Voice: Form and Function: 27 (Typological Studies in Language) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9027229155 ISBN 13: 9789027229151

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Co, 1994

Synopsis

The volume's central concern is grammatical voice, traditionally known as diathesis, and its classical manifestations as Active, Middle, and Passive. While numerous problems in the meaning, syntax, and morphology of these categories in Indo-European remain unsolved, their counterparts in more exotic languages have raised still further questions. What discourse functions and diachronic events unite 'voice' as a recognizable phenomenon across languages? How are they typically grammaticalized? What stages do children go through in learning them? How does 'voice' link up with ergativity and with other categories and constructions such as the Inverse and the Antipassive? The authors in this volume have different perspectives on these problems: they discuss voice, e.g., from a typological-universal view, in relation to language acquisition and to ergativity, and from diachronic and cross-linguistic perspectives.

About this title

Synopsis

A study of grammatical voice, traditionally known as diathesis, and its classical manifestations as active, middle and passive. Various perspectives are represented: the typological-universal view, voice and language acquisition, the relationship between voice and ergativity, dichronic perspectives and the interaction of morphology and discourse.

Edition details

• Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Co
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9027229155
• ISBN 13: 9789027229151
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 389
• Editor: Fox Barbara A., Hopper Paul J.