Impersonal Subject Research Articles

On the Earlier Egyptian T-Passive: Analysis, Spread, Long-Term History

Introducing the topic, .t/.tỉ/.tw-marked forms of the verb are shown to be inflectional passives like V-passives, not active impersonal constructions as advocated in a recent proposal (§1). In a process seen unfolding already in the earliest record, then further during Earlier Egyptian and into the Middle Kingdom, T-passives are observed spreading over V-passives, superseding these in many functions (§2). Like perfective aspect, the prototypical passive views the event from the perspective of its Endpoint. It is proposed that T-passives spread over V-passives in those functions in which the Endpoint was partly or entirely out of focus: in the future, in negative constructions, and in constructions that set the perspective on the event itself, away from the Endpoint. Passives from intransitives are non-prototypical in lacking an Endpoint and in setting the perspective on the event itself: they might have played a supporting role in early stages of the process. Meanwhile, V-passives continued to be used regularly in those environments in which the Endpoint was in focus, with fully asserted events and in adjunct clauses. This macro-change is inserted into the longer-term history of T-passives (§3). Looking up in time, it is proposed that Earlier Egyptian {t} is cognate to {t} found across Afroasiatic languages with varying detransitive functions, and represents the outcome of a well-paralleled path leading from reflexive to anticausative to passive. Looking down in time, it is proposed that passives from intransitives and passives with imperfective aspect, both deviating from the passive prototype, were favorable loci for alternative construals of T-passives as generalized-Agent constructions. Given several favorable conditions on other levels, these contributed to making the extension of .t(w) to active impersonal constructions, beginning in the Twelfth Dynasty, possible. In the broader sweep, the story then goes from {t} as a reflexive marker (in Afroasiatic prehistory) to {t} as an inflectional passive marker (in Earlier Egyptian, with T-passives gradually extending their functional yield over V-passives); and further to innovative uses of .t(w) as an impersonal subject pronoun (emerging during the Twelfth Dynasty and generalizing in Late Egyptian). Three themes are recurrent in this long history: the morphological transparency of T-passives, voice-aspect correlations, and the role of passives from intransitives.

Phenomenology and the Impersonal Subject: Between Self and No-Self

Phenomenology and the Impersonal Subject: Between Self and No-Self

Fortune and Decay of Lexical Expletives in Germanic and Romance along the Adige River

Lexical expletives can be divided into two main classes: (i) CP expletives required by the V2 constraint and, hence, by the necessity to lexicalize the position on the left of the inflected verb and (ii) TP expletives connected with the negative value of the pro-drop parameter and, therefore, with the necessity to lexicalize the ’structural‘ subject position, specifically, [Spec, TP]. The latter can, in turn, be divided into two subclasses: impersonal subjects and positional expletives, which occur with postverbal/low subjects and extraposed subject clauses. While CP expletives only appear in Germanic varieties that maintain V2, the subclassification of TP expletives yields interesting results when comparing Cimbrian and the Venetan varieties in Nord-East Italy, where the gradual disappearance of the positional expletive in free inversion structures and the residual maintenance of impersonal subjects from North to South along the Adige River confirms the distinction between two classes of subject expletives; furthermore, the resilience of impersonal subjects and their distribution in the northwestern part of the area under consideration sheds light on the role of language contact which is confirmed along the same axis—but crucially in the opposite direction—by the increasing employment of cleft constructions in WH-clauses replacing enclisis (i.e.,: pronominal subject inversion with the finite verb).

Dogon pseudo-subjects with or without true subjects

Abstract Dogon pseudo-subjects are bare meteorological, temporal-environmental, and partonymic nouns of low referentiality/specificity that occur in fixed noun-verb collocations. The pseudo-subject controls the choice of verb in all cases, but it fails to behave like a true subject in linear position, in a quotative-subject construction, or in pronominal-subject agreement. The pseudo-subject is the sole nominal in these meteorological and temporal collocations, but in partonymic collocations it co-occurs with a true subject denoting the possessor-experiencer. The latter has all of the clear subject properties except controlling the choice of verb. Pseudo-subjects have some similarities with, but are distinct from, a range of typologically familiar phenomena including impersonal subjects, direct objects, possessums stranded by possessor raising, East Asian-style second subjects or post-topic subjects, incorporated nouns, and adverbial adjuncts. They can be classified as pseudo-incorporated nominals if this category is broad enough to include subject-like as well as object-like nominals. The relevant constructions are easily modelled in construction grammars, but not in arboreal syntax.

