I disagree with Professor Young in her "Hats off to eighth-grade teachers who introduce this topic." I seriously doubt that Mensa-quality eighth graders would have sufficient background to tackle "middle passives." I was reared by two grammarians, including a Greek scholar and I did not encounter the topic until grade 10--and I attended WPHS (either the top--or tied for the top in FL HS by P.K. Younge). We had six merit scholars out of 142 graduates.
Scott Catledge, PhD/STD, professor emeritus retired
---- ATEG automatic digest system <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> There are 7 messages totaling 2362 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
> 1. ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19) (2)
> 2. middle passive (5)
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
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>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 10:30:04 -0400
> From: "Prof. Richard Grant WAU" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
> This morning I discovered a study on the middle voice/middle passive. The
> researcher presents data showing a decline in the use of passive and a
> significant increase in the spread and use of the middle passive.
>
>
>
> Here's the title: Hundt, Marianne. English Mediopassive Constructions : A
> Cognitive, Corpus-based Study of Their Origin, Spread, and Current Status.
> 2007
>
>
>
> Richard
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Karl Hagen
> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 2:29 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
>
>
> I would answer no, but then I subscribe to the notion that passive voice is
> better understood as a clause type than as just a property of a verb, and
> transformation between active and passive equivalents isn't a sufficient way
> to understand the two. There are, for example, a few verbs that only occur
> in the passive voice. (He is reputed to be a misogynist; It is rumored that
> she will quit soon.)
>
>
>
> As I pointed out in an earlier message, though, traditional grammar often
> does assume that the passive voice is a property of the verb, and so would
> only call transitive verbs active. The nineteenth century grammars that I've
> looked at usually treat the voice of intransitives explicitly, by
> introducing a term like "middle voice." In the twentieth century, that
> distinction was dropped, as far as I can tell, but it wasn't replaced with
> anything. In other words, later works in the traditional paradigm finesse
> the issue by ignoring it.
>
>
>
> > On Mar 11, 2015, at 10:57 AM, Seth Katz < <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> >
>
> > Karl (and others):
>
> >
>
> > Does labeling a verb as being in the active voice imply that it is
> transitive, and therefore can be put in the passive voice?
>
> > That is, you can't put a non-accusative verb in the passive voice (e.g.
> "The plan landed"); so can such a verb be properly said to be in the active
> voice?
>
> > Or am I not understanding the notion of "voice" correctly?
>
> >
>
> > Seth Katz
>
> >
>
> > Dr. Seth Katz
>
> > Associate Professor
>
> > Associate Chair
>
> > Department of English
>
> > Bradley University
>
> > Peoria, IL 61625
>
> >
>
> > Executive Director / Faculty Advisor
>
> > Bradley University Hillel
>
> >
>
> > On Wed, Mar 11, 2015 at 12:50 PM, Karl Hagen <
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > The stative/dynamic distinction is semantic (an expression of
> aspectuality), and I take passive voice to be primarily a syntactic
> construction.
>
> >
>
> > Although it's true that adjectival passives will always have a stative
>
> > interpretation, and that ambiguities such as B typically turn on
>
> > whether we understand the situation as stative or dynamic, it's also
>
> > the case that some passive-voice constructions can be stative (e.g,
>
> > "She is loved by everyone.")
>
> >
>
> > For your example, I take this to be an instance of a so-called
> unaccusative verb, along the lines of:
>
> >
>
> > The pilot landed the plane. / The plane landed.
>
> > The wind opened the door. / The door opened.
>
> > The sun dried up the fields. / The fields dried up.
>
> >
>
> > So I take your example to be active voice. In other words, the mere fact
> that the semantic role of the subject is something other than
> agent/instrument isn't sufficient to call something passive.
>
> >
>
> > > On Mar 11, 2015, at 10:09 AM, Hancock, Craig G <
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > >
>
> > > Karl,
>
> > > Where would "stative" fit in?
>
> > > And how do we deal with something like "The fields dried up in the
> sun?"
