Impersonal construction - Revision history

NBlöcher: /* Other languages */

2014-07-03T20:53:04Z

Other languages

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:53, 3 July 2014
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	===Other languages===		===Other languages===
	French [[construction impersonnelle]] German [[unpersönliche Konstruktion]]		French [[construction impersonnelle]] <br>
			German [[unpersönliche Konstruktion]] <br>

	{{dc}}		{{dc}}
	[[Category:Syntax]]		[[Category:Syntax]]

Haspelmath at 13:43, 8 January 2008

2008-01-08T13:43:18Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:43, 8 January 2008
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	An '''impersonal construction''' is a clausal construction in which no [[subject]] is realized.		An '''impersonal construction''' is a clausal construction in which no [[subject]] is realized, or at least no referential subject.

	===Examples===		===Examples===
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	\|}		\|}

	''Dancing is going on.''		''Dancing is going on.'' ([[impersonal passive]])

	{\|		{\|
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	\|}		\|}

	''One wears white this summer.''		''One wears white this summer.'' (construction with [[impersonal pronoun]] in subject position)

	[[Japanese]] does not require an overt/dummy subject, as is demonstrated in this example:		[[Japanese]] does not require an overt/dummy subject, as is demonstrated in this example:
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	:::*''"Whereas passivization detransitivizes a verb by deleting its logical subject, impersonalization preserves transitivity, and merely inhibits the syntactic realization of a surface subject."'' (Blevins 2003).		:::*''"Whereas passivization detransitivizes a verb by deleting its logical subject, impersonalization preserves transitivity, and merely inhibits the syntactic realization of a surface subject."'' (Blevins 2003).

	The non-realized subjects of impersonals are often interpreted as indefinite human agents, thus those constructions are often only possible with verbs which select a human agent. In languages which require an overt subject (i.e. languages not allowing [[pro-drop]]) a [[~~dummy~~ subject]] is used.		The non-realized subjects of impersonals are often interpreted as indefinite human agents, thus those constructions are often only possible with verbs which select a human agent. In languages which require an overt subject (i.e. languages not allowing [[pro-drop]]) an [[expletive subject]] is used.

			Other constructions that have been called "impersonal" are:
			*constructions with an [[expletive subject]] (e.g. ''it is raining'', Russian ''svetaet'' 'it dawns')
			*"subjectless" experiential constructions with the experiencer in a non-nominative case (e.g. Latin ''me pudet'' 'I am ashamed', German ''mich friert'' 'I am cold')

	===Synonym===		===Synonym===
	*''subjectless construction''		*[[subjectless construction]]

	===References===		===References===

	*Blevins, James P. 2003. Passives and Impersonals. ''Journal of Linguistics'' 39: 473-520.		*Blevins, James P. 2003. Passives and Impersonals. ''Journal of Linguistics'' 39: 473-520.
			*Lambert, P.-Y. 1998. L’impersonnel. In J. Feuillet (ed.). ''Actance et valence dans les Langues de l’Europe.'' Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 295-347.
	*Yamamoto, Mutsumi. 2006. ''Agency and Impersonality. Their Linguistic and Cultural Manifestation.'' Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins.		*Yamamoto, Mutsumi. 2006. ''Agency and Impersonality. Their Linguistic and Cultural Manifestation.'' Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins.

			===Other languages===
			French [[construction impersonnelle]] German [[unpersönliche Konstruktion]]

	{{dc}}		{{dc}}
	[[Category:Syntax]]		[[Category:Syntax]]

Haspelmath at 17:07, 29 October 2007

2007-10-29T17:07:26Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:07, 29 October 2007
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	*Blevins, James P. 2003. Passives and Impersonals. ''Journal of Linguistics'' 39: 473-520.		*Blevins, James P. 2003. Passives and Impersonals. ''Journal of Linguistics'' 39: 473-520.

	*Yamamoto, Mutsumi. 2006. ''Agency and Impersonality. Their Linguistic and Cultural Manifestation.'' Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins.		*Yamamoto, Mutsumi. 2006. ''Agency and Impersonality. Their Linguistic and Cultural Manifestation.'' Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins.

			{{dc}}
	[[Category:Syntax]]		[[Category:Syntax]]

Corinna Handschuh: New page: An '''impersonal construction''' is a clausal construction in which no subject is realized. ===Examples=== The following examples are impersonal constructions from German: {| |...

2007-10-29T15:33:27Z

New page: An '''impersonal construction''' is a clausal construction in which no subject is realized. ===Examples=== The following examples are impersonal constructions from German: {| |...

New page

An '''impersonal construction''' is a clausal construction in which no [[subject]] is realized.

===Examples===

The following examples are impersonal constructions from [[German]]:

{|
|Es ||wird ||getanzt.
|-
|EXPLETIVE ||AUX ||dance.PARTICIPLE
|}

''Dancing is going on.''

{|
|Man ||trägt ||diesen ||Sommer ||weiß.
|-
|one ||wear.3SG ||this ||summer ||white
|}

''One wears white this summer.''

[[Japanese]] does not require an overt/dummy subject, as is demonstrated in this example:

{|
|Nichiyobi ||heiten
|-
|sunday ||close.shop||
|}
''We are closed on Sundays.'' (cited after Yamamoto 2006: 4)

===Comments===

In the recent linguistic literature, a clear distinction has been made between [[passive]]s and impersonal constructions (cf. Blevins 2003, Yamamoto 2006).

:::*''"Whereas passivization detransitivizes a verb by deleting its logical subject, impersonalization preserves transitivity, and merely inhibits the syntactic realization of a surface subject."'' (Blevins 2003).

The non-realized subjects of impersonals are often interpreted as indefinite human agents, thus those constructions are often only possible with verbs which select a human agent. In languages which require an overt subject (i.e. languages not allowing [[pro-drop]]) a [[dummy subject]] is used.

===Synonym===
*''subjectless construction''

===References===

*Blevins, James P. 2003. Passives and Impersonals. ''Journal of Linguistics'' 39: 473-520.

*Yamamoto, Mutsumi. 2006. ''Agency and Impersonality. Their Linguistic and Cultural Manifestation.'' Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins.

[[Category:Syntax]]