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The Middle Voice in Polish: An Attempt at Rehabilitation

Publication date: 02.02.2016

Studies in Polish Linguistics, Volume 10 (2015), Vol. 10, Issue 3, pp. 105 - 124

https://doi.org/10.4467/23005920SPL.15.005.4313

Authors

,
Axel Holvoet
University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 30, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland
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Jadwiga Linde-Usiekniewicz
University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 30, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7083-0486 Orcid
All publications →

Titles

The Middle Voice in Polish: An Attempt at Rehabilitation

Abstract

Polish verb forms occurring with (what was originally) the pronominal clitic się constitute a notoriously heterogeneous group of constructions ranging from reflexive proper (widzi się ‘sees herself/himself ’) to impersonal (mówi się ‘they say’). This article deals with middle-voice reflexives, which cover the semantic domain extending between reflexives proper and passives. The Polish types of middle-voice reflexives are first situated on a semantic map reflecting a cross-linguistic analysis based mainly on Slavonic, Baltic and Germanic data. Then an analysis of the different types is given in terms of argument structure. We argue that most of the Polish middle-voice reflexives do not differ from the non-reflexive forms in argument structure but only in the assignment of grammatical relations. They are also characterized by construction-specific semantic modifications (more marked than in the case of the passive). As they are arguably not in the lexicon, a good case can be made for their treatment in terms of grammatical voice. At the same time these constructions are distinct from the passive: both middle-voice and passive constructions are agent-back-grounding devices, but they represent different types of backgrounding.

References

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Information

Information: Studies in Polish Linguistics, Volume 10 (2015), Vol. 10, Issue 3, pp. 105 - 124

Article type: Original article

Titles:

English:

The Middle Voice in Polish: An Attempt at Rehabilitation

Authors

University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 30, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7083-0486

Jadwiga Linde-Usiekniewicz
University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 30, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7083-0486 Orcid
All publications →

University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 30, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland

Published at: 02.02.2016

Article status: Open

Licence: None

Percentage share of authors:

Axel Holvoet (Author) - 50%
Jadwiga Linde-Usiekniewicz (Author) - 50%

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Publication languages:

English

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<p>The Middle Voice in Polish: An Attempt at Rehabilitation</p>