>
> > >
>
> > > Craig
>
> > >
>
> > > -----Original Message-----
>
> > > From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
>
> > > [ <mailto:[log in to unmask]> mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Karl Hagen
>
> > > Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 12:15 PM
>
> > > To: <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]
>
> > > Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
> > >
>
> > > It depends on whether you regard voice to be a property of the verb or a
> structural pattern of a clause. The former is the assumption, implicit or
> otherwise, in most traditional grammar books. In the 19th century,
> intransitive verbs were often said to be in the "middle" voice to account
> for this gap. On the other hand, much work in modern linguistics takes the
> second analysis to be more accurate. As a type of clause, there's no real
> problem. You simply say that the active-voice pattern is the unmarked
> default, and hence applies to anything that is not passive voice.
>
> > >
>
> > >
>
> > >> On Mar 11, 2015, at 8:37 AM, Beth Young < <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > >>
>
> > >> Interesting! Passive voice is something that only transitive verbs can
> have, but I've never considered active voice to be limited to transitive
> verbs. I've always considered all verbs that are conjugated with the formula
> "Tense + Modal (have + -en) (be + -ing) Main Verb" to be active voice, and
> verbs conjugated with the formula "Tense + Modal (have + -en) (be + -ing) +
> be + -en + Main Verb" to be passive voice. Otherwise, wouldn't many verbs
> have no voice at all? Maybe that doesn't matter.
>
> > >>
>
> > >> Hats off to any 8th grade teachers who wade into this question with
>
> > >> their students. :)
>
> > >>
>
> > >> Beth
>
> > >>
>
> > >> Dr. Beth Rapp Young
>
> > >> Associate Professor, English
>
> > >> <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]
>
> > >>
>
> > >> University of Central Florida
>
> > >> "Reach for the Stars"
>
> > >> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
>
> > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface
> at: <http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html>
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the
> list"
>
> > Visit ATEG's web site at <http://ateg.org/> http://ateg.org/
>
> >
>
>
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface
> at:
>
> <http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html>
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
>
> and select "Join or leave the list"
>
>
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at <http://ateg.org/> http://ateg.org/
>
>
>
> _____
>
> This email has been scanned by WAU 3-Tier Anti-Virus/Anti-Spam System.
>
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
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>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 14:01:16 -0400
> From: Jan Kammert <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: "Prof. Richard Grant WAU" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 7:30:04 AM
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
>
>
> This morning I discovered a study on the middle voice/middle passive. The researcher presents data showing a decline in the use of passive and a significant increase in the spread and use of the middle passive.
>
> Here’s the title: Hundt, Marianne. English Mediopassive Constructions : A Cognitive, Corpus-based Study of Their Origin, Spread, and Current Status. 2007
>
> Richard
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Karl Hagen
> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 2:29 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
> I would answer no, but then I subscribe to the notion that passive voice is better understood as a clause type than as just a property of a verb, and transformation between active and passive equivalents isn't a sufficient way to understand the two. There are, for example, a few verbs that only occur in the passive voice. (He is reputed to be a misogynist; It is rumored that she will quit soon.)
>
> As I pointed out in an earlier message, though, traditional grammar often does assume that the passive voice is a property of the verb, and so would only call transitive verbs active. The nineteenth century grammars that I've looked at usually treat the voice of intransitives explicitly, by introducing a term like "middle voice." In the twentieth century, that distinction was dropped, as far as I can tell, but it wasn't replaced with anything. In other words, later works in the traditional paradigm finesse the issue by ignoring it.
>
> > On Mar 11, 2015, at 10:57 AM, Seth Katz < [log in to unmask] > wrote:
> >
> > Karl (and others):
> >
> > Does labeling a verb as being in the active voice imply that it is transitive, and therefore can be put in the passive voice?
> > That is, you can't put a non-accusative verb in the passive voice (e.g. "The plan landed"); so can such a verb be properly said to be in the active voice?
> > Or am I not understanding the notion of "voice" correctly?
> >
> > Seth Katz
> >
> > Dr. Seth Katz
> > Associate Professor
> > Associate Chair
> > Department of English
> > Bradley University
> > Peoria, IL 61625
> >
> > Executive Director / Faculty Advisor
> > Bradley University Hillel
> >
> > On Wed, Mar 11, 2015 at 12:50 PM, Karl Hagen < [log in to unmask] > wrote:
> > The stative/dynamic distinction is semantic (an expression of aspectuality), and I take passive voice to be primarily a syntactic construction.
