Chapter 7. Unspecified participant
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Anna Bugaeva
Abstract
This paper shows that there are two synchronically distinct i- markers in Ainu, viz. the derivational antipassive i- and inflectional ‘fourth’ person object i- with the functions of first person plural inclusive, second person honorific, and logophoric. The derivational antipassive marker i- ‘person/thing’ can be regarded as an antipassive marker per se based on its syntactic (eliminating a patient/theme/recipient argument), semantic (denoting an unspecified generic participant or lexicalizing it to a single or subset of objects) and discourse (patient-defocusing) properties. Contrary to the accepted view, I adduce the ‘antipassive to 1pl.incl.o’ scenario based on extensive cross-linguistic and Ainu-internal evidence. The antipassive i-, in its turn, originated in the incorporation of a generic noun *i ‘thing/place/time’, which is not unusual in languages without overt expression of the demoted O participant in the antipassive. The extended use of the antipassive i- is attested on obligatorily possessed nouns to enable their use without possessive affixes. Finally, my corpus-based study of semantic classes of verbs with a predilection for antipassive derivation revealed that the antipassive in Ainu is most likely to apply to a ‘middle section’ of the semantic transitivity hierarchy since it belongs to the lower individuation of patients (LIP) type, which is assumed to be more typical of antipassives in non-ergative languages.
Abstract
This paper shows that there are two synchronically distinct i- markers in Ainu, viz. the derivational antipassive i- and inflectional ‘fourth’ person object i- with the functions of first person plural inclusive, second person honorific, and logophoric. The derivational antipassive marker i- ‘person/thing’ can be regarded as an antipassive marker per se based on its syntactic (eliminating a patient/theme/recipient argument), semantic (denoting an unspecified generic participant or lexicalizing it to a single or subset of objects) and discourse (patient-defocusing) properties. Contrary to the accepted view, I adduce the ‘antipassive to 1pl.incl.o’ scenario based on extensive cross-linguistic and Ainu-internal evidence. The antipassive i-, in its turn, originated in the incorporation of a generic noun *i ‘thing/place/time’, which is not unusual in languages without overt expression of the demoted O participant in the antipassive. The extended use of the antipassive i- is attested on obligatorily possessed nouns to enable their use without possessive affixes. Finally, my corpus-based study of semantic classes of verbs with a predilection for antipassive derivation revealed that the antipassive in Ainu is most likely to apply to a ‘middle section’ of the semantic transitivity hierarchy since it belongs to the lower individuation of patients (LIP) type, which is assumed to be more typical of antipassives in non-ergative languages.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. The multifaceted nature of the antipassive construction 1
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Part 1. Lexical semantics and event representation of antipassive constructions
- Chapter 2. Antipassive propensities and alignment 43
- Chapter 3. Antipassive in the Cariban family 65
- Chapter 4. Aspect and modality in Pama-Nyungan antipassives 97
- Chapter 5. Antipassive constructions in Oceanic languages 149
- Chapter 6. Antipassive and the lexical meaning of verbs 177
- Chapter 7. Unspecified participant 213
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Part 2. Antipassive marking
- Chapter 8. Variation in the verbal marking of antipassive constructions 249
- Chapter 9. Antipassive derivation in Soninke (West Mande) 293
- Chapter 10. Explaining the antipassive-causative syncretism in Mocoví (Guaycuruan) 315
- Chapter 11. Polyfunctional vanka- in Nivaĉle and the antipassive category 349
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Part 3. Diachrony of antipassive constructions
- Chapter 12. The antipassive and its relationship to person markers 385
- Chapter 13. Antipassive derivations in Sino-Tibetan/Trans-Himalayan and their sources 427
- Chapter 14. The profile and development of the Maa (Eastern Nilotic) antipassive 447
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Part 4. Fuzzy boundaries
- Chapter 15. Indirect antipassive in Circassian 483
- Chapter 16. Antipassives in Nakh-Daghestanian languages 515
- Chapter 17. Antipassive and antipassive-like constructions in Mayan languages 549
- Chapter 18. When an antipassive isn’t an antipassive anymore 579
- Chapter 19. Antipassivization in Basque revisited 621
- Index 641
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. The multifaceted nature of the antipassive construction 1
-
Part 1. Lexical semantics and event representation of antipassive constructions
- Chapter 2. Antipassive propensities and alignment 43
- Chapter 3. Antipassive in the Cariban family 65
- Chapter 4. Aspect and modality in Pama-Nyungan antipassives 97
- Chapter 5. Antipassive constructions in Oceanic languages 149
- Chapter 6. Antipassive and the lexical meaning of verbs 177
- Chapter 7. Unspecified participant 213
-
Part 2. Antipassive marking
- Chapter 8. Variation in the verbal marking of antipassive constructions 249
- Chapter 9. Antipassive derivation in Soninke (West Mande) 293
- Chapter 10. Explaining the antipassive-causative syncretism in Mocoví (Guaycuruan) 315
- Chapter 11. Polyfunctional vanka- in Nivaĉle and the antipassive category 349
-
Part 3. Diachrony of antipassive constructions
- Chapter 12. The antipassive and its relationship to person markers 385
- Chapter 13. Antipassive derivations in Sino-Tibetan/Trans-Himalayan and their sources 427
- Chapter 14. The profile and development of the Maa (Eastern Nilotic) antipassive 447
-
Part 4. Fuzzy boundaries
- Chapter 15. Indirect antipassive in Circassian 483
- Chapter 16. Antipassives in Nakh-Daghestanian languages 515
- Chapter 17. Antipassive and antipassive-like constructions in Mayan languages 549
- Chapter 18. When an antipassive isn’t an antipassive anymore 579
- Chapter 19. Antipassivization in Basque revisited 621
- Index 641
