Cognitive and Functional Perspectives on Dynamic Tendencies in Languages

Tartu : 29 May - 1 June 2008

Theme session on semantic roles and argument marking

Role ReversalReflexives and the change from agent to patient

Kees de Schepper Nijmegen University

Indo-European SE

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 2

Pre-historic

languages

Historiclanguages

Modernlanguages

Proto-Indo-

European

     *se-      

Old Norse

sik -sk Icelandic sig -st Danish sig -s German sich

OldChurchSlavonic

sebe se

Russian sebja -sja Polish siebie sięSerbo-

Croatian sebe se

Latin sē Italian sè si

Spanish si se French soi se

Overview

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 3

SE’s semantic map

Initial modifications

From Agent to Patient

Reciprocals and semantic roles

Conclusions

SE’s semantic map

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 4

Haspelmath 1993

Semantic map for reflexives and related functions

full reflexive

natural reciprocal

de-objective

anti-causative

pas-sive

potentialpassive

grooming/body motion

SE’s functions

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 5

Full Reflexive (Dutch)

Jan haat zich-zelfJohn hates SE-self‘John hates himself’

natural reciprocal

de-objective

anti-causative

potentialpassive

grooming/body motion

full reflexive

pas-sive

full reflexive

natural reciprocal

de-objective

anti-causative

potentialpassive

SE’s functions

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 6

grooming/

Grooming (Polish; Tabakowska 2003)

Basia myje się w łazience Basia washes SE in bathroom ‘Basia washes in the bathroom’

body motionpas-sive

full reflexive

natural reciprocal

de-objective

anti-causative

potentialpassive

SE’s functions

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 7

Body Motion (German)

Max setzt sich Max sits SE‘Max sits down’

grooming/body motiongrooming/ pas-

sive

SE’s functions

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 8

Reciprocal (Icelandic; Gast & Haas 2007)

Þeir hittu-st i gærthey met-SE in yesterday ‘They met yesterday’

full reflexive

de-objective

anti-causative

potentialpassive

grooming/body motion

natural reciprocal

pas-sive

SE’s functions

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 9

Anticausative (French)

Le vase s' est briséthe vase SE is broken‘The vase broke’

full reflexive

natural reciprocal

de-objective

potentialpassive

grooming/body motion

anti-causative

pas-sive

SE’s functions

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 10

Deobjective (Russian; Haspelmath 2003)

Sobaka kusaet-sjadog bites-SE‘The dog bites’

full reflexive

natural reciprocal

anti-causative

potentialpassive

grooming/body motion

de-objective

pas-sive

SE’s functions

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 11

Potential Passive (Serbo-Croatian; Marelj 2004)

Ovaj članak se lako čitathis article SE easily reads‘This article reads easily’

full reflexive

natural reciprocal

de-objective

anti-causative

grooming/body motion

pas-sive

potentialpassive

SE’s functions

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 12

Passive (Italian; Dobrovie-Sorin 2006)

Gli spaghetti si sono già compratithe spaghettis SE are already bought‘The spaghetti has already been bought’

full reflexive

natural reciprocal

de-objective

anti-causative

potentialpassive

grooming/body motion

pas-sive

Overview

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 13

SE’s semantic map

Initial modifications

From Agent to Patient

Reciprocals and semantic roles

Conclusions

Initial modifications

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 14

The orginal map (Haspelmath 1993)

full reflexive

grooming/body motion

natural reciprocal

de-objective

anti-causative

potentialpassive

pas-sive

Removing deobjective

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 15

full reflexive

grooming/body motion

natural reciprocal

anti-causative

potentialpassive

“On the whole, this type seems to be rather marginal.”

Haspelmath 1987

pas-sive

de-objective

Direction of development

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 16

Made explicit

full reflexive

grooming/body motion

natural reciprocal

anti-causative

potentialpassive

pas-sive

Grooming & Body Motion

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 17

Grooming & Body Motion → Natural Reflexive

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

anti-causative

potentialpassive

pas-sive

grooming/body motion

Position of Potential Passive

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 18

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

anti-causative

potentialpassive

pas-sive

Potential Passive (Icelandic; Geniušienė 1987)

Bók-in sel-st velbook-the sell-SE well‘The book sells well’

Position of Potential Passive

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 19

“Being a native speaker of Modern Icelandic, I looked very closely into the semantics of the st forms in that language […] and couldn't find any "Middle" meaning […] even remotely systematically expressed in the language.”

Kjartan Ottosson (p.c.)

Position of Potential Passive

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 20

“Geniusiene's example (with seljast vel) does not strictly speaking illustrate this meaning, as it refers to a realised situation, it is not generic and does not refer to "sellability". […]”

Kjartan Ottosson (p.c.)

potentialpassive

pas-sive

Position of Potential Passive

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 21

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

anti-causative

pas-sive

potentialpassivefacilitative

(Faltz 1985)

Arbitrary SE

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 22

a.Passive (Spanish; Juarros Daussà 2001)

Se necesita-n buena-s idea-sSE need-3PL good-PL idea-PL‘Good ideas are needed’

b.Arbitrary

Se necesita buena-s idea-s SE needs(3SG) good-PL idea-PL‘One needs good ideas’

