Startseite Quasi-passive reflexive constructions: Bridging autonomous and passive situations
Artikel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

Quasi-passive reflexive constructions: Bridging autonomous and passive situations

  • Liljana Mitkovska EMAIL logo und Eleni Bužarovska
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 29. September 2020

Abstract

It is common for languages crosslinguistically to employ the same verb form in several diathetic constructions distinguished by a different degree of agent suppression. In South Slavic languages the so called ‘quasi-passive reflexive se-constructions’ (QRCs) encode a number of non-factual situations, expressing an array of semantically close meanings unified by modal semantics. The paper argues that QRCs in South Slavic languages represent a gradient category comprising potential, normative and generalizing situation types. The difference between these subclasses depends on the degree of implication of the agent in the construction: the agent is indirectly evoked in the potential, its presence can be felt in the normative, and a non-referring agent is present in the generalizing constructions. The intended interpretation of QRCs is obtained through the predicate-participant relation and pragmatic factors. In shaping the setting the latter may trigger overlapping between the subclasses. The goal of the paper is to prove that QRCs supply the cognitive link between anticausative reflexive (coding autonomous events) and passive reflexive constructions (coding agent defocusing situations): the potential type is closer to anticausatives, while the generalizing type shows affinity with passives. Such scalar analysis of QRCs may contribute to a better understanding of the typology of reflexive constructions.


Corresponding author: Liljana Mitkovska[liljana mitkovska], FON University, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia; and Silesian University, Katowice, Poland, E-mail:

References

Ackema, Peter & Maaike Schoorlemmer. 1994. The middle construction and the syntax-semantics interface. Lingua 93. 59–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3841(94)90353-0.Suche in Google Scholar

Alexiadou, Artemis & Edit Doron. 2012. The syntactic construction of two non-active voices: Passive and middle. Journal of Linguistics 48. 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022226711000338.Suche in Google Scholar

Alexiadou, Artemis. 2014. Active, middle, and passive: The morpho-syntax of voice. Catalan Journal of Linguistics 13. 19–40. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/catjl.153.Suche in Google Scholar

Comrie, Bernard. 1989. Language universals and linguistic typology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Suche in Google Scholar

Condoravdi, Cleo. 1989. The middle: Where semantics and morphology meet. MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 11. 18–30.Suche in Google Scholar

Croft, William. 1994. Voice: Beyond control and affectedness. In Barbara A. Fox & Paul Hopper (eds.), Voice: Form and function, 89–118. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/tsl.27.06croSuche in Google Scholar

Davidse, Kristin & Liesbet Heyvaert. 2007. On the middle voice: An analysis of the English middle. Linguistics 45(1). 37–83. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.2007.002.Suche in Google Scholar

de Schepper, Kees. 2010. The space between one and two: Transitives, intransitives and the middle voice. In Patrick Brandt & Marco García García (eds.), Transitivity: Form, meaning, acquisition, and processing, 191–208. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/la.166.08schSuche in Google Scholar

Enger, Hans-Olav & Tore Nesset. 1998. The value of cognitive grammar in typological studies: The case of Norwegian and Russian passive, middle and reflexive. Nordic Journal of Linguistics 22. 27–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/03325869950137045.Suche in Google Scholar

Everaert, Martin, Marijana Marelj & Tal, Siloni (eds.). 2012. The Theta system: The Theta system argument structure at the interface. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602513.001.0001Suche in Google Scholar

Fábregas, Antonio & Putnam, Michael. 2014. The emergence of middle voice readings with and without agents. The Linguistic Review 31. 193–240. https://doi.org/10.1515/tlr-2014-0002.Suche in Google Scholar

Fagan, Sara. 1988. The English middle. Linguistic Inquiry 19. 181–203. https://doi.org/10.1002/chin.198829269.Suche in Google Scholar

Fagan, Sara. 1992. The syntax of middle constructions: A study with special reference to German. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Suche in Google Scholar

Fellbaum, Christine. 1985. Agents in agentless actives and passives. Papers from the Parasession on Causatives and Agentivity, CLS 21, Part 2. 21–31.Suche in Google Scholar

