Cover not available

In:Morphology and Meaning: Selected papers from the 15th International Morphology Meeting, Vienna, February 2012
Edited by Franz Rainer, Francesco Gardani, Hans Christian Luschützky and Wolfgang U. Dressler
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 327] 2014
► pp. 331–344

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
authorization required

The canonical function of the deponent 
verbs in modern Greek

 | University of Stuttgart
 | University of Stuttgart
Published online: 27 February 2014
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.327.23zom
The present paper discusses deponent verbs in Modern Greek. Deponents are claimed to be idiosyncratic, non-canonical verbs representing a mismatch between morphology and syntax/semantics, as they are intransitive verbs exhibiting a morphological form, non-active, without there being an active transitive counterpart. Since non-active morphology is standardly associated with de-transitivization, deponents are taken to be exceptional in this respect. We compiled a deponent-verb corpus of Modern Greek and examined its morphological, syntactic and semantic structure. The results of this study revealed that most deponent predicates are actually reflexives/reciprocals, anticausatives and passives; thus, they instantiate verbal alternations which typically surface with non-active morphological marking. For this reason, we conclude that the morphology of deponent verbs in Modern Greek has, contrary to their traditional definition, a canonical function.
References (38)
References
Alexiadou, Artemis. 2010. “On the Morpho-Syntax of (Anti-)Causative Verbs”. Syntax, Lexical Semantics and Event Structure ed. by Malka Rappaport Hovav, Edit Doron & Ivy Sichel, 177–203. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (forthc.). “The Syntax of Roots in Transitivity Alternations: afto-/auto- Reflexives”. The Syntax of Roots and the Roots of Syntax ed. by Artemis Alexiadou, Hagit Borer & Florian Schäfer. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Alexiadou, Artemis, Elena Anagnostopoulou & Florian Schäfer. 2006. “The Properties of Anticausatives Cross-Linguistically”. Phases of Interpretation ed. by Mara Frascarelli, 187–212. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alexiadou, Artemis & Gianina Iordăchioaia. (forthc.). “Psych Nominalizations with Causers”. Proceedings of NELS 42.
Anagnostopoulou, Elena. 1999. “On Experiencers”. Studies in Greek Syntax ed. by Artemis Alexiadou, Geoffrey Horrocks & Melita Stavrou, 67–93. Dordrecht: Kluwer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2001. “Two Classes of Double Object Verbs: The Role of Zero Morphology”. Progress in Grammar: Articles at the 20th Anniversary of the Comparison of Grammatical Models Group in Tilburg ed. by Marc van Oostendorp & Elena Anagnostopoulou. Electronic publication retrievable at: [URL].
Anastasiadi-Simeonidi, Anna. 2002. Ηλεκτρονικ? αντ?στροφο λεξικ? της Ν?ας Ελληνικ?ς [Electronic Reverse Lexicon of Modern Greek]. Thessaloniki: Kentro Elinikis Glossas. Retrievable at: [URL]
Andriotis, Nikolaos . P. 1983. Ετυμολογικ? λεξικ? της κοιν?ς Νεοελληνικ?ς [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek]. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. , Institute of Modern Greek Studies. Reprint 1990.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Arad, Maya. 1998. “Psych-Notes”. UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 10 ed. by John Harris and Corinne Iten, 203–223. London: UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baerman, Matthew, Greville G. Corbett, Dunstan Brown & Andrew Hippisley, eds. 2007. Deponency and Morphological Mismatches Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Beekes, Robert, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek. 2009. Etymological Dictionary of Greek. Leiden & Boston: Brill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Doron, Edit. 2011. “Agents and Causers”. Paper presented at the Roots III Workshop. Jerusalem, June 2011.
Embick, David. 1998. “Voice Systems and the Syntax/Morphology Interface”. MIT working papers in linguistics 32: Papers from the UPenn/MIT Roundtable on Argument Structure and Aspect ed. by Heidi Harley, 41–72. Department of Linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2000. “Features, Syntax, and Categories in the Latin Perfect”. Linguistic Inquiry 31:185–230. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Embick, David & Alec Marantz. 2008. “Architecture and Blocking”. Linguistic Inquiry 39.1. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Frisk, Hjalmar. 1960. Griechisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch. Heidelberg: Carl Winter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ikonomou, Despoina. 2012. “Voice and Argument Structure: Deponent Verbs in Modern Greek”. Ms., Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Iordanidou, Anna. 1999. Τα ρ?ματα της Ν?ας Ελληνικ?ς [The Verbs of Modern Greek]. Athens: Patakis.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kallulli, Dalina. 2009. “(Non-)Blocking in the Voice System”. Language Typology and Universals 62:4.269–284. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kemmer, Suzanne. 1994. “Middle Voice, Transitivity, and the Elaboration of Events”. Voice: Form and Function ed. by Barbara A. Fox & Paul J. Hopper, 179–230. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kiparsky, Paul. 2009. “Verbal Co-Compounds and Subcompounds in Greek”. MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 57 ed. by Claire Halpert, Jeremy Hartman & David Hill, 187–196. Department of Linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Klaiman, M.H. 1991. Grammatical Voice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kolias, Panagiotis. 1983. Λεξικ? των βασικ?ν ρημ?των της αρχα?ας αττικ?ς πεζογραφ?ας [Lexicon of the Main Verbs of Ancient Attical Literature]. Athens: Patakis.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Konstantinou, Ilias. 1990. Λεξικ? των ρημ?των της Νεοελληνικ?ς [Lexicon of Modern Greek Verbs]. Athens: Epikerotita.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kriaras, Emmanouil. 1969. Λεξικ? της Μεσαιωνικ?ς Ελληνικ?ς Δημ?δους Γραμματε?ας (1100–1669) [Dictionary of the Medieval Greek Language (1100–1669)]. Thessaloniki: Greek Language Center.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van de Laar, Henri M.F.M. 2000. Description of the Greek Individual Verbal Systems. Amsterdam-Atlanta, GA 2000: Rodopi.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lavidas, Nikolaos & Dimitra Papangeli. 2007. “Deponency in the Diachrony of Greek”. Baerman et al. , eds. 2007, 97–126.
Liddell, H.G. & R. Scott. 1996. A Greek-English Lexicon. 9th edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mackridge, Peter. 1985. The Modern Greek Language: A Descriptive Analysis of Standard Modern Greek. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pape, Wilhelm. 2005. Griechisch-Deutsch: Altgriechisches Wörterbuch. Berlin: Directmedia.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pesetsky, David. 1995. Zero Syntax. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Philippaki-Warburton, Irene. 1970. On the Verb in Modern Greek. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stamatakos, Ioannis. 1971. Λεξικ?ν της Ν?ας Ελληνικ?ς γλ?σσης [Dictionary of Modern Greek]. Athens: Dedemadis.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Triantafyllidis, Manolis. 1998. Λεξικ?ν της Ν?ας Ελληνικ?ς γλ?σσας [Dictionary of Modern Greek]. Thessaloniki: Kentro Ellinikis glossas.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tsimpli, Ianthi Maria. 1989. “On the Properties of the Passive Affix in Modern Greek”. UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 1, ed. by Robyn Carston, 235–260. London: UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xu, Zheng, Mark Aronoff & Frank Anshen. 2007. “Deponency in Latin”. Baerman, Corbett, Brown & Hippisley, eds. 2007, 127–143.
Zombolou, Katerina. 2004. Verbal Alternations in Greek: A Semantic Analysis. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Reading.
Cited by (11)