> >
> > Although it's true that adjectival passives will always have a stative
> > interpretation, and that ambiguities such as B typically turn on
> > whether we understand the situation as stative or dynamic, it's also
> > the case that some passive-voice constructions can be stative (e.g,
> > "She is loved by everyone.")
> >
> > For your example, I take this to be an instance of a so-called unaccusative verb, along the lines of:
> >
> > The pilot landed the plane. / The plane landed.
> > The wind opened the door. / The door opened.
> > The sun dried up the fields. / The fields dried up.
> >
> > So I take your example to be active voice. In other words, the mere fact that the semantic role of the subject is something other than agent/instrument isn't sufficient to call something passive.
> >
> > > On Mar 11, 2015, at 10:09 AM, Hancock, Craig G < [log in to unmask] > wrote:
> > >
> > > Karl,
> > > Where would "stative" fit in?
> > > And how do we deal with something like "The fields dried up in the sun?"
> > >
> > > Craig
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> > > [ mailto:[log in to unmask] ] On Behalf Of Karl Hagen
> > > Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 12:15 PM
> > > To: [log in to unmask]
> > > Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
> > >
> > > It depends on whether you regard voice to be a property of the verb or a structural pattern of a clause. The former is the assumption, implicit or otherwise, in most traditional grammar books. In the 19th century, intransitive verbs were often said to be in the "middle" voice to account for this gap. On the other hand, much work in modern linguistics takes the second analysis to be more accurate. As a type of clause, there's no real problem. You simply say that the active-voice pattern is the unmarked default, and hence applies to anything that is not passive voice.
> > >
> > >
> > >> On Mar 11, 2015, at 8:37 AM, Beth Young < [log in to unmask] > wrote:
> > >>
> > >> Interesting! Passive voice is something that only transitive verbs can have, but I've never considered active voice to be limited to transitive verbs. I've always considered all verbs that are conjugated with the formula "Tense + Modal (have + -en) (be + -ing) Main Verb" to be active voice, and verbs conjugated with the formula "Tense + Modal (have + -en) (be + -ing) + be + -en + Main Verb" to be passive voice. Otherwise, wouldn't many verbs have no voice at all? Maybe that doesn't matter.
> > >>
> > >> Hats off to any 8th grade teachers who wade into this question with
> > >> their students. :)
> > >>
> > >> Beth
> > >>
> > >> Dr. Beth Rapp Young
> > >> Associate Professor, English
> > >> [log in to unmask]
> > >>
> > >> University of Central Florida
> > >> "Reach for the Stars"
> > >> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
> > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
> >
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
> and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> _____
> This email has been scanned by WAU 3-Tier Anti-Virus/Anti-Spam System. To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
> and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 14:03:08 -0400
> From: Jan Kammert <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: middle passive
>
>
>
>
> My apologies ...
> I think I just sent a blank message to the list.
>
>
> Is anyone willing to explain middle passive to a middle school teacher? I wonder if it's something I see in my students' writing.
> Thanks!
> Jan
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: "Prof. Richard Grant WAU" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 7:30:04 AM
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
>
>
> This morning I discovered a study on the middle voice/middle passive. The researcher presents data showing a decline in the use of passive and a significant increase in the spread and use of the middle passive.
>
> Here’s the title: Hundt, Marianne. English Mediopassive Constructions : A Cognitive, Corpus-based Study of Their Origin, Spread, and Current Status. 2007
>
> Richard
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
> and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 18:44:13 +0000
> From: Beth Young <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: middle passive
>
> Middle voice is what you get when the verb is inflected like an active verb, but the meaning of the verb is something done to the subject, e.g., I broke the glass vs the glass broke.
>
> When the glass breaks, the implication is that someone did the breaking to the glass, but the verb "breaks" is inflected as though the glass is breaking by itself. In the passive voice, we'd conjugate the verb differently: "The glass was broken." Also, normally with passive, you can add a "by" phrase (the glass was broken by the little girl) but you can't say "The glass broke by a little girl." And sometimes the meaning differs from the passive, e.g., "The passage reads well" says something about the passage, but "She reads the passage well" says something about her reading skill.
