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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Dear Randy</span>，<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> I agree that in linguistics, the topic-comment structure refers to the organization of information in a sentence or discourse. Regarding AVP (Agent-Verb-Patient) clauses, the ordering of the elements expresses
a natural conceptualized event, typically involving an agent or actor, a verb/action, and a patient or entity affected by the action. What I have insisted on is that the topic-comment structure and the ordering of AVP clauses can indeed have different motivations
and functions. The topic-comment structure is primarily related to discourse organization and continuity. On the other hand, the ordering of AVP clauses in sentences is more closely associated with the conceptualization of events and how they are encoded
in language. The typical Agent-Verb-Patient order in many languages reflects the natural order of a typical action or even. But it is subject to variation and can be modified by various linguistic factors such as case marking, agreement marking, or other syntactic
operations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> In your example, “</span>下雨了<span lang="EN-GB">” (Xià yǔ le<b>) (Lit. Fall Rain ASP)</b> translates to “It’s raining.” I also agree with your analysis. In fact, In our previous Chinese article in 2012, we called
it “</span>非主题判断<span lang="EN-GB">”(thetic judgment)</span>或是<span lang="EN-GB">“</span>句子焦点结构<span lang="EN-GB">”(sentence focus structure), based on Lambrecht’s work (Lambrecht 1994). But the same proposition can also use transitive-like encodings,
such as “</span>天下雨了<span lang="EN-GB">” (Tiān xià yǔ le),(Lit. <b>Sky fall/lay rain</b>) . Can we say both “</span>天下雨了<span lang="EN-GB">” (Tiān xià yǔ le) ),(Lit.
<b>Sky fall/lay rain</b>) and “</span>鸡下蛋了<span lang="EN-GB">” (Jī xià dàn le) <b>
( Lit. Chicken fall/lay egg ASP</b>) follow the same conceptualized AVP (Agent-Verb-Patient) structure</span>？<span lang="EN-GB">Is “</span>下<span lang="EN-GB">” (xià) intransitive, expressing a downward motion or is it transitive, followed by a patient?
This is of course not exclusively about discourse-pragmatics but more about how we encode the conceptualized world through the verbs or the relator in the middle.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> I agree to put this discussion on hold. Many thanks.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">All the best,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Jianming <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">(Great respect to your works always)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Sent from <a href="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986">
Mail</a> for Windows</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:SimSun"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0cm"><b><span lang="EN-GB">From: </span>
</b><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="mailto:randy.lapolla@gmail.com">Randy J. LaPolla</a><br>
<b>Sent: </b>2023</span>年<span lang="EN-GB">7</span>月<span lang="EN-GB">29</span>日<span lang="EN-GB"> 17:41<br>
<b>To: </b><a href="mailto:wu.jianming2011@hotmail.com">Wu Jianming</a><br>
<b>Cc: </b><a href="mailto:sergeloesov@gmail.com">Sergey Loesov</a>; <a href="mailto:lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org">
LINGTYP@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG</a><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: [Lingtyp] Transitive verbs with both active and passive readings</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:SimSun"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Hi Jianming,</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">It seems you are operating with a very narrow view of topic-comment. For me, topic is a relation to the comment; it is what the predicate is about. You seem to restrict topics such that actors are not considered topics
in an AVP clause. Information structure can’t really be talked about without including the prosody of the clause. In the case of AVP, if the A is represented by an unstressed reference phrase, then it may be the topic of the predication.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I did not say all clauses were topic-comment; Y. R. Chao said that. I said all clauses in Mandarin can be explained using Knud Lambrecht’s typology of focus structures, which includes, aside from topic-comment (what he
called “Predicate focus”), narrow focus on a single element of the clause (his “argument focus") and where the whole clause is in focus (what he called "sentence focus”). As I have explained (LaPolla and Poa 2005, 2006; LaPolla 2009; see also LaPolla 2017a
and 2017b, 2023), you can explain the different constructions (clause types) in Mandarin using this typology and combinations of the different focus types. So, for example, a very frequent clause type in Mandarin is one type that Chao talked about as topic-comment
without a topic, which means the whole clause is in focus, e.g. </span>下雨了<span lang="EN-GB"> Xià yu</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span><span lang="EN-GB"> le [fall rain change.of.state.aspect] ‘It’s raining'. This
type presents the occurrence of an event or the introduction of a new referent, usually by having the involved referent appear in post-verbal position so it will not be understood as the topic of the clause. A narrow focus can be achieved with prosody alone,
or by using a cleft structure. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Focus structures can be combined, e.g. in the famous example</span>（王冕）七岁时<span lang="EN-GB"> . . .
