Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics.pdf

Dictionary of language and linguistics 748(i.e. those referring to such disciplines as philosophy, sociology, psychology, and logic).Microlinguistics is a subdiscipline of macrolinguistics.mid vowelvowelmiddle verb1 Verbs which can neither form a passive nor be combined with modal adverbs(resemble, cost, fit, weigh), e.g. This car costs a lot of money: *A lot of money is costedby this car; *This car costs voluntarily a lot of money.2 Verbs with passive-like meaning such as in The door opened.middle voiceVerbal voice contrasting with active and passive which is found in Sanskrit andclassical Greek. The middle voice is semantically similar to reflexive constructions inthat it describes an action which is performed by the subject for his/her own benefit or inwhich the subject affects itself: Grk loúo (act.) ‘I wash’ vs loúomai (mid.) ‘I washmyself’ There is also a middle construction without an agent subject: didáskō (act.) ‘Iteach’ vs didáskomai (mid.) ‘I have myself taught,’ which is similar to passive inmeaning. Many Indo-European languages developed passives from middle-voice forms(see the typological-historical summary of Kemmer 1993).ReferencesAnderson, P.K. 1991. A new look at the passive. Frankfurt.Collinge, N.E. 1963. The Greek use of the term ‘middle’ in linguistic analysis. Word 19. 232–41.Fox, B. and P.J.Hopper (eds) 1994. Voice: form and function. Amsterdam.Jasanoff, J.H. 1978. Stative and middle in Indo-European. Innsbruck.Kemmer, S.E. 1993. The middle voice: a typological and diachronic study. Amsterdam.Lehmann, W.P. 1974. Proto-Indo-European syntax. Austin, TX.