John Benjamins Publishing Company
The antipassive marking in Mocoví
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Cristian Juárez
Abstract
This paper presents the two different antipassive markers (suffixes -(a)ɢan and -(a)taɢan) that can be observed in Mocoví, addressing both their forms and functions. Besides the morphosyntactic, semantic and pragmatic features that are synchronically involved in Mocoví antipassive constructions, the study considers the functional overlaps between these two antipassive markings and causative, aspectual and agentive nominal meanings. Based on these characteristics, it will be proposed that the primary functions of both suffixes are to highlight the predicate activity and to downgrade the object/patient participant and thereby, as a consequence, to focus on the participant that carries out this activity, that is, the subject/agent. As Mocoví is a non-ergative language, this paper also contributes to the typological discussion about the relation between antipassives and ergativity, confirming that the marked antipassive construction is not exclusive of ergative languages.
Abstract
This paper presents the two different antipassive markers (suffixes -(a)ɢan and -(a)taɢan) that can be observed in Mocoví, addressing both their forms and functions. Besides the morphosyntactic, semantic and pragmatic features that are synchronically involved in Mocoví antipassive constructions, the study considers the functional overlaps between these two antipassive markings and causative, aspectual and agentive nominal meanings. Based on these characteristics, it will be proposed that the primary functions of both suffixes are to highlight the predicate activity and to downgrade the object/patient participant and thereby, as a consequence, to focus on the participant that carries out this activity, that is, the subject/agent. As Mocoví is a non-ergative language, this paper also contributes to the typological discussion about the relation between antipassives and ergativity, confirming that the marked antipassive construction is not exclusive of ergative languages.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of abbreviations vii
- Preface ix
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Part I. Theoretical perspectives on verb valency change
- Markedness effects in applicative formation 3
- Morphosyntactic defectiveness in complex predicate formation 31
- Two types of locative alternation 51
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Part II. Verb valency changes across languages
- Transitivity and valency-changing operations in Huasteca Nahuatl 81
- The semantics of Nahuatl tla- constructions 107
- Valency-changing operations in Yaqui resultatives 133
- Tlachichilco Tepehua 165
- A panorama of valency changing operations in Seri 193
- The antipassive marking in Mocoví 227
- Arabic ‘labile verbs’ in form III 257
- Valency-decreasing operations in a valency-increasing language? 285
- Language index 305
- Subject index 307
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of abbreviations vii
- Preface ix
-
Part I. Theoretical perspectives on verb valency change
- Markedness effects in applicative formation 3
- Morphosyntactic defectiveness in complex predicate formation 31
- Two types of locative alternation 51
-
Part II. Verb valency changes across languages
- Transitivity and valency-changing operations in Huasteca Nahuatl 81
- The semantics of Nahuatl tla- constructions 107
- Valency-changing operations in Yaqui resultatives 133
- Tlachichilco Tepehua 165
- A panorama of valency changing operations in Seri 193
- The antipassive marking in Mocoví 227
- Arabic ‘labile verbs’ in form III 257
- Valency-decreasing operations in a valency-increasing language? 285
- Language index 305
- Subject index 307