</span>死了父親<span lang="EN-GB"> Wáng Mia</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span><span lang="EN-GB">n qı</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̄</span><span lang="EN-GB"> suì shí si</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span><span lang="EN-GB">-le
fùqi</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̄</span><span lang="EN-GB">n [PN seven yrs.old time . . . die-PFV father] ‘Wang Mian suffered the dying of his father when he was seven years old’. This is a topic-comment structure,
but in this case the comment takes the form an event-presentative clause, ‘the father died’, which is then predicated of the topic, ‘Wang Mian’. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">There are also constructions where the comment of a topic-comment construction is also a topic-comment construction, e.g.
</span>我肚子餓了<span lang="EN-GB"> Wo</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span><span lang="EN-GB"> dùzi è-le [1sg belly hungry-PFV] 'I am such that my belly is hungry’, where the structure is [topic [topic-comment]] as the
whole embedded [topic-comment] is a comment about me, but there is a secondary topic in that comment, so there is also a comment about my belly. The odd translation is because it contrasts with two other different information structure constructions:
</span>我餓了肚子<span lang="EN-GB"> Wo</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span><span lang="EN-GB"> è-le dùzi [1sg hungry-PFV belly] ‘I suffered the hungriness of my belly’, where the belly is part of an event-presentative
structure, so this example is the same focus structure as the Wang Mian example (it is actually quite common and not a special or odd structure);
</span>我的肚子餓了<span lang="EN-GB"> Wo</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span><span lang="EN-GB">-de dùzi è-le [[1sg-ASSOC belly] hungry-PFV] ‘My belly is hungry’, where ‘I’ and the belly form one constituent instead of
two, and it is a simple predicate focus (topic-comment) structure.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I also did not say that placement of the reference phrase in preverbal position necessarily implies a passive reading. It depends on context and intonation.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I don’t think there is any semantics outside of particular uses in particular contexts, and I don’t think you can separate information structure from what you are calling “the logic of a prototypical transitive sentence”;
in natural data all utterances have an information structure.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I doubt I have convinced you, so we will not bore the LingTyp crowd with any more back and forth, we will just agree to disagree.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">All the best,</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Randy</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">References</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">LaPolla, Randy J. 2009. Chinese as a Topic-Comment (not Topic-Prominent and not SVO) language. In Janet Xing (ed.), <i>Studies of Chinese linguistics: Functional approaches,</i> 9-22.<i> </i>Hong
Kong: Hong Kong University Press. https://randylapolla.info/Papers/LaPolla_2009_Chinese_as_a_Topic-Comment_Language.pdf</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#434343">LaPolla, Randy J. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">2017a. Topic and Comment. In Rint Sybesma (ed.), <i>Encyclopedia of Chinese
Language and Linguistics</i></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">, Vol. 4, 370-37</span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">. </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Leiden:
Brill, 2017.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">https://randylapolla.info/Papers/LaPolla_2017_Topic_and_comment.pdf</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#434343">LaPolla, Randy J. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">2017. Notions of “subject”. In Rint Sybesma (ed.), <i>Encyclopedia of Chinese
Language and Linguistic</i></span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">s</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">, Vol. 3, 231-238</span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">. </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Leiden:
Brill, 2017.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">https://randylapolla.info/Papers/LaPolla_2016_Notions_of_subject.pdf</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">LaPolla, Randy J. 2023. Grammatical Relations. In Delia Bentley, Ricardo Mairal Usón, Wataru Nakamura, and Robert D. Van Valin Jr.(eds.),
<i>Cambridge Handbook of Role and Reference Grammar,</i> 269 - 291. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. https://randylapolla.info/Papers/LaPolla_2022_Grammatical_relations.pdf</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">罗<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">仁地、潘露莉。</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">2005</span><span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">。〈焦点</span>结构<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">的</span>类<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">型及其</span>对汉语词<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">序的影</span>响<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">〉《焦点</span>结构<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">和意</span>义<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">的</span>研<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">究》（徐烈炯、潘海</span>华<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">主</span>编<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">，</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">57-78</span>页<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">）。北京：北京外</span>国语<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">大</span>学<span style="font-family:"Batang",serif">出版社。<span lang="EN-GB">(</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">LaPolla,
