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The University of Kansas
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Lawrence, KS 66045-3129
Phone: 785-864-3414
Fax: 785-864-5724
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Linguistische Berichte
129/1990, 349-386
Impersonal
passive in Relational Grammar: Demotion or advancement?
Allard Jongman
| Two competing analyses
of Passive are discussed within the framework of Relational Grammar: the
advancement analysis and the demotion analysis. First, data from Dutch and
German are presented to show that an advancement analysis of passive must
be rejected. It is then argued that the interaction of the demotion analysis
and the l Chomeur initiality law makes the same correct predictions as the
advancement analysis, without making some of its false predictions. However,
it is also shown that neither the demotion analysis nor the advancement
analysis can account for the occurrence of impersonal passives of initially
unaccusative clauses, as in Lithuanian and Irish. The latter fact raises
the question wether it is at all meaningful to prefer one of the two analyses
over the other. |
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