Antipassive voice
Encyclopedia
The antipassive voice is a verb
voice that works on transitive verb
s by deleting the object
. This construction is similar to the passive voice
, in that it decreases the verb's valency
by one - the passive by deleting the subject (and "promoting" the accusative object to a nominative subject), the antipassive by deleting the object (and "promoting" the ergative agent to an absolutive subject). Most languages with the antipassive voice are Australian Aboriginal or Native American languages
.
The antipassive voice is found in ergative languages where the deletion of an object changes the subject from ergative case to absolutive, and also in certain accusative languages that have verbal agreement with both subject and object and where the antipassive is usually formed simply by deletion of the object affix
. Examples of accusative languages with this type of antipassive are Maasai
, Comanche
and Cahuilla
. A number of direct–inverse languages also have the antipassive voice.
The antipassive voice is very rare in active–stative languages generally and in nominative–accusative languages that have only one-place or no verbal agreement. There are a very few exceptions to this rule, such as Krongo
and the Songhay language
Koyraboro Senni language
, both of which rely on dedicated antipassive markers that are rare in the more typical type of language with an antipassive.
As with passive voice, the deleted argument can be re-introduced as an optional complement or oblique argument
.
Antipassives frequently convey aspectual
or modal
information, and may cast the clause as imperfective
, inceptive, or potential.
The purpose of antipassive construction is often to make certain arguments available as pivots
for relativization
, coordination of sentences or similar constructions. For example in Dyirbal the omitted argument in conjoined sentences must be in absolutive case
. Thus, the following sentence is ungrammatical:
In the conjoined sentence the omitted argument (the man) would have to be in ergative case
, being the agent of a transitive verb (to see). This is not allowed in Dyirbal. In order to make this sentence grammatical, the antipassive, which promotes the original ergative to absolutive - and puts the former absolutive (the woman) into dative case -, has to be used:
has an antipassive voice, which puts the agent into the absolutive case, but does not delete the absolutive object. This leads to the agent and object being in the same case.
when transformed using the antipassive voice, becomes:
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
voice that works on transitive verb
Transitive verb
In syntax, a transitive verb is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects. The term is used to contrast intransitive verbs, which do not have objects.-Examples:Some examples of sentences with transitive verbs:...
s by deleting the object
Object (grammar)
An object in grammar is part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. Basically, it is what or whom the verb is acting upon...
. This construction is similar to the passive voice
Passive voice
Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
, in that it decreases the verb's valency
Valency (linguistics)
In linguistics, verb valency or valence refers to the number of arguments controlled by a verbal predicate. It is related, though not identical, to verb transitivity, which counts only object arguments of the verbal predicate...
by one - the passive by deleting the subject (and "promoting" the accusative object to a nominative subject), the antipassive by deleting the object (and "promoting" the ergative agent to an absolutive subject). Most languages with the antipassive voice are Australian Aboriginal or Native American languages
Indigenous languages of the Americas
Indigenous languages of the Americas are spoken by indigenous peoples from Alaska and Greenland to the southern tip of South America, encompassing the land masses which constitute the Americas. These indigenous languages consist of dozens of distinct language families as well as many language...
.
The antipassive voice is found in ergative languages where the deletion of an object changes the subject from ergative case to absolutive, and also in certain accusative languages that have verbal agreement with both subject and object and where the antipassive is usually formed simply by deletion of the object affix
Affix
An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...
. Examples of accusative languages with this type of antipassive are Maasai
Maasai language
The Maasai language is an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania by the Maasai people, numbering about 800,000...
, Comanche
Comanche language
Comanche is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Comanche people, who split off from the Shoshone soon after they acquired horses in around 1705...
and Cahuilla
Cahuilla language
Cahuilla is an endangered Uto-Aztecan language, spoken by the Cahuilla tribe, living in the Coachella Valley, San Gorgonio Pass and San Jacinto Mountain region of Southern California. Cahuilla call themselves Iviatam, speakers of 'Ivia' - the 'original' language. A 1990 census revealed 35 speakers...
. A number of direct–inverse languages also have the antipassive voice.
