actor in a 'kissing' incident".
Or/and, they might have a passive form, such that
"Jill verb-PASS" means "Jill underwent a 'kissing' event".
1A: If a speaker says "Jack Jill verb" and "Jack verb-ANTIP", would the average addressee assume Jack kissed Jill?
1A' and how safe would that assumption be?
1A" and would the speaker assume the addressee would make that assumption?
1B: If a speaker says "Jack Jill verb" and "Jill verb-PASS", would the average addressee assume Jack kissed Jill?
1B' and how safe would that assumption be?
1B" and would the speaker assume the addressee would make that assumption?
1C: If a speaker says "Jack verb-ANTIP" and "Jill verb-PASS", the two clauses now contain no semantic information in common except the verb. Would the average addressee assume Jack kissed Jill?
1C' and how safe would that assumption be?
1C" and would the speaker assume the addressee would make that assumption?
1D: If a speaker says all three clauses -- "Jack Jill verb" and "Jack verb-ANTIP" and "Jill verb-PASS" -- would the average addressee assume Jack kissed Jill?
1D' and how safe would that assumption be?
1D" and would the speaker assume the addressee would make that assumption?
1D+ would they be likelier in case D than in cases A and/or B, and likelier in case A and/or B than in case C, to make the relevant assumptions? (that is; addressee assumes Jack kissed Jill, and speaker assumes addressee will make that assumption.)
Second Set of Questions:
All natural languages have both univalent intransitive and bivalent monotransitive verbs/clauses. Many languages also have trivalent ditransitive clauses; but many don't.
Suppose I want to use a verb meaning "send" or "sent", and want to talk about Don the donor and Thelma the theme and Rhys the recipient.
In such a language, I can neither affirm nor deny, in a single, simple, clause, that Don sent Thelma to Rhys.
But the verb can be inflected in at least two of three ways:
"Don Thelma sent-X" means "Don sent Thelma to some unspecified someone",
"Don Rhys sent-Y" means "Don sent some unspecified someone to Rhys",
"Thelma Rhys sent-Z" means "some unspecified someone sent Thelma to Rhys".
Possibly not all three forms are available in some such language.
2A: If a speaker says "Don Thelma sent-X" and "Don Rhys sent-Y", would the average addressee assume Don sent Thelma to Rhys?
2A' and how safe would that assumption be? (Note Don is the only entity participant in both clauses.)
2A" and would the speaker assume the addressee would make that assumption?
2B: If a speaker says "Don Thelma sent-X" and "Thelma Rhys sent-Z", would the average addressee assume Don sent Thelma to Rhys?
2B' and how safe would that assumption be? (Note Thelma is the only entity participant in both clauses.)
2B" and would the speaker assume the addressee would make that assumption?
2C: If a speaker says "Don Rhys sent-Y" and "Thelma Rhys sent-Z", would the average addressee assume Don sent Thelma to Rhys?
2C' and how safe would that assumption be? (Note Rhys is the only entity participant in both clauses.)
2C" and would the speaker assume the addressee would make that assumption?
2D: If the language allows a speaker to say all three of "Don Thelma sent-X" and "Don Rhys sent-Y" and "Thelma Rhys sent-Z", each two participants would appear together in a clause.
Would the average addressee be even likelier to assume Don sent Thelma to Rhys?
2D' and how would that assumption be even safer than in situations 2A and 2B and 2C?
2D" and would the speaker be even likelier to assume the addressee would make that assumption?
Thanks!