Abstract
This paper gives a systematic comparison of the functions of voice alternations in three genetically unrelated languages. Biblical Hebrew, Chinese, and English, based upon both data originally written in each of these languages and translated data. It is shown that passive or 'passive-like' function can be divided into a number of discrete functional types, each of which is associated with a certain combination of translation equivalents in the three languages, and each of which can be given a functional profile in terms of factors such as the tense and semantics of the verb and the topicality and humanness of the Agent and the Patient. Such a typology of functions, when applied to more languages, would make it possible to characterize the function of a passive or 'passive-like' construction both objectively and simply, by specifying which of these functional types the construction is used for.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 253-283 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| Journal | Language Sciences |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1994 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language