Relations between Actor-demoting devices in Lithuanian
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Björn Wiemer
Abstract
This article is devoted to a systematic account of Lithuanian Actor-demoting devices, both grammatical (with participles, only to a limited extent by the reflexive marker) and lexical (by the reflexive marker), and their interplay in the contemporary language. Occasional comparisons with Latvian are drawn, and the typological background is laid out briefly. The account is based on Role&Reference Grammar and on the taxonomy of valency changes described for so-called reflexive verbs in the pioneering work of Geniušiene (1987). As one of the main outcomes of the present study we may consider the confirmation of a systematic restriction of the so-called ‘impersonal passive’ to predicates with a human being representing the highest-ranking (often sole) argument. This restriction has been observed for many other languages with impersonals. The crucial point however is that this restriction is stronger than argument-based restrictions, a fact which becomes particularly manifest within a small group of lexical converses marked with the reflexive marker, for reflexive-causative constructions and for two-place intransitive verbs whose single macrorole must be an Undergoer (rather than an Actor). Another main conclusion to be drawn from the analysis is the existence of a functional split with impersonals which can acquire an inferential reading; in this case the restrictions of referential properties stated above as well as orientation toward any macrorole are cancelled. Differently from Geniušiene’s contribution to this volume, here no aspectual functions are discussed, nor is there any focus on discourse-pragmatic properties of Actor-demoting devices. Instead, the clear focus of this article lies on the impersonal (‘subjectless passive’ in Geniušiene’s terminology) and its interaction with lexical valency-changes caused by the reflexive marker.
Abstract
This article is devoted to a systematic account of Lithuanian Actor-demoting devices, both grammatical (with participles, only to a limited extent by the reflexive marker) and lexical (by the reflexive marker), and their interplay in the contemporary language. Occasional comparisons with Latvian are drawn, and the typological background is laid out briefly. The account is based on Role&Reference Grammar and on the taxonomy of valency changes described for so-called reflexive verbs in the pioneering work of Geniušiene (1987). As one of the main outcomes of the present study we may consider the confirmation of a systematic restriction of the so-called ‘impersonal passive’ to predicates with a human being representing the highest-ranking (often sole) argument. This restriction has been observed for many other languages with impersonals. The crucial point however is that this restriction is stronger than argument-based restrictions, a fact which becomes particularly manifest within a small group of lexical converses marked with the reflexive marker, for reflexive-causative constructions and for two-place intransitive verbs whose single macrorole must be an Undergoer (rather than an Actor). Another main conclusion to be drawn from the analysis is the existence of a functional split with impersonals which can acquire an inferential reading; in this case the restrictions of referential properties stated above as well as orientation toward any macrorole are cancelled. Differently from Geniušiene’s contribution to this volume, here no aspectual functions are discussed, nor is there any focus on discourse-pragmatic properties of Actor-demoting devices. Instead, the clear focus of this article lies on the impersonal (‘subjectless passive’ in Geniušiene’s terminology) and its interaction with lexical valency-changes caused by the reflexive marker.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- 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