Cited by 11 other publications

Roberta D’Alessandro, Michael T Putnam & Silvia Terenghi
2025. Heritage Languages and Syntactic Theory, DOI logo
Dadan, Marcin R.
2024. Agentive reading in the Middle: The structure of Polish reflexiva tantum. Studies in Polish Linguistics 19:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Paparounas, Lefteris
2024. Visibility and Intervention in Allomorphy: Lessons from Modern Greek. Linguistic Inquiry 55:3 ► pp. 537 ff. DOI logo
Christina Sevdali, Dionysios Mertyris & Elena Anagnostopoulou
2024. The Place of Case in Grammar, DOI logo
Tsiakmakis, Evripidis, Joan Borràs-Comes & M. Teresa Espinal
2023. On the distribution and interpretation of voice in Greek anticausatives. Frontiers in Psychology 14 DOI logo
Anna Papafragou, John C. Trueswell & Lila R. Gleitman
2022. The Oxford Handbook of the Mental Lexicon, DOI logo
Alexiadou, Artemis
2020. The Complexity of Greek Verbal Morphology. In Complex Words, ► pp. 192 ff. DOI logo
Grestenberger, L.
2020. LOWE, JOHN J.: Transitive Nouns and Adjectives.. Kratylos 65:1 ► pp. 163 ff. DOI logo
Grestenberger, Laura
2020. The diachrony of participles in the (pre)history of Greek and Hittite. Diachronica 37:2 ► pp. 215 ff. DOI logo
Grestenberger, Laura
2023. Deponency. In The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Morphology, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Lívia Körtvélyessy & Pavol Štekauer
2020. Complex Words, DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 15 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue