Passivization in the -ȝa-converb construction in Barguzin Buryat: On the syntactic representation of voice

 
PIIS0373658X0011218-8-1
DOI10.7868/S0373658X18030029
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Affiliation:
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Journal nameVoprosy Jazykoznanija
EditionIssue 3
Pages40-71
Abstract

In this article, I discuss a construction in Barguzin Buryat that involves matrix verbs taking converbs with suffix -ʒa- as their sentential arguments. I show that the embedded clause in this construction is reduced and subjectless, but nevertheless takes passive voice morphology. This constitutes a paradox: how can a subjectless clause undergo passivization? I examine the possible ways of passivization that this construction allows for and show how the type of the embedded predicate restricts the available passivization patterns. I argue that the voice domain is present in the syntactic structure of the embedded clause, but that it is deficient and dependent on the voice domain of the matrix predicate. I propose an analysis of the interaction between the two voice domains in this construction that exploits the mechanism of voice restructuring. I show how this analysis can account for the possible passivization patterns with embedded verbs that are transitive, intransitive, and lexically marked for voice and discuss some predictions and consequences of this proposal.

KeywordsBuryat, converbs, passivization, reduced complements, restructuring, sentential arguments, voice domain
AcknowledgmentThe study has been supported by Russian Science Foundation (grant No. 16-18-02081)
Received15.07.2018
Publication date15.07.2018
Number of characters1368
Cite   Download pdf To download PDF you should sign in

Price publication: 0

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 444

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Alexiadou, Anagnostopoulou 2004 — Alexiadou A., Anagnostopoulou E. Voice morphology in the causative-inchoative alternation: Evidence for a non-unified structural analysis of unaccusatives. The unaccusativity puzzle: Explorations of the syntax-lexicon interface. Alexiadou A., Anagnostopoulou E., Everaert M. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004. Pp. 114—136.

2. Alexiadou et al. 2006 — Alexiadou A., Anagnostopoulou E., Schäfer F. The properties of anticausatives cross-linguistically. Phases of interpretation. Frascarelli M. (ed.). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2006. Pp. 187—211.

3. Bosque, Gallego 2011 — Bosque I., Gallego Á. J. Spanish double passives and related structures. Linguı́ stica. Revista de Estudos Linguı́ sticos da Universidade do Porto. 2011. Vol. 6. No. 1. Pp. 9—50.

4. Bouma, van Noord 1997 — Bouma G., van Noord G. Dutch verb clustering without verb clusters. Specifying syntactic structures. Blackburn P., De Rijke M. (eds.). Stanford (CA): Center for the Study of Language and Information, 1997. Pp. 213—243.

5. Elementy (ms.) — Bondarenko T. I., Podobryaev A. V., Privoznov D. K., Tatevosov S. G. (eds.). Elementy buryatskogo yazyka v tipologicheskom osveshchenii: barguzinskii dialekt [Elements of the Buryat language in typology: The Barguzin dialect]. Ms. Moscow: Lomonosov Moscow State University.

6. George, Kornfilt 1977 — George L., Kornfilt J. Infinitival double passives in Turkish. North East Linguistics Society. Vol. 7. Leffel K., Bouchard D. (eds.). Cambridge (MA), 1977. Pp. 65—79.

7. Givón 1990 — Givón T. Syntax: A functional-typological introduction. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1990.

8. Grashchenkov 2015 — Grashchenkov P. V. Tyurkskie konverby i serializatsiya: sintaksis, semantika i grammatikalizatsiya. [Turkic converbs and serialization: Syntax, semantics, and grammaticalization]. Moscow: Yazyki Slavyanskoj Kultury, 2015.

9. Grashchenkov 2017 — Grashchenkov P. V. Kompozitsional’nost’ v leksicheskoi i sintaksicheskoi derivatsii raznostrukturnykh yazykov [Compositionality in lexical and syntactic derivations of languages with different grammars]. Doctoral diss. Moscow: Lomonosov Moscow State University, 2017.

10. Kornfilt 1996 — Kornfilt J. NP-movement and “restructuring”. Current issues in comparative grammar. Freidin R. (ed.). Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1996. Pp. 121—147.

11. Kratzer 1996 — Kratzer A. Severing the external argument from its verb. Phrase structure and the lexicon. Rooryck J., Zaring L. (eds.). Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1996. Pp. 109—137.

12. Legate 2010 — Legate J. A. The structure of agents in implicit passives. Paper presented at the 41st Annual meeting of the North East Linguistics Society, Philadelphia, 2010.

13. Legate 2012 — Legate J. A. Subjects in Acehnese and the nature of the passive. Language. 2012. Vol. 88. No. 3. Pp. 495—525.

14. Letučij 2005 — Letučij A. B. Non-prototypic transitivity and lability: The phasal labile verbs. Voprosy jazykoznanija. 2005. No. 4. Pp. 57—75.

