Most words are polysemous, i.e. they have more than one meaning depending on the environment of usage. Thus, when learning the meaning or meanings of a word, users also acquire knowledge about the environment of a word (hoey 2005 ), i.e. its usage context, typical occurrences(collocations) and its structural use (grammar and colligations). Valency theory is a suitable method for the contrastive analysis of syntactic and semantic investigations between languages 1. 2 Syntactic and semantic interpretation of language The trad itional distinction between lexis and grammar as separate areas of study has changed towards a theory of a lexis-grammar continuum(e.g. Romer Schulze 2009 Sinclair 1991)which emphasises the strong interaction between the two. However,as noted by Fischer (1997), it will always be debatable whether syntax influences semantics or vice versa, and, secondly, to what extent syntax and semantics are independently capable of analysis. It is noteworthy that various linguistic theories tend to emphasise the one or the other level, thereby showing the philosophical stance of the linguists concerned. Furthermore, no generalisations can be made regard ing congruence of syntactic and semantic properties of words- these relationships are based on the local grammar, i.e. the individual properties, of words 1. 2.1 Valency theory Valency theory relates to local grammar, i.e. grammar that is specific to the individual word or lexical item and cannot be explained by the general grammar rules of a language(Teubert 2003). Cornell et al(2003: 8: see also Welke 1988; Engel and Schumacher 1976; Tesniere 1959)summarize the valency approach as follows Lexical items have the power to structure their surroundings syntactically and semantically Sentences are organised bottom-up, from words to larger units Lexical items, in particular the verb, demand complements to create phrases that are syntactically and semantically complete. Adjuncts can be added freely, giving additional information The basic assumption of valency theory is that the verb occupies a central position in the sentence because the verb determines how many other elements have to occur in order to form a grammatically correct sentence(Homberger 2001). Thus, valency patterns primarily represent syntactic patterning. However, complements also have semantic functions, since valency is not to be seen simply as a'slot-and-filler'theory (Gotz-Votteler 2007). Sentence elements expressing syntactic relations are commonly referred to as complements', while elements expressing semantic relations are called arguments. Probably because of this dual aspect, Sinclair(2004: 18)predicted that valency grammar. is likely to see an upsurge of interest. The sentence elements which could occur with almost any verb in any sentence are generally referred to as adjuncts. It should also be noted that the current understand ing of valency is not restricted to verbs but can be applied to all word-classes, e. g. nouns("consideration for others' but not ' belief for others) or adjectives (considerate of others' but not plative of others).[1] Recently, valency theory has received fresh interest in British and American linguistics as it forms part of the analysis of constructions( Goldberg 2006, Fillmore 2007)2 Most words are polysemous, i.e. they have more than one meaning depending on the environment of usage. Thus, when learning the meaning or meanings of a word, users also acquire knowledge about the environment of a word (Hoey 2005), i.e. its usage context, typical occurrences (collocations) and its structural use (grammar and colligations). Valency theory is a suitable method for the contrastive analysis of syntactic and semantic investigations between languages. 1.2 Syntactic and semantic interpretation of language The traditional distinction between lexis and grammar as separate areas of study has changed towards a theory of a lexis-grammar continuum (e.g. Römer & Schulze 2009; Sinclair 1991) which emphasises the strong interaction between the two. However, as noted by Fischer (1997), it will always be debatable whether syntax influences semantics or vice versa, and, secondly, to what extent syntax and semantics are independently capable of analysis. It is noteworthy that various linguistic theories tend to emphasise the one or the other level, thereby showing the philosophical stance of the linguists concerned. Furthermore, no generalisations can be made regarding congruence of syntactic and semantic properties of words – these relationships are based on the local grammar, i.e. the individual properties, of words. 1.2.1 Valency theory Valency theory relates to local grammar, i.e. grammar that is specific to the individual word or lexical item and cannot be explained by the general grammar rules of a language (Teubert 2003). Cornell et al (2003: 8; see also Welke 1988; Engel and Schumacher 1976; Tesnière 1959) summarize the valency approach as follows: • Lexical items have the power to structure their surroundings syntactically and semantically. • Sentences are organised bottom-up, from words to larger units. • Lexical items, in particular the verb, demand complements to create phrases that are syntactically and semantically complete. Adjuncts can be added freely, giving additional information. The basic assumption of valency theory is that the verb occupies a central position in the sentence because the verb determines how many other elements have to occur in order to form a grammatically correct sentence (Homberger 2001). Thus, valency patterns primarily represent syntactic patterning. However, complements also have semantic functions, since valency is not to be seen simply as a ‘slot-and-filler’ theory (Götz-Votteler 2007). Sentence elements expressing syntactic relations are commonly referred to as ‘complements’, while elements expressing semantic relations are called ‘arguments’. Probably because of this dual aspect, Sinclair (2004: 18) predicted that “valency grammar ... is likely to see an upsurge of interest.” The sentence elements which could occur with almost any verb in any sentence are generally referred to as adjuncts. It should also be noted that the current understanding of valency is not restricted to verbs but can be applied to all word-classes, e.g. nouns (‘consideration for others’ but not ‘belief for others’) or adjectives (‘considerate of others’ but not ‘contemplative of others’). [1] Recently, valency theory has received fresh interest in British and American linguistics as it forms part of the analysis of constructions (Goldberg 2006; Fillmore 2007)