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Vagueness, Ambiguity, and All the Rest: Linguistic and pragmatic approaches
Edited by Ilaria Fiorentini and Chiara Zanchi
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 347] 2024
► pp. 110–146

Chapter 6
Underspecification and ambiguity of voice markers

Synchrony and diachrony

| University of Amsterdam
| University of Amsterdam

Voice markers have a notorious cross-linguistic tendency towards multifunctionality, in that a given marker can encode more than one voice operation at a time, such as reflexive and passive. In addition, diachronic typological research has also shown that patterns of multifunctionality of voice markers historically come about following paths that are not necessarily unidirectional. Taking stock of these premises, in this paper we propose a new typology of voice markers grounded on the notion of underspecification and ambiguity, and, by adopting the perspective of Functional Discourse Grammar, we argue that the lack of unidirectionality in the grammaticalization of voice markers follows from their status as interface operators.

Keywords: voice markers, ambiguity vs. underspecification, grammaticalization, Functional Discourse Grammar, typology
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Towards a typology of voice syncretism
    • 2.1Voice markers and their functions
      • 2.1.1Argument-structure preserving diatheses
      • 2.1.2Argument-structure modifying diatheses
      • 2.1.3Argument co-reference marking diatheses
      • 2.1.4A typology of diatheses: Summary
    • 2.2Voice syncretism patterns
  • 3.Underspecification and ambiguity in voice syncretism
    • 3.1Underspecification and ambiguity
      • 3.1.1Underspecification and ambiguity: The contradiction test
      • 3.1.2Underspecification and ambiguity: The zeugma test
    • 3.2Solving the riddle: The role of context in underspecification and ambiguity
      • 3.2.1Lexical cues
      • 3.2.2Grammatical cues
      • 3.2.3Co-textual and situational cues
  • 4.The diachrony of voice markers
    • 4.1Survey of diachronic changes in the voice domain
    • 4.2The role of context in the grammaticalization of voice markers
    • 4.3Explaining bidirectionality: Voice markers as interface operators
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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