Abstract

This paper examines thematic functions in the Urhobo language: using theta criteria as theoretical framework. Theta roles are concerned with agent who does what to whom? The various types of thematic functions and the manner in which they are introduced in a sentence were investigated. The basic assumption is that Urhobo language is a potential source of input for the determination of the predicate argument structure. The specific objective is to relate thematic functions to argument structure in the Urhobo language. A thorough literature was reviewed of languages whose materials were accessible at the time of this work. The method of data collection was categorised into two main sources: primary and secondary. The primary data refer to the information obtained using intuitive knowledge; the secondary source refers to documented information obtained from library, internet, and other published materials. The study showsthat an agent cannot be a patient and recipient at the same time; where there is a clash in thematic functions, the most prominent one dominates the less prominent one.It is further established that functional arguments are lexical items which strictly sub-categorise phrases in their syntactic environment.