>
> Per the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, the category of "middle voice" has more to do with semantics than with syntax.
>
> I don't think I've ever addressed this concept in my classes, though it has come up in conversation with individual students on occasion.
>
> Beth
>
> Dr. Beth Rapp Young
> Associate Professor, English
> [log in to unmask]
>
> University of Central Florida
> "Reach for the Stars"
> ________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Jan Kammert [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:03 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: middle passive
>
>
> My apologies ...
> I think I just sent a blank message to the list.
>
> Is anyone willing to explain middle passive to a middle school teacher? I wonder if it's something I see in my students' writing.
> Thanks!
> Jan
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: "Prof. Richard Grant WAU" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 7:30:04 AM
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
>
> This morning I discovered a study on the middle voice/middle passive. The researcher presents data showing a decline in the use of passive and a significant increase in the spread and use of the middle passive.
>
>
>
> Here’s the title: Hundt, Marianne. English Mediopassive Constructions : A Cognitive, Corpus-based Study of Their Origin, Spread, and Current Status. 2007
>
>
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
> and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 19:50:13 +0000
> From: "Hancock, Craig G" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: middle passive
>
> Beth,
>
> Nice summary.
>
> I think it was Richard who mentioned "ergative" for an Australian source. They were probably drawing from Systemic Functional Grammar, which has a large presence in Australia. In the third edition of An Introduction to Functional Grammar (Halliday and Mathiesson 2004--I don't own the fourth edition yet), it is covered on pages 284 to roughly 300 in the chapter on clause as Representation. Halliday makes the case that the distinction (ergative or non-ergative) is a choice within the grammar. "Either the process is recognized as self engendering, in which case there is no separate agent; or it is represented as engendered from outside, in which case there is another participant functioning as agent" (290). I guess the argument would be that a user of the language has the option of representing an event in two different ways by selecting from these syntactic options. "I cooked the rice for two hours." "The rice cooked for two hours."The one indispensable entity is the rice, which he labels as "medium."
>
> Like the Cambridge grammar, Halliday says that ergative patterns are expanding within the language.
>
> Once you establish, for example, that an earthquake has hit the town, you can say things like "windows shattered, goods spilled off of shelves, water mains broke, cracks opened up in highways...." Since agency is already established, you can maintain attention on results without having to remind the readers that these entities are not the agents of their own change. "The football sailed through the goal posts and on into history." I suspect this "middle voice" is expanding precisely because of the utility of these forms.
>
> I usually bring it up in a grammar class when I teach transitivity, but it's so hard to cover even the rough outlines of a grammar in a single semester.Anyone taking a grammar class needs exposure to traditional views of transitivity, and then there's not much room for other perspectives.
>
>
> Craig
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Beth Young <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:44 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: middle passive
>
> Middle voice is what you get when the verb is inflected like an active verb, but the meaning of the verb is something done to the subject, e.g., I broke the glass vs the glass broke.
>
> When the glass breaks, the implication is that someone did the breaking to the glass, but the verb "breaks" is inflected as though the glass is breaking by itself. In the passive voice, we'd conjugate the verb differently: "The glass was broken." Also, normally with passive, you can add a "by" phrase (the glass was broken by the little girl) but you can't say "The glass broke by a little girl." And sometimes the meaning differs from the passive, e.g., "The passage reads well" says something about the passage, but "She reads the passage well" says something about her reading skill.
>
> Per the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, the category of "middle voice" has more to do with semantics than with syntax.
>
> I don't think I've ever addressed this concept in my classes, though it has come up in conversation with individual students on occasion.
>
> Beth
>
> Dr. Beth Rapp Young
> Associate Professor, English
> [log in to unmask]
>
> University of Central Florida
> "Reach for the Stars"
> ________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Jan Kammert [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:03 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: middle passive
>
>
> My apologies ...
> I think I just sent a blank message to the list.
>
> Is anyone willing to explain middle passive to a middle school teacher? I wonder if it's something I see in my students' writing.
> Thanks!
> Jan
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: "Prof. Richard Grant WAU" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 7:30:04 AM
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
>
> This morning I discovered a study on the middle voice/middle passive. The researcher presents data showing a decline in the use of passive and a significant increase in the spread and use of the middle passive.
