Deconstructing the English passive / by Anja Wanner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wanner, Anja.

Series:

Topics in English linguistics ; 41.

Topics in English linguistics ; 41

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Passive voice.

English language.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Voice.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Verb phrase.

English language--Discourse analysis.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; New York : Mouton de Gruyter, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book analyzes the form and function of the English passive from a verb-based point of view. It takes the position that the various surface forms of the passive (with or without thematic subject, with or without object, with or without by-phrase, with or without auxiliary) have a common source and are determined by the interplay of the syntactic properties of the verb and general syntactic principles. Each structural element of the passive construction is examined separately, and the participle is considered the only defining component of the passive. Special emphasis is put on the existence of an implicit argument (ususally an agent) and its representation in the passive. A review of data from syntax, language acquisition, and psycholinguistics shows that the implicit agent is not just a conceptually understood argument. It is argued that it is represented at the level of argument structure and that this is what sets the passive apart from other patient-subject constructions. A corpus-based case study on the use of the passive in academic writing analyzes the use of the passive in this particular register. One of the findings is that about 20-25% of passives occur in constructions that do not require an auxiliary, a result that challenges corpus studies on the use of the passive that only consider full be-passives. It is also shown that new active-voice constructions have emerged that compete with the passive without having a more visible agent. The emergence of these constructions (such as "This paper argues...") is discussed in the context of changes in the rhetoric of scientific discourse. The book is mainly of interest to linguists and graduate students in the areas of English syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. The English passive and linguistic theory

Chapter 3. Ingredients of the English passive

Chapter 4. The implicit agent in English passives

Chapter 5. The use of the passive in academic discourse: A case study

Chapter 6. Conclusion

Backmatter

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612296499

9781282296497

1282296493

9783110199215

3110199211

OCLC:

500808544