Re: not un-/anti-passive

Jeffery Jones wrote:
>
>(1) Ho-paldu-bwe.
>     ???-rain.PRS.IND-1NPD
>     "It's raining on us."
>Technically, paldax is impersonal, but there can still be a patientive
>argument.
>(2) Hi korilo su-bwe ho-naus-in.
>     DEF-INA.S.ABS hazel.S.ABS COP.PRS.IND-1NPD ???-shade-VN
>     "The hazel shades us."
>(The COP copula + VN verbal noun construction = habitual aspect.)
>(3) T-a-m matse t-i ho-jad-en-ti xiskw-e.
>     3-ANI.S-GEN mother.S.DAT 3-INA.S.ABS ???-seem-FUT.IND-3SD terrible-
>SPO
>     "It will seem terrible to her mother."
>(4) Ho-laun-os-t-ki gaut-a daxme tep nu.
>     ???-beautiful-CMP-VRB-1SD NUL-ANI.S.ABS woman.S.ABS than 2S.ABS
>     "There's no woman more beautiful to me than you."
>(5) T-i juku ho-laip-ti-twe.
>     3-INA.S.ABS very ???-easy-VRB-3PD
>     "It's very easy for them."
>(6) Johanna-i ho-bof-ti lo Tomas-a disp-ax-ta.
>     Joan-DAT ???-modal.PRS.IND-3SD CPL Tom-ERG dance-SUB-3SE
>     "Joan thinks Tom should dance."
Very interesting examples. Several call to mind Shakspearean English
"methinks, meseems" and still-in-use "woe is me"; I'm not sure what that's
called, but it might be "dative of affect ~affective dative".

Basque, IIRC, has a construction in intimate speech where you insert a 2nd
or 3d pers. dative marker into the auxiliary (in addition to subject and
object), which indicates that somehow the statement is of interest to, or
concerns, that person, or even simply that speaker somehow wants to involve
the other in the statement. The translations offered made it rather
difficult to see exactly what was going on :-(  And I forget what the
grammar book called it. "Dative of interest? Dative of reference?" or some
such.

Reply