>
>
>
> Here's the title: Hundt, Marianne. English Mediopassive Constructions : A Cognitive, Corpus-based Study of Their Origin, Spread, and Current Status. 2007
>
>
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
> and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 21:57:53 +0000
> From: Bob Yates <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: middle passive
>
> Craig,
>
>
> The label “ergative” for these verbs has been around a longtime and I confident it is not drawn from SFL. Look up what an ergative language is.
>
>
> Bob Yates
>
> University of Central Missouri
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Hancock, Craig G
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:50 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Beth,
>
>
> Nice summary.
>
>
> I think it was Richard who mentioned "ergative" for an Australian source. They were probably drawing from Systemic Functional Grammar, which has a large presence in Australia. In the third edition of An Introduction to Functional Grammar (Halliday and Mathiesson 2004--I don't own the fourth edition yet), it is covered on pages 284 to roughly 300 in the chapter on clause as Representation. Halliday makes the case that the distinction (ergative or non-ergative) is a choice within the grammar. "Either the process is recognized as self engendering, in which case there is no separate agent; or it is represented as engendered from outside, in which case there is another participant functioning as agent" (290). I guess the argument would be that a user of the language has the option of representing an event in two different ways by selecting from these syntactic options. "I cooked the rice for two hours." "The rice cooked for two hours."The one indispensable entity is the rice, which he labels as "medium."
>
>
> Like the Cambridge grammar, Halliday says that ergative patterns are expanding within the language.
>
>
> Once you establish, for example, that an earthquake has hit the town, you can say things like "windows shattered, goods spilled off of shelves, water mains broke, cracks opened up in highways...." Since agency is already established, you can maintain attention on results without having to remind the readers that these entities are not the agents of their own change. "The football sailed through the goal posts and on into history." I suspect this "middle voice" is expanding precisely because of the utility of these forms.
>
>
> I usually bring it up in a grammar class when I teach transitivity, but it's so hard to cover even the rough outlines of a grammar in a single semester.Anyone taking a grammar class needs exposure to traditional views of transitivity, and then there's not much room for other perspectives.
>
>
>
>
>
> Craig
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Beth Young <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:44 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: middle passive
>
>
>
> Middle voice is what you get when the verb is inflected like an active verb, but the meaning of the verb is something done to the subject, e.g., I broke the glass vs the glass broke.
>
> When the glass breaks, the implication is that someone did the breaking to the glass, but the verb "breaks" is inflected as though the glass is breaking by itself. In the passive voice, we'd conjugate the verb differently: "The glass was broken." Also, normally with passive, you can add a "by" phrase (the glass was broken by the little girl) but you can't say "The glass broke by a little girl." And sometimes the meaning differs from the passive, e.g., "The passage reads well" says something about the passage, but "She reads the passage well" says something about her reading skill.
>
> Per the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, the category of "middle voice" has more to do with semantics than with syntax.
>
> I don't think I've ever addressed this concept in my classes, though it has come up in conversation with individual students on occasion.
>
> Beth
>
>
>
> Dr. Beth Rapp Young
> Associate Professor, English
> [log in to unmask]
>
> University of Central Florida
> "Reach for the Stars"
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Jan Kammert [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:03 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: middle passive
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> My apologies ...
>
> I think I just sent a blank message to the list.
>
>
>
>
> Is anyone willing to explain middle passive to a middle school teacher? I wonder if it's something I see in my students' writing.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jan
>
>
>
>
>
> From: "Prof. Richard Grant WAU" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 7:30:04 AM
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
>
>
> This morning I discovered a study on the middle voice/middle passive. The researcher presents data showing a decline in the use of passive and a significant increase in the spread and use of the middle passive.
>
>
>
> Here’s the title: Hundt, Marianne.English Mediopassive Constructions : A Cognitive, Corpus-based Study of Their Origin, Spread, and Current Status. 2007
>
>
>
> Richard
>
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2015 00:26:14 +0000
> From: "Hancock, Craig G" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: middle passive
>
> Bob,
>
> My apologies if I was unclear. The point I tried to express was that Richard's Australian source probably drew from Systemic Functional Linguistics, which uses "ergative" to talk about what others call "middle voice" in English. Halliday treats it fairly extensively, so it seemed worth pointing out for anyone interested in reading more. It would be interesting to explore ways in which English has this in common with other languages. That issue came up last time I mentioned it on list, with at least one person voicing skepticism about whether his use of the term is mainstream. Do you know of anyone else who applies it to English? I have never followed that up.
