Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond

This volume brings together research on passive voice constructions in low-resource languages of Western Asia, a region marked by extraordinary linguistic diversity as well as a long history of cultural suppression and marginalisation. The contributions showcase the passive voice in Semitic, Iranian...

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collection Directory of Open Access Books
description This volume brings together research on passive voice constructions in low-resource languages of Western Asia, a region marked by extraordinary linguistic diversity as well as a long history of cultural suppression and marginalisation. The contributions showcase the passive voice in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, Greek, and Turkic languages, many of which are endangered, understudied, or confined to diaspora communities and disappearing language islands. Education and cultural expression in these languages remained heavily restricted across parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, underscoring the urgent need for documentation and revitalisation. The chapters explore the rich typological variation of passive voice constructions, examining their typological traits, synchronic microvariation and diachronic developments. Drawing on Siewierska’s definition, the studies investigate processes of agent demotion and patient promotion, reductions in transitivity, and the fuzzy boundaries between passive and other detransitivisation strategies such as middles, anticausatives, statives and light verbs as well as impersonal subjects and agent omission. They also shed light on the impact of text genre, verbal aspect, and language contact on passivisation. By integrating theoretical, typological, historical, and areal perspectives, the volume discusses the internal stability of detransitivisation strategies, their evolution from earlier source constructions, and their position in voice systems more broadly. It raises fundamental questions about whether cross-linguistic tendencies in passives reflect universal patterns or area-specific historical contingencies. This collection thus provides an essential resource for scholars of all theoretical persuasions that are interested in voice and valency and/or in Western Asia’s linguistic diversity, while foregrounding the pressing need to support communities whose linguistic heritage is at risk.
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publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
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publisherStr Open Book Publishers
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1709932026-01-30T12:23:08Z Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond Noorlander, Paul Passive constructions Detransitivisation Agent demotion Patient promotion Diachronic development Language contact thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFK Grammar, syntax and morphology thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFF Historical and comparative linguistics thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFB Sociolinguistics thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FB Middle East This volume brings together research on passive voice constructions in low-resource languages of Western Asia, a region marked by extraordinary linguistic diversity as well as a long history of cultural suppression and marginalisation. The contributions showcase the passive voice in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, Greek, and Turkic languages, many of which are endangered, understudied, or confined to diaspora communities and disappearing language islands. Education and cultural expression in these languages remained heavily restricted across parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, underscoring the urgent need for documentation and revitalisation. The chapters explore the rich typological variation of passive voice constructions, examining their typological traits, synchronic microvariation and diachronic developments. Drawing on Siewierska’s definition, the studies investigate processes of agent demotion and patient promotion, reductions in transitivity, and the fuzzy boundaries between passive and other detransitivisation strategies such as middles, anticausatives, statives and light verbs as well as impersonal subjects and agent omission. They also shed light on the impact of text genre, verbal aspect, and language contact on passivisation. By integrating theoretical, typological, historical, and areal perspectives, the volume discusses the internal stability of detransitivisation strategies, their evolution from earlier source constructions, and their position in voice systems more broadly. It raises fundamental questions about whether cross-linguistic tendencies in passives reflect universal patterns or area-specific historical contingencies. This collection thus provides an essential resource for scholars of all theoretical persuasions that are interested in voice and valency and/or in Western Asia’s linguistic diversity, while foregrounding the pressing need to support communities whose linguistic heritage is at risk. 2026-01-20T05:22:17Z 2026-01-20T05:22:17Z 2026-01-19T08:17:36Z 2026 book ONIX_20260113T144613_9781805118282_4 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/109736 9781805118282 9781805118268 9781805118275 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/170993 eng Semitic Languages and Cultures open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/109736/1/9781805118282.pdf Open Book Publishers Open Book Publishers 10.11647/OBP.0516 10.11647/OBP.0516 b014b543-78bd-4c3b-bc71-b68e2ac855b9 9781805118282 9781805118268 9781805118275 Open Book Publishers 385 Cambridge, UK open access
spellingShingle Passive constructions
Detransitivisation
Agent demotion
Patient promotion
Diachronic development
Language contact
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFK Grammar, syntax and morphology
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFF Historical and comparative linguistics
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFB Sociolinguistics
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FB Middle East
Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond
title Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond
title_full Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond
title_fullStr Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond
title_full_unstemmed Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond
title_short Passivisation in Semitic, Iranian, Armenian, and Beyond
title_sort passivisation in semitic iranian armenian and beyond
topic Passive constructions
Detransitivisation
Agent demotion
Patient promotion
Diachronic development
Language contact
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFK Grammar, syntax and morphology
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFF Historical and comparative linguistics
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFB Sociolinguistics
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FB Middle East
topic_facet Passive constructions
Detransitivisation
Agent demotion
Patient promotion
Diachronic development
Language contact
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFK Grammar, syntax and morphology
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFF Historical and comparative linguistics
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFB Sociolinguistics
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FB Middle East
url ONIX_20260113T144613_9781805118282_4