Dynamics of P-oblique affectedness

Evidence from a crosslinguistic study

Bibliographic Data

ID24231291
AuthorsKatarzyna Janic (0000-0003-3812-3287, 49562 Adam Mickiewicz University , Poznan , Poland), Krzysztof Stroński (0000-0001-8951-8516, 49562 Adam Mickiewicz University , Poznan , Poland), Mohammad Tavakoli (49562 Adam Mickiewicz University , Poznan , Poland)
Year2026
Volume62
Issue3
Pages429-464
Publication date2026-09-25
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePoznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1732-0747 • E-ISSN: 1897-7499
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/psicl-2025-0105
OpenAlexW7156179066
LanguageEN
References cited37

This study investigates affectedness in P-oblique constructions, understood as transitivity alternations with or without overt voice marking, in which the P-argument is demoted from a core to an oblique. The central question is to what extent such alternations are functionally motivated by reduced affectedness of the P-argument. While affectedness and individuation are widely recognized as key P-parameters of transitivity, their interaction has not been systematically examined cross-linguistically, leaving open the question of whether the well-attested correlation between higher individuation and greater affectedness extends to transitivity alternations. Beyond this issue, the study explores how verbal properties shape the affectedness in P-obliques, along with structural factors such as voice marking conditions. This perspective is relevant in view of claims that verb-uncoded P-obliques systematically correlate with lower affectedness, a view connected to the characterization of such constructions as conatives. Drawing on a genealogically balanced sample of 55 languages, 34 of which display P-oblique patterns, the study provides a broad comparative basis for clarifying the dynamics of affectedness and its relation to both P-related and V-related parameters of transitivity. The findings aim to refine typological accounts of parameter co-variation and to contribute to a better understanding of the functional motivations underlying transitivity alternations.

affectedness · argument structure · cross-linguistic typology · Individuation · transitivity alternations · Categorization, perception, and language · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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