[Lingtyp] semantic role of participant that needs something

[Sebastian Nordhoff]

On 7/2/22 09:41, volker.gast at uni-jena.de wrote:
> I would say that a Needer is a deontic Possessor while a Wanter is a bouletic possessor.

Dear all,
while I find the idea of modalized Possessors very attractive, they run 
into problems with abstract concepts

(1) I need sleep
(2) I need a break
(3) I want love

Would we say that in (1), the speaker is a deontic possessor of sleep?

the expressions for NEED and WANT can often take both nominal and verbal 
compliments, and probably the semantic role would be the same in both cases

(1') I need to sleep
(2') I need to rest
(3') I want to be loved

I wonder to what extent possessors can be used for catching this 
generalization.

Best wishes
Sebastian