Home Linguistics & Semiotics A diachronic study of the impersonal passive in Ainu
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

A diachronic study of the impersonal passive in Ainu

  • Anna Bugaeva
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
Search
Impersonal Constructions
This chapter is in the book Impersonal Constructions

Abstract

This paper provides a diachronic account for the impersonal passive in Ainu which is marked with a(n)= in Saru (Southwestern Hokkaido) and with a(n)= for 3sg/pl.o and ci= for 1sg/pl.o in Ishikari (Northeastern Hokkaido). I have argued that in spite of clearly impersonal origins, neither the a(n)= -marked nor the ci= -marked construction can be regarded as impersonal because of the possibility of the inclusion of an oblique actor phrase and that none of the constructions can be regarded as personal passive because reanalysis of O to S is incomplete: only some topic-related subject properties (word order etc.) have been acquired by O but no single agent-related subject property has been acquired yet. In the context of the discussion of grammaticalization pathway IMPERSONAL > IMPERSONAL PASSIVE > PASSIVE, of special interest is the action nominalization origin of the a(n)= -marked construction. Keywords: Ainu; Saru; Ishikari; impersonal passive; grammaticalization; action nominalization

Abstract

This paper provides a diachronic account for the impersonal passive in Ainu which is marked with a(n)= in Saru (Southwestern Hokkaido) and with a(n)= for 3sg/pl.o and ci= for 1sg/pl.o in Ishikari (Northeastern Hokkaido). I have argued that in spite of clearly impersonal origins, neither the a(n)= -marked nor the ci= -marked construction can be regarded as impersonal because of the possibility of the inclusion of an oblique actor phrase and that none of the constructions can be regarded as personal passive because reanalysis of O to S is incomplete: only some topic-related subject properties (word order etc.) have been acquired by O but no single agent-related subject property has been acquired yet. In the context of the discussion of grammaticalization pathway IMPERSONAL > IMPERSONAL PASSIVE > PASSIVE, of special interest is the action nominalization origin of the a(n)= -marked construction. Keywords: Ainu; Saru; Ishikari; impersonal passive; grammaticalization; action nominalization

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I. Impersonal constructions
  6. Towards a typology of impersonal constructions 19
  7. Overlap and complementarity in reference impersonals 57
  8. Verbs of motion 91
  9. On the distribution of subject properties in formulaic presentationals of Germanic and Romance 127
  10. Part II. Impersonal constructions
  11. Impersonal constructions and accusative subjects in Late Latin 169
  12. From passive to impersonal 189
  13. Passive to anticausative through impersonalization 229
  14. Part III. Cross-linguistic variation in Impersonal constructions
  15. The Maa (Eastern Nilotic) Impersonal construction 257
  16. Impersonal constructions in Jóola-Banjal 285
  17. Impersonal configurations and theticity 307
  18. Revisiting impersonal constructions in Modern Hebrew 323
  19. The elephant in the room 357
  20. Meteorological verbs in Uralic languages – are there any impersonal structures to be found 395
  21. Impersonal constructions in Ket 439
  22. Impersonal verbs in Central Alaskan Yupik (Eskimoan) 459
  23. Impersonals in Innu 489
  24. A diachronic study of the impersonal passive in Ainu 517
  25. Referential impersonal constructions in Mandarin 547
  26. Impersonal constructions in some Oceanic languages 581
  27. Impersonal constructions in Umpithamu and the Lamalamic languages 607
  28. Author index 627
  29. Language index 633
  30. Language index 637
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.124.18bug

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I. Impersonal constructions
  6. Towards a typology of impersonal constructions 19
  7. Overlap and complementarity in reference impersonals 57
  8. Verbs of motion 91
  9. On the distribution of subject properties in formulaic presentationals of Germanic and Romance 127
  10. Part II. Impersonal constructions
  11. Impersonal constructions and accusative subjects in Late Latin 169
  12. From passive to impersonal 189
  13. Passive to anticausative through impersonalization 229
  14. Part III. Cross-linguistic variation in Impersonal constructions
  15. The Maa (Eastern Nilotic) Impersonal construction 257
  16. Impersonal constructions in Jóola-Banjal 285
  17. Impersonal configurations and theticity 307
  18. Revisiting impersonal constructions in Modern Hebrew 323
  19. The elephant in the room 357
  20. Meteorological verbs in Uralic languages – are there any impersonal structures to be found 395
  21. Impersonal constructions in Ket 439
  22. Impersonal verbs in Central Alaskan Yupik (Eskimoan) 459
  23. Impersonals in Innu 489
  24. A diachronic study of the impersonal passive in Ainu 517
  25. Referential impersonal constructions in Mandarin 547
  26. Impersonal constructions in some Oceanic languages 581
  27. Impersonal constructions in Umpithamu and the Lamalamic languages 607
  28. Author index 627
  29. Language index 633
  30. Language index 637
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 10.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/slcs.124.18bug/html
Scroll to top button