Randy J. & Dory Poa. 2005. Jiaodian jiegou de leixing ji qi dui Hanyu cixu de yingxiang (The typology of focus structures and their effect on word order in Chinese). In Xu Liejiong and Haihua Pan (eds.), <i>Jiaodian jiegou he yuyi de yanjiu (Studies on the
structure and semantics of focus),</i> 57-78. Beijing: Beijing Foreign Studies University Press.) </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://randylapolla.info/Papers/LaPolla_and_Poa_2005_Jiaodian_Jiegou_de_Leixing_ji_Qi_dui_Hanyu_Cixu_de_Yingxiang.pdf"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">https://randylapolla.info/Papers/LaPolla_and_Poa_2005_Jiaodian_Jiegou_de_Leixing_ji_Qi_dui_Hanyu_Cixu_de_Yingxiang.pdf</span></a></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">LaPolla, Randy J. & Dory Poa. 2006. On describing word order. <i>Catching Language: The Standing Challenge of Grammar Writing, </i>ed. by Felix Ameka, Alan Dench, & Nicholas
Evans, 269-295. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">https://randylapolla.info/Papers/LaPolla_and_Poa_2006_On_Describing_Word_Order.pdf</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">——</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">Professor Randy J. LaPolla</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">（罗仁地</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black">)</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">,
PhD FAHA </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">Center for Language Sciences</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">A302, Muduo Building, #18 Jinfeng Road, Zhuhai City, Guangdong, China</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black"><a href="https://randylapolla.info">https://randylapolla.info</a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">ORCID ID:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#494A4C;background:white"><a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6100-6196">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6100-6196</a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;color:black">邮编：<span lang="EN-GB">519087<br>
</span>广东省珠海市唐家湾镇金凤路<span lang="EN-GB">18</span>号木铎楼<span lang="EN-GB">A302<br>
</span>北京师范大学珠海校区<span lang="EN-GB"><br>
</span>人文和社会科学高等研究院<span lang="EN-GB"><br>
</span>语言科学研究中心<span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">On 28 Jul 2023, at 7:18 PM, Wu Jianming <wu.jianming2011@hotmail.com> wrote:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Dear Randy,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> Many thanks for your reply. But I do have some different views.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> As you mentioned that </span>“<span lang="EN-GB">all word order patterns can be explained using Lambrecht</span>’<span lang="EN-GB">s typology of information structure patterns (focus structures)</span>”<span lang="EN-GB">.
As far as I know, while the topic-comment structure is an essential aspect of Chinese grammar, it alone is not sufficient to fully describe the intricacies of the language. The topic-comment structure refers to a sentence pattern where the topic (the known
or shared information) is placed at the beginning, followed by the comment (new or specific information) that provides more details or describes the topic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">However, Chinese grammar encompasses more than just the topic-comment structure. It includes various other aspects like word order, verb-noun selection/agreement, classifiers, aspect markers, particles, and more. These
elements work together to form a comprehensive inventory of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>“<span lang="EN-GB">means</span>”<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">for expressing meaning and
conveying information in Chinese.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> You mentioned that </span>“<span lang="EN-GB">bei is not necessary for what you are calling a passive reading, as the word order alone would have the same effect.</span>”<span lang="EN-GB"> . But a sentence like
"</span>张三李四打了<span lang="EN-GB">" (Zh</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">ngs</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">n L</span>ǐ<span lang="EN-GB">s</span>ì<span lang="EN-GB"> d</span>ǎ<span lang="EN-GB">le),<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Lit. Zhangsan Lisi hit</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>“<span lang="EN-GB">,
is very ambiguous and rarely used. But, "</span>张三被李四打了<span lang="EN-GB">" (Zh</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">ngs</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">n b</span>è<span lang="EN-GB">i L</span>ǐ<span lang="EN-GB">s</span>ì<span lang="EN-GB"> d</span>ǎ<span lang="EN-GB">le)
<b>Lit zhangsan Bei Lisi hit</b></span><b>，</b><span lang="EN-GB">can be interpreted as the subject (</span>张三<span lang="EN-GB">, Zh</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">ngs</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">n) is the recipient of the action performed by the agent (</span>李四<span lang="EN-GB">,
L</span>ǐ<span lang="EN-GB">s</span>ì<span lang="EN-GB">). So, the sentence "</span>张三被李四打了<span lang="EN-GB">"" (Zh</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">ngs</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">n b</span>è<span lang="EN-GB">i L</span>ǐ<span lang="EN-GB">s</span>ì<span lang="EN-GB">
d</span>ǎ<span lang="EN-GB">le) translates to "Zh</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">ngs</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">n was beaten by L</span>ǐ<span lang="EN-GB">s</span>ì<span lang="EN-GB">" or "L</span>ǐ<span lang="EN-GB">s</span>ì<span lang="EN-GB"> hit Zh</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">ngs</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">n"