The antipassive voice is very rare in active–stative languages generally and in nominative–accusative languages that have only one-place or no verbal agreement. There are a very few exceptions to this rule, such as Krongo
Krongo language
Krongo, also spelled Korongo or Kurungu and known as Dimodongo, Kadumodi, or Tabanya after local towns, is a Kadu language spoken in Kordofan....
and the Songhay language
Songhay languages
The Songhay, Songhai, or Songai languages are a group of closely related languages/dialects centered on the middle stretches of the Niger River in the west African states of Mali, Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria. They have been widely used as a lingua franca in that region ever since the...
Koyraboro Senni language
Koyraboro Senni
Koyraboro Senni is a variety of Songhai in Mali, spoken by some 400,000 people along Niger River from Gourma-Rharous, east of Timbuktu, through Bourem, Gao, and Ansongo to the Mali–Niger border.The expression “koyra-boro senn-i” literally denotes “the language of the town dwellers” as opposed to...
, both of which rely on dedicated antipassive markers that are rare in the more typical type of language with an antipassive.
- "Mary-ERG eats pie-ABS." → "Mary-ABS eats."
- "He-ERG is speaking the truth-ABS." → "He-ABS is speaking."
As with passive voice, the deleted argument can be re-introduced as an optional complement or oblique argument
Verb argument
In linguistics, a verb argument is a phrase that appears in a syntactic relationship with the verb in a clause. In English, for example, the two most important arguments are the subject and the direct object....
.
- "Mary-ERG eats pie-ABS." → "Mary-ABS eats from the pie."
Antipassives frequently convey aspectual
Grammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
or modal
Grammatical mood
In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used to signal modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to express their attitude toward what they are saying...
information, and may cast the clause as imperfective
Imperfective aspect
The imperfective is a grammatical aspect used to describe a situation viewed with internal structure, such as ongoing, habitual, repeated, and similar semantic roles, whether that situation occurs in the past, present, or future...
, inceptive, or potential.
The purpose of antipassive construction is often to make certain arguments available as pivots
Syntactic pivot
The syntactic pivot is the verb argument around which sentences "revolve", in a given language. This usually means the following:*If the verb has more than zero arguments, then one argument is the syntactic pivot....
for relativization
Relative clause
A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun phrase, most commonly a noun. For example, the phrase "the man who wasn't there" contains the noun man, which is modified by the relative clause who wasn't there...
, coordination of sentences or similar constructions. For example in Dyirbal the omitted argument in conjoined sentences must be in absolutive case
Absolutive case
The absolutive case is the unmarked grammatical case of a core argument of a verb which is used as the citation form of a noun.-In ergative languages:...
. Thus, the following sentence is ungrammatical:
-
- baji jaɽa bani-ɲu balan ɟuɡumbil buɽa-n
- M-ABS man-ABS come-NFUT F-ABS woman-ABS see-NFUT
- 'The man came and saw the woman'
In the conjoined sentence the omitted argument (the man) would have to be in ergative case
Ergative case
The ergative case is the grammatical case that identifies the subject of a transitive verb in ergative-absolutive languages.-Characteristics:...
, being the agent of a transitive verb (to see). This is not allowed in Dyirbal. In order to make this sentence grammatical, the antipassive, which promotes the original ergative to absolutive - and puts the former absolutive (the woman) into dative case -, has to be used:
- baji jaɽa bani-ɲu baɡun ɟuɡumbil-ɡu buɽal-ŋa-ɲu
- M-ABS man-ABS come-NFUT F-DAT woman-DAT see-APASS-NFUT
- 'The man came and saw the woman'
Examples from Basque
BasqueBasque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
has an antipassive voice, which puts the agent into the absolutive case, but does not delete the absolutive object. This leads to the agent and object being in the same case.
- Gauza miragarriak ikusi ditut (nik)
- thing wonderful-PL-ABS see-PERF have-PRES-PL-I (I-ERG)
- I have seen wonderful things.
when transformed using the antipassive voice, becomes:
- Gauza miragarriak ikusirik nago / ikusia naiz
- thing wonderful-PL-ABS see-PERF-STAT am / see-PERF-ACT am
- *I am seen wonderful things
External links
- What is Antipassive Voice? at SIL
- Antipassive voice bibliography at Ethnologue
- "Asymmetries between Passivization and Antipassivization in the Tarramiutut Subdialect of Inuktitut" by Matthew Beach (MS-Word file)