Two types of detransitive constructions in the dialects of Japanese
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Kan Sasaki
Abstract
The Hokkaido dialect of Japanese, spoken in the northern island Hokkaido, has two detransitivizing strategies, namely passivization and spontaneous construction formation. Passive and spontaneous morphemes share the function of demoting the transitive subject, although different strategies are used in each case. In passive constructions, transitive subjects are demoted and they may appear as elements with oblique case. In spontaneous constructions, however, the transitive subjects are completely removed. This paper argues that this difference in the subject demotion strategy is motivated by the aspectual differences between the two detransitive constructions. It will be shown that the agent removal in spontaneous constructions is imposed by the simplification of the logical structure of the predicate while the subject demotion (to oblique status) in passive constructions is not.
Abstract
The Hokkaido dialect of Japanese, spoken in the northern island Hokkaido, has two detransitivizing strategies, namely passivization and spontaneous construction formation. Passive and spontaneous morphemes share the function of demoting the transitive subject, although different strategies are used in each case. In passive constructions, transitive subjects are demoted and they may appear as elements with oblique case. In spontaneous constructions, however, the transitive subjects are completely removed. This paper argues that this difference in the subject demotion strategy is motivated by the aspectual differences between the two detransitive constructions. It will be shown that the agent removal in spontaneous constructions is imposed by the simplification of the logical structure of the predicate while the subject demotion (to oblique status) in passive constructions is not.
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
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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
