Passive in Nganasan
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Larisa Leisiö
Abstract
In this paper, the passive constructions in Nganasan will be discussed froma semanticfunctional point of view. Nganasan (also called Tavgi and Tavgi-Samoyed) is one of the Northern Samoyed languages belonging to the Uralic language family. Nganasan is an essentially agglutinative accusative SOV language.
In Nganasan, there is a derivational verbal suffix which turns transitive verbs into passive ones. The structural object of the transitive verb becomes the subject of the corresponding passive construction. The formation of passive verbs is quite productive. The discussion will concentrate on the aspectual and modal properties of the passive verb constructions, the semantics of subjects, and the discourse functions of these constructions.
Along with the passive verbal constructions, there are passive constructions based on participles. An analysis of Nganasan participial passive constructions will be provided and the criteria for the use of a particular participle will be discussed. In the conclusion, the main function of the Nganasan passive will be formulated.
An analysis of syntactic and discourse functions of Nganasan passive verb constructions and the criteria of the participle choice in the participial passive constructions constitute a new input in the research of Nganasan syntax.
Abstract
In this paper, the passive constructions in Nganasan will be discussed froma semanticfunctional point of view. Nganasan (also called Tavgi and Tavgi-Samoyed) is one of the Northern Samoyed languages belonging to the Uralic language family. Nganasan is an essentially agglutinative accusative SOV language.
In Nganasan, there is a derivational verbal suffix which turns transitive verbs into passive ones. The structural object of the transitive verb becomes the subject of the corresponding passive construction. The formation of passive verbs is quite productive. The discussion will concentrate on the aspectual and modal properties of the passive verb constructions, the semantics of subjects, and the discourse functions of these constructions.
Along with the passive verbal constructions, there are passive constructions based on participles. An analysis of Nganasan participial passive constructions will be provided and the criteria for the use of a particular participle will be discussed. In the conclusion, the main function of the Nganasan passive will be formulated.
An analysis of syntactic and discourse functions of Nganasan passive verb constructions and the criteria of the participle choice in the participial passive constructions constitute a new input in the research of Nganasan syntax.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributor's addresses vii
- Abbreviations ix
- Introduction: Passivization and typology 1
-
Active–passive and reflexives
- Passives in Lithuanian (in comparison with Russian) 29
- Passive and middle in Indo-European 62
-
Triggers — aspectual, semantic, and discourse-pragmatic: case studies
- Pragmatic nature of Mandarin passive-like constructions 83
- Development of thùuk passive marker in Thai 115
- The passives of Modern Irish 132
- The passive in Erzya-Mordvin folklore 165
- Grammatical voice and tense-aspect in Slavic 191
- Passive in Nganasan 213
-
Actor demotion
- 'Agent defocusing' revisited 232
- Relations between Actor-demoting devices in Lithuanian 274
-
Grammaticalization in long-term diachrony
- The rise and grammaticalization paths of Latin fieri and facere as passive auxiliaries 311
- Grammatical relations in passive clauses 337
-
Argument structure and case
- Two types of detransitive constructions in the dialects of Japanese 352
- Passive and argument structure 373
- Case-driven agree, EPP, and passive in Turkish 383
- A unique feature of the direct passive in Japanese 403
-
Actor demotion
- Passive as a feature-suppression operation 442
-
Event semantics — Aspectual and semantic triggers
- The compositional nature of the passive 462
- The impersonal passive 502
- Simple preterit and composite perfect tense 518
- Author index 544
- Subject index 548
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributor's addresses vii
- Abbreviations ix
- Introduction: Passivization and typology 1
-
Active–passive and reflexives
- Passives in Lithuanian (in comparison with Russian) 29
- Passive and middle in Indo-European 62
-
Triggers — aspectual, semantic, and discourse-pragmatic: case studies
- Pragmatic nature of Mandarin passive-like constructions 83
- Development of thùuk passive marker in Thai 115
- The passives of Modern Irish 132
- The passive in Erzya-Mordvin folklore 165
- Grammatical voice and tense-aspect in Slavic 191
- Passive in Nganasan 213
-
Actor demotion
- 'Agent defocusing' revisited 232
- Relations between Actor-demoting devices in Lithuanian 274
-
Grammaticalization in long-term diachrony
- The rise and grammaticalization paths of Latin fieri and facere as passive auxiliaries 311
- Grammatical relations in passive clauses 337
-
Argument structure and case
- Two types of detransitive constructions in the dialects of Japanese 352
- Passive and argument structure 373
- Case-driven agree, EPP, and passive in Turkish 383
- A unique feature of the direct passive in Japanese 403
-
Actor demotion
- Passive as a feature-suppression operation 442
-
Event semantics — Aspectual and semantic triggers
- The compositional nature of the passive 462
- The impersonal passive 502
- Simple preterit and composite perfect tense 518
- Author index 544
- Subject index 548
