Cover not available
Part of
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

The canonical function of the deponent 
verbs in modern Greek

| University of Stuttgart
| University of Stuttgart

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.

Published online: 27 February 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.327.23zom
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. DOI logoGoogle 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. DOI logoGoogle 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. DOI logoGoogle 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
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
Baerman, Matthew, Greville G. Corbett, Dunstan Brown & Andrew Hippisley
eds. 2007 Deponency and Morphological Mismatches Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Beekes, Robert
, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek 2009 Etymological Dictionary of Greek. Leiden & Boston: Brill.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
2000 “Features, Syntax, and Categories in the Latin Perfect”. Linguistic Inquiry 31:185–230. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Embick, David & Alec Marantz
2008 “Architecture and Blocking”. Linguistic Inquiry 39.1. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Frisk, Hjalmar
1960 Griechisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch. Heidelberg: Carl Winter.Google Scholar
Ikonomou, Despoina
2012 “Voice and Argument Structure: Deponent Verbs in Modern Greek”. Ms., Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Google Scholar
Iordanidou, Anna
1999 Τα ρ?ματα της Ν?ας Ελληνικ?ς [The Verbs of Modern Greek]. Athens: Patakis.Google Scholar
Kallulli, Dalina
2009 “(Non-)Blocking in the Voice System”. Language Typology and Universals 62:4.269–284. DOI logoGoogle 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. DOI logoGoogle 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
Klaiman, M.H
1991 Grammatical Voice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.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
Konstantinou, Ilias
1990 Λεξικ? των ρημ?των της Νεοελληνικ?ς [Lexicon of Modern Greek Verbs]. Athens: Epikerotita.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
van de Laar, Henri M.F.M
2000 Description of the Greek Individual Verbal Systems. Amsterdam-Atlanta, GA 2000: Rodopi.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
Mackridge, Peter
1985 The Modern Greek Language: A Descriptive Analysis of Standard Modern Greek. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Manney, Linda Joyce
2000 Middle Voice in Modern Greek. Meaning and Function of an Inflectional Category. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pape, Wilhelm
2005 Griechisch-Deutsch: Altgriechisches Wörterbuch. Berlin: Directmedia.Google Scholar
Pesetsky, David
1995 Zero Syntax. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Philippaki-Warburton, Irene
1970 On the Verb in Modern Greek. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University.Google Scholar
Stamatakos, Ioannis
1971 Λεξικ?ν της Ν?ας Ελληνικ?ς γλ?σσης [Dictionary of Modern Greek]. Athens: Dedemadis.Google Scholar
Triantafyllidis, Manolis
1998 Λεξικ?ν της Ν?ας Ελληνικ?ς γλ?σσας [Dictionary of Modern Greek]. Thessaloniki: Kentro Ellinikis glossas.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
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

Cited by 7 other publications

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
Anna Papafragou, John C. Trueswell & Lila R. Gleitman
2022. The Oxford Handbook of the Mental Lexicon, 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

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 19 march 2024. 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.