Case and Voice

Abstract

AbstractVoice refers to the pattern of the form-function correlation along the parameters pertaining to the evolutionary properties of an action. Hence, there are marked voice categories pertaining to the origin of an action, for example, the nature of the agent (spontaneous, passive, causative); those pertaining to the nature of the development of an action, for example, the affectedness of the patient (middle, antipassive); as well as those pertaining to the termination of an action, for example, the affectedness of other entities than the patient (applicatives, external possession). In addition to these conceptual dimensions, voice phenomena are also controlled by the pragmatic factor of discourse relevance (such as inherent and contextual discourse topicality) of the event participants. The notion of transitivity in grammar and discourse is integral to the study of voice. This article examines case and voice, focusing on case in derived constructions. It discusses spontaneous voice, passive and antipassive, antipassive in accusative languages, passive in ergative languages, case hierarchy and verbal voice morphology, and applicative voice.