Agent Demotion in German and Polish

This paper provides a contrastive account of agent demotion in German and Polish. While agent demotion is a relatively broad term that is often used including mere backgrounding, the focus is on lexical and morphosyntactic means that allow for agents to be omitted entirely, such as different forms of the passive voice, reflexive constructions, generic pronouns or unaccusative verbs with impersonal subjects (among others). It is argued that passive constructions consisting of an auxiliary and a participle seem to exhibit much higher frequencies in German, while Polish commonly uses subjectless constructions such as agentless reflexives, certain modal elements or the -no/-to-construction. This confirms the more central position of German within the SAE Sprachbund and accounts for transfer phenomena that may arise when speakers of either language become learners of the other.

Socratic and Cartesian Personae: Undismembering and Liquidation

AbstractThe essay investigates two personae: Socrates as depicted by Plato and Descartes as narrator of theDiscourse on MethodandMeditations. Socrates is aware of his ignorance and insists on remembering to care for the self; Descartes claims to have overcome ignorance through a method that breaks problems into simple and certain elements, establishing a self-certain yet impersonal subject that comprehends and controls objects. The Cartesian approach has led to the modern process of “liquidation” that reduces beings, property, and truth to resources, wealth, and information – initiating the dangerous and unprecedented epoch known as the Anthropocene. The Socratic approach offers some promise of reintegration and resistance to liquidation by urging us to care for wholeness and recognizing that being exceeds what we comprehend.

ТЕКСТОВЫЕ ФУНКЦИИ НЕЧЛЕННЫХ ФОРМ ДЕЙСТВИТЕЛЬНЫХ ПРИЧАСТИЙ И СОВРЕМЕННОГО РУССКОГО ДЕЕПРИЧАСТИЯ В СОПОСТАВИТЕЛЬНОМ АСПЕКТЕ

В связи с изучением норм употребления современного деепричастия возникает необходимость обратиться к истории формирования этой глагольной формы из нечленной формы причастия. Сравнительный анализ употребления нечленной формы причастия в житийных текстах XI–XVII вв. и современного деепричастия позволяет выявить сужение текстовых функций деепричастия в современном языке, обозначить периферийные для современного деепричастия конструкции с нарушением единого временного плана и в позиции при неличном субъекте и объяснить причины нарушения грамматических норм современной речи. The norms of using the adverbial participle in speech have been the subject of grammar, rhetoric and speech culture for almost three centuries — a period of a desperate struggle against the violation of the prescribed rules for the use of the adverbial participle. Modern grammar science looks at violations of the norms of the use of the adverbial participle in a different way: an analysis of the abusive uses of the adverbial participle helps both to reveal the grammatical properties of the verb form itself and to trace the modern trends of the language. In connection with the study of the properties of the modern adverbial participle, it becomes necessary to refer to the history of the formation of this verb form from the short form of the Church Slavonic participle. An analysis of the peculiarities of the use of short forms of active participles and definite form of participles in ancient Russian texts allows us to explain the functional mechanisms of participles and adverbial participles in the modern language, to outline the zone of their divergence. The article examined the cases of choosing the short form of the participle, which show that its textual functions in the ancient language were wider than the textual functions of the adverbial participle in the modern language. Based on material from hagiographic texts of the 11th — 17th centuries constructions that are not characteristic of modern adverbial participle were considered. It can be named three conditions for the normative use of the modern adverbial participle, which correspond to the structural components of this article. First, the adverbial participle in the modern language, unlike the Church Slavonic language, cannot be used absolutely as a predicate of a sentence. Secondly, one of the violations of the norms should be recognized as the heterogeneity along the time line of the adverbial participle and the predicate. However, in the Church Slavonic language, such contexts of the use of short participial forms are found. Finally, a comparative analysis of these verb forms with impersonal subject was performed. As a result, it was shown that for the modern adverbial participle, the narrowing of temporal functions is compensated by the expansion of the possibility of use with subjects of different types. It seems that an appeal Историческая лингвистика 183 to historical material can explain not only the grammatical properties of modern verb forms, but also violations of the grammatical norms of speech.