Fellbaum, Christine & Anne Zribi-Herz. 1989. The middle constructions in French and English: A comparative study in syntax and semantics. Bloomington, IN: IULP.Suche in Google Scholar

Fried, Mirjam. 2006. Demoting the agent: Passive, middle and other voice phenomena. In Benjamin Lyngfelt & Torgrim Solstad (eds.), Agent-backgrounding as a functional domain: Reflexivization and passivization in Czech and Russian, 83−110. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/la.96.06friSuche in Google Scholar

Fried, Mirjam. 2007. Constructing grammatical meaning: Isomorphism and polysemy in Czech reflexivization. Studies in Language 31(4). 721−764. https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.31.4.02fri.Suche in Google Scholar

Geniušienė, Emma. 1987. The typology of reflexives. Berlin/NY: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110859119Suche in Google Scholar

Goldberg, Adele. 1995. Constructions: A construction grammar approach to argument structure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Suche in Google Scholar

Hale, Kenneth & Samuel J. Keyser. 1986. Some transitivity alternations in English. Lexicon Project Working Papers, vol. 7, 605−638. Cambridge, MA: MIT.Suche in Google Scholar

Hale, Kenneth & Samuel J. Keyser. 1987. A view from the middle. Lexicon Project Working Papers 10. 1–36.Suche in Google Scholar

Haspelmath, Martin. 1990. The grammaticalization of passive morphology. Studies in Language 14(1). 25–72. https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.14.1.03has.Suche in Google Scholar

Holvoet, Axel, Marta Grzybowska and Agnieszka Rembiałkowska. 2015. Middle voice reflexives and argument structure in Baltic. In Axel Holvoet & Nicole Nau (eds.). Voice and argument structure in Baltic. 181–208. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/vargreb.2.04holSuche in Google Scholar

Hundt, Marianne. 2007. English mediopassive constructions: A cognitive, corpus-based study of their origin, spread, and current status. Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi.10.1163/9789401203784Suche in Google Scholar

Kemmer, Suzanne. 1993. The middle voice. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/tsl.23Suche in Google Scholar

Keyser, Samuel Jay & Thomas Roeper. 1984. On the middle and ergative constructions in English. Linguistic Inquiry 15(3). 381–417. https://doi.org/10.2307/4178392.Suche in Google Scholar

Lambrecht, Knud & Kevin Lemoine. 2005. Definite null objects in (spoken) French: A construction-grammar account. In Mirjam Fried & Hans C. Boas (eds.), Grammatical constructions: Back to the roots, 13–54, Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/cal.4.03lamSuche in Google Scholar

Langacker, Ronald W. 1991. Foundations of cognitive grammar: Descriptive application, vol. II. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Suche in Google Scholar

Langacker, Ronald W. 1999. Losing control: Grammaticalization, subjectification, and transparency. In Andreas Blank & Peter Koch (eds.), Historical semantics and cognition, 147–175. Berlin/NY: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110804195.147Suche in Google Scholar

Langacker, Ronald W. 2008. Cognitive grammar. A basic introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331967.001.0001Suche in Google Scholar

Lekakou, Marika. 2002. Middle semantics and its realization in English and Greek. UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 14. 399–416.Suche in Google Scholar

Lekakou, Marika. 2005. In the middle, somewhat elevated. London: University of London PhD dissertation.Suche in Google Scholar

Lekakou, Marika and Marcel Pitteroff. 2018. This is personal: Impersonal middles as dispositional ascriptions. Glossa 3(1): 59. 1–37. https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.487.Suche in Google Scholar

Mitkovska, Liljana. 1998. The SE passive in Macedonian compared to the neighbouring Slavic languages. Studia Linguistica Polono-Meridianoslavica 9. 47–60.Suche in Google Scholar

Mitkovska, Liljana. 2011. Makedonskite se-konstrukcii i nivnite ekvivalenti vo angliskiot jazik. [The Macedonian se-constructions and their English equivalents]. Skopje: Makedonska reč.Suche in Google Scholar