Arbitrary SE

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 23

a.Passive

Se necesita una buena ideaSE need(3SG) a good idea‘A good idea is needed’

b.Arbitrary

Se necesita una buena idea SE need(3SG) a good idea‘One needs a good idea’

(Naro 1976)

passive

Arbitrary SE

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 24

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

anti-causative

facilitative arbitrary

Overview

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 25

SE’s semantic map

Initial modifications

From Agent to Patient

Reciprocals and semantic roles

Conclusions

passive

Fitting in semantic roles

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 26

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

anti-causative

facilitative arbitrary

Fitting in semantic roles

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 27

Two candidates: Noun and SE

Questions: 1. SE – semantic role or not

2. Agent or Patient?

Possibilities: NounSE

1. AgentPatient

2. Patient Agent3. Agent -

4. Patient -

Role reversal

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 28

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

anti-causative

AgentPatien

t

Agent Patient

passive

Noun

SE

Patient and Natural Reflexive

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 29

a.Full Reflexive

Johann betrog sich / PeterJohn cheated SE Pete) ‘John deceived himself / Pete’

b.Natural Reflexive

Johann beeilte sich / *PeterJohn rushed SE Pete ‘John rushed’

Role reversal

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 30

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

anti-causative

AgentPatien

t

Agent Patient

passive

arbitrary

Patient

Agent

Noun

SE

Overview

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 31

SE’s semantic map

Initial modifications

From Agent to Patient

Reciprocals and semantic roles

Conclusions

Position of Reciprocal

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 32

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

anti-causative

AgentPatien

t

Agent Patient

passive

arbitrary

Patient

Agent

Noun

SEfacilitative

natural reciprocal

Natural reciprocals

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 33

Old Norse; Holmes and Hincliffe 1994

kramas ‘hug’; kyssas ‘kiss’mötas ‘meet’ samlas ‘gather’slåss ‘fight’ tampas ‘tussle’skiljas ‘part’ retas ‘tease’ brottas ‘wrestle’ enas ‘unite’ förlikas ‘be reconciled’ kivas ‘squabble’

German reciprocals

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 34

sich schlagen ‘to fight’ (German; Dimitriadis 2004)

a. Continuous Reciprocal

Johann und Maria schlugen sich John and Mary hit SE ‘John and Mary fought’

b.Discountinous Reciprocal

Johann schlug sich mit Maria John hit SE with Mary ‘John fought with Mary’

German reciprocals

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 35

sich vergöttern ‘to idolize each other’

a. Continuous Reciprocal

Johann und Maria vergöttern sich John and Mary idolize SE ‘John and Mary idolize each other’

b.Discountinous Reciprocal

*Johann vergöttert sich mit Maria John idolize SE with Mary

Three stages

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 36

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

full reciprocal

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

full reciprocal

Old Norse

GermanPolish

Position of Reciprocal

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 37

anti-causative

facilitative

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

full reciprocal

passive

arbitrary

Overview

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 38

SE’s semantic map

Initial modifications

From Agent to Patient

Reciprocals and semantic roles

Conclusions

Conclusions

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 39

Semantic roles important for SE

Change from Agent to Patient

Two types of reciprocal

anti-causative

facilitative

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

full reciprocal

passive

arbitrary

Thank you

anti-causative

facilitative

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

natural reciprocal

full reciprocal

passive

arbitrary

Bergeton, Uffe. (2004). The independence of binding and intensification. PhD diss., University of Southern California.

Dobrovie-Sorin, Carmen. (2006). “The SE-Anaphor and its Role in Argument Realization” in: Martin Everaert & Henk van Riemsdijk (eds.) The Blackwell Companion to Syntax, 118–179. Oxford: Blackwell.

Faltz, Leonard 1985 Reflexivization: a study in universal syntax. London, New York: Garland.

Gast, Volker & Florian Haas. forthcoming. “On reciprocal and reflexive uses of anaphors in German and other European languages” in: Ekkehard König & Volker Gast (eds.) Reciprocals and reflexives: cross-linguistic and theoretical explorations. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Juarros Daussà, Eva. 2001. The syntactic operator "se" in Spanish. Ms., UMass.

Marelj, M. 2004. Middles and Argument Structure Across Languages. PhD diss., LOT, Utrecht.

Naro, Anthony 1976. “The Genesis of the Reflexive Impersonal in Portuguese: A study in syntactic change as a surface phenomenon”. Language 52: 779-811.

Tabakowska, E. 2003. “Those notorious Polish reflexive pronouns: a plea for middle voice.” Glossos 4.

Position of Potential Passive

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 42

Syntactic argument structure of SE-predicates

Possibilities:

Subject SE1. Transitive AgentPatient2. Unergative Agent -

3. Unaccusative Patient -(cf. Steinbach 2004; de Allencar & Kelling 2005; Reinhart & Siloni 2005; Rooryck & Vanden Wyngaerd 2008)

Position of Potential Passive

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 43

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

anti-causative

Steinbach 2004; de Allencar & Kelling 2005

Trans. Trans. Trans.

Position of Potential Passive

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 44

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

anti-causative

Reinhart & Siloni 2005

Unerg. Unerg. Unacc.

Position of Potential Passive

de Schepper :: Role Reversal CFPDTL :: 29 May 08 Slide 45

full reflexive

naturalreflexive

anti-causative

Rooryck & Vanden Wyngaerd 2008

Unacc. Unacc. Unacc.