ENGLISH

Voice and Inversion

By Talmy Givón (Ed.)

Book information

Publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Year
1994
ISBN
9027229171, 9789027229175
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
31 MB (32978857 bytes)
Series
Typological Studies in Language 28
Edition
1st
Pages
410\411
Time added
2014-08-01 16:41:21

Description

This collection aims first to establish a structure-independent, language-independent definition of pragmatic voice, and more specifically then a universal functional definition of “inverse”. The grammar and pragmatic function of the four major voice constructions — direct-active, inverse, passive, antipassive — are surveyed using narrative texts from 14 languages: Koyukon (Athabascan), Plains Cree (Algonquian), Chepang (Tibeto-Burman), Squamish and Bella Coola (Salish), Sahaptin (Sahaptian), Kutenai (isolate), Surinam Carib (Carib), Spanish and Greek (Indo-European), Korean, Maasai (Nilotic), Cebuano and Karao (Philippine). The comparative quantified study of pragmatic voice functions tests the validity of a universal functional definition of voice and in particular of “inverse”. The cross-language comparison of grammatical structures that code the various voice functions then lays down the foundation for a non-trivial cross-language typology of “inverse”.

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