15. Padučeva 2001 — Padučeva E. V. Fazovyje glagoly i semantika načinatelnosti [Phasal verbs and the semantics of beginning]. Izvestiya Akademii nauk. Seriya literatury i yazyka. 2001. No. 4. Pp. 29—39.

16. Pitteroff, Alexiadou 2012 — Pitteroff M., Alexiadou A. On the properties of German sich-lassen middles. Coyote Working Papers: Proceedings of the 29th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. Choi J., Hogue A. E., Punske J., Tat D., Schertz J., Trueman A. (eds.). Tucson: Univ. of Arizona, 2012. Pp. 214—222.

17. Podobryaev 2014 — Podobryaev A. Persons, imposters, and monsters. PhD diss. Cambridge (MA): MIT, 2014.

18. Poppe 1938 — Poppe N. Grammatika buryat-mongol’skogo yazyka [Grammar of the Buryat-Mongol language]. Moscow; Leningrad: Izdatel’stvo Akademii nauk SSSR, 1938.

19. Poppe 1960 — Poppe N. Buriat grammar. (Uralic and Altaic series, 2). Bloomington: Indiana Univ., 1960.

20. Privoznov, Gruzdeva (ms.) — Privoznov D., Gruzdeva A. Aktantnye al’ternatsii i argumentnaya struktura v buryatskom yazyke [Valency alternations and argument structure in Buryat]. Ms.

21. Pylkkännen 2002 — Pylkkännen L. Introducing arguments. PhD diss. Cambridge (MA): MIT, 2002.

22. Saito, Hoshi 1998 — Saito M., Hoshi H. Control in complex predicates. Report of the special research project for the typological investigation of languages and cultures of the East and West. Tsukuba: Univ. of Tsukuba, 1998. Pp. 15—46.

23. Sanzheev 1962 — Sanzheev G. D. Grammatika buryatskogo yazyka: fonetika i morfologiya. [Buryat grammar: Phonetics and morphology]. Moscow: Izdatel’stvo vostochnoi literatury, 1962.

24. Schäfer 2008 — Schäfer F. The syntax of (anti-)causatives: External arguments in change-of-state contexts. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2008.

25. Shimamura, Wurmbrand 2014 — Shimamura K., Wurmbrand S. Two types of restructuring in Japanese — Evidence from scope and binding. 7th Formal Approaches to Japanese Linguistics. Kawahara S., Igarashi M. (eds.). Cambridge (MA): MIT Working Papers in Linguistics, 2014. Pp. 203—214.

26. Shklovsky, Sudo 2014 — Shklovsky K., Sudo Y. The syntax of monsters. Linguistic Inquiry. 2014. Vol. 45. No. 3. Pp. 381—402.

27. Skribnik, Darzhaeva 2016 — Skribnik E. K., Darzhaeva N. B. Grammatika buryatskogo yazyka. Sintaksis slozhnogo (polipredikativnogo) predlozheniya. T. 1. [Grammar of the Buryat language. Vol. 1. Syntax of the compound (polypredicative) sentence]. Ulan-Ude: Publ. House of BSC SB RAS, 2016.

28. Sudo 2012 — Sudo Y. On the semantics of phi features on pronouns. PhD diss. Cambridge (MA): MIT, 2012.

29. Wurmbrand 2001 — Wurmbrand S. Infinitives: Restructuring and clause structure. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2001.

30. Wurmbrand 2007 — Wurmbrand S. How complex are complex predicates. Syntax. 2007. Vol. 10. No. 3. Pp. 243—288.

31. Wurmbrand 2014a — Wurmbrand S. Restructuring across the world. Complex visibles out there. Proceedings of the Olomouc Linguistics Colloquium 2014. Veselovská L., Janebová M. (eds.). Olomouc: Palacký Univ., 2014. Pp. 275—294.

32. Wurmbrand 2014b — Wurmbrand S. The Merge Condition: A syntactic approach to selection. Minimalism and beyond: Radicalizing the interfaces. Kosta P., Schürcks L., Franks S. L., Radeva-Bork T. (eds.). Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2014. Pp. 139—177.

33. Wurmbrand 2015 — Wurmbrand S. Complex predicate formation via voice incorporation. Approaches to complex predicates. Nash L., Samvelian P. (eds.). Leiden: Brill, 2015. Pp. 248—290.

34. Wurmbrand, Shimamura 2017 — Wurmbrand S., Shimamura K. The features of the voice domain: Actives, passives, and restructuring. The verbal domain. D’Alessandro R., Franco I., Gallego Á. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2017. Pp. 179—204.

35. Xrakovsky 1987 — Xrakovsky V. S. Phasal semantics and the means of its expression. Bondarko A. V. (ed.). Teoriya funktsional’noi grammatiki. Vvedenie. Aspektual’nost’. Vremennaya lokalizovannost’. Taksis. Leningrad: Nauka, 1987. Pp. 153—180.

Система Orphus

Loading...
Up