Impersonal Constructions
A cross-linguistic perspective
Editors
Andrej L. Malchukov | Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Institute for Linguistic Studies, St. Petersburg & Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz
This volume offers a much needed typological perspective on impersonal constructions, which are here viewed broadly as constructions lacking a referential subject. The contributions to this volume deal with all types of impersonality, namely constructions featuring nonagentive subjects, including those with experiential predicates (A-impersonals), presentational constructions with a notional subject deficient in topicality (T-impersonals), and constructions with a notional subject lacking in referential properties (R-impersonals), i.e. both meteo-constructions and man-constructions. The typological discussion benefits from a good coverage of impersonality in European languages, but also includes considerations of several African, American, South-East Asian, Australian, and Oceanic languages. The variation in the cross-linguistic realization of impersonality and the diachronic pathways leading to and from impersonality documented in this volume point to a novel perspective on impersonals as transitional structures or an intermediate stage of a more basic diachronic change be it from transitive to intransitive, or from active to passive, or participant-to event-centered construction.
[Studies in Language Companion Series, 124] 2011. ix, 641 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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List of contributors | pp. vii–x
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IntroductionAndrej L. Malchukov and Anna Siewierska | pp. 1–16
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Part I. Impersonal constructions: Typological and theoretical aspects
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Towards a typology of impersonal constructions: A semantic map approachAndrej L. Malchukov and Akio Ogawa | pp. 17–54
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Overlap and complementarity in reference impersonals: Man-constructions vs. third person plural-impersonals in the languages of EuropeAnna Siewierska | pp. 57–90
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Verbs of motion: Impersonal passivization between unaccusativity and unergativityWerner Abraham | pp. 91–126
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On the distribution of subject properties in formulaic presentationals of Germanic and Romance: A diachronic-typological approachVolker Gast and Florian Haas | pp. 127–166
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Part II. Impersonal constructions: Diachronic studies
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Impersonal constructions and accusative subjects in Late LatinMichela Cennamo | pp. 167–188
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From passive to impersonal: A case study from Italian and its implicationsAnna Giacalone Ramat and Andrea Sansó | pp. 189–228
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Passive to anticausative through impersonalization: The case of Vedic and Indo-EuropeanLeonid Kulikov | pp. 229–254
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Part III. Cross-linguistic variation in Impersonal constructions: Case studies
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The Maa (Eastern Nilotic) Impersonal constructionDoris L. Payne | pp. 255–284
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Impersonal constructions in Jóola-BanjalAlain Christian Bassène and Denis Creissels | pp. 285–306
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Impersonal configurations and theticity: The case of meteorological predications in AfroasiaticAmina Mettouchi and Mauro Tosco | pp. 307–322
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Revisiting impersonal constructions in Modern Hebrew: Discourse-based perspectivesRuth A. Berman | pp. 323–356
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The elephant in the room: The impersonal -ne/-te construction in PolishAnna Kibort | pp. 357–394
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Meteorological verbs in Uralic languages – are there any impersonal structures to be foundMerja Salo | pp. 395–438
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Impersonal constructions in KetEdward J. Vajda, Andrey Nefedov and Andrej L. Malchukov | pp. 439–458
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Impersonal verbs in Central Alaskan Yupik (Eskimoan)Osahito Miyaoka | pp. 459–488
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Impersonals in InnuLynn Drapeau | pp. 489–516
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A diachronic study of the impersonal passive in AinuAnna Bugaeva | pp. 517–546
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Referential impersonal constructions in MandarinYi Yan and Anna Siewierska | pp. 547–580
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Impersonal constructions in some Oceanic languagesClaire Moyse-Faurie | pp. 581–606
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Impersonal constructions in Umpithamu and the Lamalamic languagesJean-Christophe Verstraete | pp. 607–626
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Author index | pp. 627–632
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Language index | pp. 633–636
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Language index | pp. 637–642
“The book is undoubtedly a welcome and useful contribution to language typology. Impersonal constructions have not been subject to a detailed and comprehensive cross-linguistic analysis before, and this volume successfully fills this gap. The editors can be praised for having been able to establish a good balance between descriptive and theoretical studies, as well as between synchronic and diachronic perspectives. The cross-linguistic coverage of the volume is almost comprehensive, with a slight bias towards Africa and Eurasia and a regrettable lack of Papuan and South and Meso American languages. Inclusion of several papers dealing with whole language families or areas instead of individual languages, thus addressing issues of intra-genetic and areal typology, is also an example to be followed.”
Peter M. Arkadiev, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow on Linguist List 23.1803, 2012
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Subjects
Main BIC Subject
CFK: Grammar, syntax
Main BISAC Subject
LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General