>
>
> C
>
> ________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Bob Yates <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 5:57 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: middle passive
>
> Craig,
>
> The label “ergative” for these verbs has been around a longtime and I confident it is not drawn from SFL. Look up what an ergative language is.
>
> Bob Yates
> University of Central Missouri
>
> From: Hancock, Craig G<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:50 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>
> Beth,
>
> Nice summary.
>
> I think it was Richard who mentioned "ergative" for an Australian source. They were probably drawing from Systemic Functional Grammar, which has a large presence in Australia. In the third edition of An Introduction to Functional Grammar (Halliday and Mathiesson 2004--I don't own the fourth edition yet), it is covered on pages 284 to roughly 300 in the chapter on clause as Representation. Halliday makes the case that the distinction (ergative or non-ergative) is a choice within the grammar. "Either the process is recognized as self engendering, in which case there is no separate agent; or it is represented as engendered from outside, in which case there is another participant functioning as agent" (290). I guess the argument would be that a user of the language has the option of representing an event in two different ways by selecting from these syntactic options. "I cooked the rice for two hours." "The rice cooked for two hours."The one indispensable entity is the rice, which he labels as "medium."
>
> Like the Cambridge grammar, Halliday says that ergative patterns are expanding within the language.
>
> Once you establish, for example, that an earthquake has hit the town, you can say things like "windows shattered, goods spilled off of shelves, water mains broke, cracks opened up in highways...." Since agency is already established, you can maintain attention on results without having to remind the readers that these entities are not the agents of their own change. "The football sailed through the goal posts and on into history." I suspect this "middle voice" is expanding precisely because of the utility of these forms.
>
> I usually bring it up in a grammar class when I teach transitivity, but it's so hard to cover even the rough outlines of a grammar in a single semester.Anyone taking a grammar class needs exposure to traditional views of transitivity, and then there's not much room for other perspectives.
>
>
> Craig
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Beth Young <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:44 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: middle passive
>
> Middle voice is what you get when the verb is inflected like an active verb, but the meaning of the verb is something done to the subject, e.g., I broke the glass vs the glass broke.
>
> When the glass breaks, the implication is that someone did the breaking to the glass, but the verb "breaks" is inflected as though the glass is breaking by itself. In the passive voice, we'd conjugate the verb differently: "The glass was broken." Also, normally with passive, you can add a "by" phrase (the glass was broken by the little girl) but you can't say "The glass broke by a little girl." And sometimes the meaning differs from the passive, e.g., "The passage reads well" says something about the passage, but "She reads the passage well" says something about her reading skill.
>
> Per the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, the category of "middle voice" has more to do with semantics than with syntax.
>
> I don't think I've ever addressed this concept in my classes, though it has come up in conversation with individual students on occasion.
>
> Beth
>
> Dr. Beth Rapp Young
> Associate Professor, English
> [log in to unmask]
>
> University of Central Florida
> "Reach for the Stars"
> ________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Jan Kammert [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 2:03 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: middle passive
>
>
> My apologies ...
> I think I just sent a blank message to the list.
>
> Is anyone willing to explain middle passive to a middle school teacher? I wonder if it's something I see in my students' writing.
> Thanks!
> Jan
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: "Prof. Richard Grant WAU" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 7:30:04 AM
> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19)
>
>
> This morning I discovered a study on the middle voice/middle passive. The researcher presents data showing a decline in the use of passive and a significant increase in the spread and use of the middle passive.
>
>
>
> Here’s the title: Hundt, Marianne. English Mediopassive Constructions : A Cognitive, Corpus-based Study of Their Origin, Spread, and Current Status. 2007
>
>
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
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>
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>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
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>
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>
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> ------------------------------
>
> End of ATEG Digest - 14 Mar 2015 to 15 Mar 2015 (#2015-25)
> **********************************************************
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