On the New Passive

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4740356
AutoresHalldór Ármann Sigurðsson (0000-0001-6358-3280, Nordson (United Kingdom), autor de correspondencia)
Año2011
Volumen14
Número2
Páginas148-178
Fecha de publicación2011-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSyntax (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1368-0005 • E-ISSN: 1467-9612
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9612.2010.00150.x
OpenAlexW2108754497
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas23
Referencias citadas34

The so-called New Passive in Icelandic takes the form 'it was elected us' (or, e.g., 'then was elected us', without an expletive), instead of the standard passive form 'we were elected'. It has neither A-movement to subject noracc-to-nomconversion, which are otherwise diagnostic of the canonical passive in Icelandic and related languages. Some researchers have argued that "passive" is in fact a misnomer and that the construction should instead be analyzed as an active one, with a nominativepro. This paper argues instead in favor of a minimalist analysis, where the New Passive is closely related to the impersonal P passive (with a PP, type 'then was shoutedat us'), which is highly common and productive in Icelandic. On the approach pursued,acc-to-nomconversion involvescase-star deletion, absent from the New Passive (much as from so-called psych and fate (un)accusatives in standard Icelandic). Additionally, the New Passive has a strong vP phase edge, blocking A-movement, in contrast to the defective vP edge in the canonical passive. The paper argues that A-grounding or "freezing" is brought about by φ-minimality, A-islands thus arising in a parallel fashion with A′-islands

Acoustics · Blocking (statistics · Icelandic · Linguistics · Misnomer · Movement (music · Nominative case · Physics · Verb · Computer Science · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation · Artificial Intelligence