Mozyński, Leszek. 1984. Wstęp do Filologii Sławiańskiej [Introduction to Slavic Philology]. Warszawa: PWN.Suche in Google Scholar

Park, Kabyong. 2009. Explaining English middle sentences. Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics 13(2). 125–140.Suche in Google Scholar

Schäfer, Fabian. 2008. Middles as voiced anticausatives. In Emily Efner & Martin, Walkow (eds.), Proceedings of NELS (North East Linguistic Society) 37, 183–196. Amherst, MA: GLSA.Suche in Google Scholar

Siewierska, Anna. 1988. The passive in Slavic. In Masayoshi Shibatani (ed.), Passive and voice, 243–289. Amsterdam: John Benjamin.10.1075/tsl.16.09sieSuche in Google Scholar

Silverstein, Michael. 1976. Hierarchy of features and ergativity. In Robert M. W. Dixon (ed.), Grammatical categories in Australian languages, 112–171. Canberra: Australian National University.10.1515/9783110871661-008Suche in Google Scholar

Steinbach, Markus. 2002. Middle voice: A comparative study in the syntax-semantics interface of German. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/la.50Suche in Google Scholar

Topolinjska, Zuzana. 2008. Polsko-makedonski: Gramatička konfrontacija: Razvitok na gramatički kategorii [Polish-Macedonian: Grammatical confrontation: Development of the grammatical categories]. Skopje: MANU.Suche in Google Scholar

Turley, Jeffrey S. 1999. The creation of a grammaticalization chain: The story of Spanish decausative, passive, and indeterminate reflexive constructions. Southwest Journal of Linguistics 18. 101–138.Suche in Google Scholar

van Oosten, Jeanne. 1986. The nature of subjects, topics and agents: A cognitive explanation. Bloomington: IULP.Suche in Google Scholar

Wiemer, Björn. 2017. Slavic resultatives and their extensions: Integration into the aspect system and the role of telicity. Slavia 86 (2/3). 124–168.Suche in Google Scholar

Yoshimura, Kimihiro & John R. Taylor. 2004. What makes a good middle? The role of qualia in the interpretation and acceptability of middle expressions in English. English Language and Linguistics 8(2). 293–321. https://doi.org/10.1017/s136067430400139x.Suche in Google Scholar

Sources of examples

BK– Koneski, Blaže 1975. Od istorijata na jazikot na slovenskata pismenost vo Makedonija. [From the language history of Slavic literacy in Macedonia]. Skopje: Makedonska kniga.Suche in Google Scholar

GS– Stefanovski, Goran. 1987. Odbrani drami. [Selected plays]. Skopje: Misla.Suche in Google Scholar

MJ– Jovanovski, Meto. 1985. Zemja i tegobi. [Land and hardship]. In Meto Jovanovski. (ed), Izbor [Selected works]. Skopje: Makedonska kniga.Suche in Google Scholar

MR– Boškovski, Petar. (ed). 1972. Makedonski raskazi. Antologija. [Macedonian short stories. Anthology]. Skopje: Kultura.Suche in Google Scholar

PM– Cvetanovski, Savo (ed.). 1990. Antologija na makedonskiot postmodernistički raskaz. [Anthology of the Macedonian postmodern stories]. Skopje: Naša kniga.Suche in Google Scholar

VIB– Iljoski, Vasil. 1986. Begalka.[Elopee]. Skopje: Naša kniga.Suche in Google Scholar

VIČ– Iljoski, Vasil. 1976. Čorbadži Teodos. [Master Teodos]. In Aleksi Aleksiev (eds.), Makedonski drami medju dvete svetski vojni. [Macedonian plays between the two world wars]. Skopje: Makedonska kniga.Suche in Google Scholar

VIM– Iljoski, Vasil. 1989. Mladi sinovi. [Young sons]. Skopje: Misla.Suche in Google Scholar

VM– Maleski, Vlado. 1974. Razboj. [The loom]. Skopje: Kultura.Suche in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2020-09-29
Published in Print: 2021-07-27

© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Heruntergeladen am 8.9.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/lingty-2020-2062/pdf
Button zum nach oben scrollen