Impersonal Verbal Constructions in Biblical Hebrew: Active, Stative, and Passive

In this paper I focus on the syntactic properties of subjects in impersonal verbal constructions in Biblical Hebrew. It is claimed that four types of subjectless verbal clauses—active finite and participial plural, active finite singular, passive, and stative—feature three types of impersonal subject: covert indefinite pronoun, inflectional morpheme, and zero-subject. It will be demonstrated that these subjects have different, only partly overlapping syntactic properties: The covert indefinite pronoun implies an animate subject that does not necessitate “collective interpretation” and can have generic scope; the subject can be topicalised, negated, and relativised, the verbal predicate is temporally vague. The 3rd masculine plural inflectional morpheme implies an animate collective subject; it can be controlled from the matrix clause and be used for participant tracking and anaphora; the verbal predicate is quite precisely anchored in time. The dummy zero-subject has no explicit subject properties; it can be theorised that the syntactic slot of a subject is taken by an overt cognate argument (Cause or Theme) of stative or passive verbs, but practically such a subject leaves no syntactic traces.

Impersonal subjects in Italian: A comparative analysis of si and third-person plural

R-impersonals are linguistic devices conveying a human and non-referential subject. In Italian, R-impersonality can be realized through impersonal si and third-person plural pro (3pl pro). These two elements have received much attention over the last four decades, but a clear pattern in their areas of semantic specialization across R-impersonal contexts has yet to emerge. To fill this gap, this study proposes a systematic comparative analysis between si and 3pl pro. Differently from other subjects with [+human] reference, both si and 3pl pro conform to the defining properties of impersonal pronouns. However, semantically, they differ in many respects: si is favored in quasi-universal contexts, 3pl pro in quasi-existential contexts. Even when they seem to overlap in some R-impersonal contexts, slightly different interpretations are conveyed. Impersonal si abstracts away from the properties of individuals and generalizes over situations. I propose that its domain can be restricted through the specification of situational properties, namely spatio-temporal coordinates defining the relevant situation to which the generalization applies. Antecedentless 3pl pro implies the existence of an individual or collective referent. In this case, I suggest that the R-impersonal domain may be expanded through the specification of individual properties, shared by all the members of the relevant set of individuals.

Why Can’t Addressee Honorification and Impersonal Subject Honorification Appear in the Embedded Clause?

Why Can’t Addressee Honorification and Impersonal Subject Honorification Appear in the Embedded Clause?

Что такое номинативный язык общества? Философский анализ социальной теории О. Розенштока-Хюсси

The article presents an analysis of the social aspect of language based on the methodological ideas of E. Rosenstock-Huessy. The approach of the sophist to the analysis of social phenomena is based on the idea of an inextricable connection between the processes of thinking, speech, and communication, which are founded in language. Language is considered by the philosopher not only as a semantic structure, but also as a force that changes people and society. Such a speech approach to the analysis of society outlines some possible ways out of the social crisis in which modern European culture finds itself. Rosenstock-Huessy understands the power of language from a dialogical point of view as the power of speech, capable of establishing long-term and free relations between people. Embedded in the process of dialogical thought of the twentieth century, the philosophy of Rosenstock-Huessy seeks to overcome the language of Modern science, which reduced the human personality to an impersonal subject of knowledge. Criticizing the entire Western philosophical tradition for its monologue and striving for "pure" knowledge, Rosenstock-Huessy sees the goal of thinking in dialogic speech, transforming both the speaker and the listener. Rosenstock-Huessy introduces the original concept of the name into philosophical circulation. The name in his social theory is an intermediary between language and society, providing the processes of normal social communication. In this regard, the authors of the article consider it useful for social philosophy and sociology to introduce the concept of "nominative social practices": this concept makes it possible to clarify the role of imperative speech in the processes of socialization. As a result of studying the social philosophy of the thinker, the authors propose the concept of "nominative language" as a system of social names and nominative practices. The relevance of addressing the nominative language of society is determined, according to the authors, by its social problems, in particular, by the dysfunction of names in modern society.

