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In:Voice and Argument Structure in Baltic
Edited by Axel Holvoet and Nicole Nau
[Valency, Argument Realization and Grammatical Relations in Baltic 2] 2015
► pp. 181–210

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Middle voice reflexives and argument structure in Baltic

 | Vilnius University
 | Vilnius University
 | Vilnius University
Published online: 5 August 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/vargreb.2.04hol
The article deals with Baltic reflexives covering the semantic domain of the middle voice in a narrower sense, that is, the non-anticausative middles as illustrated in constructions like The bread cuts easily. The emphasis is on the Baltic languages, but the data of Slavonic and, to a lesser extent, Germanic are also taken into account. A detailed semantic map is offered showing the relationships between the individual types of middle-voice reflexives, and also paths of diachronic development. One of the main problems singled out for discussion is the argument structure of middle voice reflexives. While anticausatives reflect a valency-reducing operation, the middle-voice constructions discussed in this article do not. In fact, a good case can be made for an inflectional view of these reflexives, and voice would be the most natural notional domain to accommodate them.
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