Analysis of the Subject-Verb Agreement Ability among Indonesian English Major Students as EFL Learners

Subject-verb agreement is relevant in determining one's grammatical ability. The study examines the 70 English major students of UNTIRTA through a questionnaire. They are in semester four or second-year students of the academic year 2019-2020. A percentage result per item has been the indicator of students' knowledge on the five categories namely; the basics, impersonal subjects, quantities, exceptions, and main and auxiliary verbs. The verification of the incorrect response is through the short-written production of students' composition. Not only nouns that used as subjects but also other parts of speech and unit blocks of syntax. It reveals that a lot of students commit mistakes in choosing the right verb that agrees to the subject. This finding implies interference of first language and second language as parcel in mastering the subject-verb agreement which results to struggle and confusion among the learners. Lack of emphasis on grammar practice in writing is also a reason in applying the rules especially the basics. Moreover, cultural difference is a barrier in interpreting the sentences wherein the learners’ vocabulary is limited. Suggested instructional strategy is a regular practice of the rules in the form of drill.

On English Inanimate Subject Sentences from the Perspective of Chinese Language

The inanimate subject sentence is sometimes called the impersonal subject sentence, which also is a unique linguistic phenomenon in English. Considering the cultural differences between the East and the West and the characteristics of English and Chinese, this kind of sentence pattern is difficult for Chinese learners. The purpose of this paper aims to address the features of inanimate subject on the basis of the analysis and research of inanimate subject sentences. English inanimate subject sentences are special linguistic phenomenon. In order to better analyze and understand inanimate subject sentences, a tentative classification and analysis is conducted on its subject types and semantic features. And more examples are demonstrated to illuminate the application of the inanimate subjects in English and Chinese.

To be or not to be an auxiliary verb. The case of Spanish <poner(se) a + infinitive>

This paper studies two Spanish constructions with the verb poner (‘to put’) and an infinitive. The first one, <ponerse a + infinitive>, has traditionally been considered an inchoative periphrasis; however, we will show that its grammaticalisation is only complete with inanimate or impersonal subjects, while with animate subjects the structure keeps causative semantics. The second one, <poner something / someone a + infinitive>, has received much less attention in the literature. Although it originated together with its se-counterpart, it has not become a periphrasis and today exhibits a hybrid behaviour similar to that of verbs of influence on the one hand and restructuring causative verbs on the other. It will be shown that both constructions started with a causative-aspectual meaning (‘triggering an event’) that they keep today: ponerse has a causative meaning despite being an auxiliary and poner has an aspectual meaning despite not being an auxiliary, which explains many of their special characteristics. This paper will not only shed light on the diachronic and synchronic properties of these constructions but will also reflect on the limits between lexical and grammatical categories.

Человеческая идентичность в диалоге Платона «Алкивиад I» (к вопросу об антропологической проблематике в древнегреческой философии)

The article is devoted to Plato’s Alcibiades I and explores its main question: what is your proper self? The author pays special attention to the concept of “ayto to ayto”, which he takes to mean “selfhood”. This concept is analyzed as the first fundamental philosophical form of understanding of human identity, which Plato viewed as a soul. Plato fundamentally distinguishes essence of a person (ayto to ayto) from things that belong to a person, the attributes of human being (such as his body and material property). The author explores the Platonic understanding of human identity in the context of ancient ontology and anthropology, which includes an analysis of the relationship of a single person and universal being, authentic and inauthentic Ego, the soul (mind) and the body, the significance of “care about self” (epimeilea heautou) and “cognition of self” (gnothi seautou), etc. The concept of Plato represents the first experience of comprehending the human identity ("ayto to ayto" as soul) which appears as impersonal subject and media Being, but realized in perspective of self-correlation "care of self" and "cognition of self" by particular man.

Impersonal subjectivation from platforms to infrastructures

The rapid expansion of social media has led to the concentration of digitized, networked, and mediated processes into the hands of a few giant corporations (e.g. Google, Facebook, and Amazon), their partners and affiliates. From smart watches to targeted advertising and reputation scores, this new political economy of subjectivation – or subject making – sees an intensification of datafication to sell commodities, manipulate moods, inject ideologies, and influence behaviors. This article argues that in order to understand this new political economy of subjectivation, we need to complicate and build upon framework that focus on the collection of personal data and its risks on individual users. We argue that as social media and digital media giant corporations move away from an enclosed platform model toward a distributed, impersonal infrastructure, the mining of individual data and the shaping of individual attitudes is increasingly geared toward establishing relationships between user data and a plethora of non-human, environmental data. Such an infrastructure invokes impersonal subjects, and thus requires a new politics of relationality.

Thai Impersonal Pronouns and Language Power

Impersonal subjects are subjects unspecified for their reference. While previous analyses identified man 'it' and kháw as non-referential subject in Thai co-occurring with impersonal verbs (Indrambarya 1996, 2011, Phimsawat 2011), there exists the use of third person pronoun th ân ‘they’ as an impersonal pronoun. This paper aims at investigating how the three impersonal subjects in Thai exhibit the distance between speakers and reflect the language power inherited in different language registers.

The Return of John Moffat

The Return of John Moffat

Impersonal null‐subjects in Icelandic and elsewhere*

Abstract. This paper discusses impersonal null‐subjects in Icelandic and elsewhere. Despite the fact that the interpretation of Icelandic impersonal null‐subjects obeys restrictions similar to those observed for overt impersonal subject pronouns in various languages, they cannot be analyzed as lexical pronouns, deleted in PF. Rather, it is argued, impersonal null‐subjects are constructed in syntax, by combination (merger) of abstract features. In general, it seems that pronouns, silent and overt, are PF representations of complex syntactic structures, rather than tokens for discrete terminal nodes. In addition, the paper discusses the cross‐linguistic distribution and typology of impersonal null‐subjects.

Power, pedagogy and personalization in global higher education: the occlusion of second-wave feminism?

In this paper, in keeping with developing feminist methodologies, we reflect on how we became second-wave feminists in the 1970s. We consider how the theories and practices that we were involved in have been changed as the global socio-political context has transformed higher education practices. Second-wave feminism originated as a political project around ‘the personal’. As it entered the academy, feminism developed and drew on emerging concepts in the social sciences and humanities to develop more sophisticated conceptualizations of the personal. Personalization and the personal have now become ubiquitous in the pedagogical discourses of higher education. As higher education has expanded in the context of globalization and itself become global, it has both elided and incorporated questions of diversity, difference, inequality and power. Concepts such as the personal, love of learning and knowledge, have entered the new literatures of learning and teaching in global higher education. However, in some of these versions concepts of the personal appear to be based upon an impersonal and disembodied subject. New forms of global higher education have built upon feminist theories and yet, at the same time, they have done so by the marginalization and occlusion of feminist critiques. This is evident both within the mainstream neo-liberalism and also within the critical and post-structuralist literatures. In this paper, we offer an alternative critical feminist reading of some of these tendencies and speculate on the lack of personal reflexivity which allows some British authors to expunge feminist analysis from their texts. This leaves a denuded and a-historical concept of the personal, a pale shadow of the agentic political subject of second-wave feminism. The personal as a political project forms the basis of our critique of global higher education practices. It allows for a re-imagining of universities not as disembodied sites of masculine freedom but as socially situated spaces for creative thinking for the twenty-first century.