in English. Therefore, in Chinese, the placement of a noun phrase in the topic position does not necessarily imply a passive reading. However, It is the presence of "</span>被<span lang="EN-GB">" (b</span>è<span lang="EN-GB">i) that specifically indicates
the subject (</span>张三<span lang="EN-GB">, Zh</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">ngs</span>ā<span lang="EN-GB">n) is the recipient of the action performed by the agent (</span>李四<span lang="EN-GB">, L</span>ǐ<span lang="EN-GB">s</span>ì<span lang="EN-GB">).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> Here, I think we should clarify the distinction between using topic-comment structures and marking the distinction between juxtaposed arguments or participants( the latter being called<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>“<span lang="EN-GB">simple
strategy</span>”<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">in Croft</span>’<span lang="EN-GB">s term). Semantic relations and discourse -pragmatics coexist in determining the meaning and interpretation of a sentence
in any language but they are not the same. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:12.0pt"><span lang="EN-GB">The logic of a prototypical transitive sentence like
</span>“<span lang="EN-GB">John hit Mary</span>”<span lang="EN-GB"> can be understood by breaking it down into its basic components .John (agent / subject) + hit (verb/predicate) + Mary (patient/object). In a topic-comment structure, the sentence is organized
around the presentation of a topic or known information, followed by a comment that provides new or specific information about the topic. This structure allows for a focused and coherent discourse. The logic of a topic-comment is therefore distinct from
the logic of a prototypical transitive sentence like "John hit Mary." Anna Siewierska's notion of basic word order addresses the fundamental aspect of how words tend to be ordered in a language so as to encode the very basic transitive event. This then
provides at least<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>one small but crucial line of </b></span><b>“<span lang="EN-GB">comparative basis</span>”<span lang="EN-GB"> for languages</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">,which
often represents a well-accepted matching between the underlying cognitive structure of a sentence and the expression forms of the sentence in a language. But this does not means that languages won</span>’<span lang="EN-GB">t encourage variations and flexibility
in word order due to various factors such as emphasis, information structure, and pragmatic considerations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:12.0pt"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:12.0pt"><span lang="EN-GB">Thanks again and let us
</span>“<span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:#24292F;background:white">求同存异</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"ali-55",serif;color:#24292F;background:white">” (seeking common ground while peserving differences)</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Jianming Wu <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Shanghai International Studies University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Sent from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986">Mail</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>for Windows<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB">From:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="mailto:randy.lapolla@gmail.com">Randy J. LaPolla</a><br>
<b>Sent:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>2023</span>年<span lang="EN-GB">7</span>月<span lang="EN-GB">28</span>日<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">17:37<br>
<b>To:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b><a href="mailto:wu.jianming2011@hotmail.com">Wu Jianming</a><br>
<b>Cc:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b><a href="mailto:sergeloesov@gmail.com">Sergey Loesov</a>;<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org">LINGTYP@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG</a><br>
<b>Subject:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Re: [Lingtyp] Transitive verbs with both active and passive readings<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Hi Jianming,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Constructions conventionalise (grammaticalise) in order to express a particular information packaging. In the case of passives, the goal is to have a marked topic appear as an unmarked topic, or to place the unmarked
topic in focus position or remove it altogether. This is to allow for continuity of topic in switch reference referent tracking systems, which is generally a feature of language with an A/S pivot in at least some constructions. Morphosyntactically it usually
is an intransitive clause with no agent, or an agent appearing as a non-direct argument, and there is marking on the verb to show the marked nature of the construction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Mandarin does not have this sort of passive, and doesn</span>’<span lang="EN-GB">t need it, as it doesn</span>’<span lang="EN-GB">t have an A/S pivot in any constructions. It has differences of word order to put different
arguments in topic or focus position, and all word order patterns can be explained using Lambrecht</span>’<span lang="EN-GB">s typology of information structure patterns (focus structures). In the examples you gave, bei is not necessary for what you are calling
a passive reading, as the word order alone would have the same effect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Btw, there was a big debate back in the 1990</span>’<span lang="EN-GB">s about the idea of
</span>“<span lang="EN-GB">basic word order</span>”<span lang="EN-GB">. Nowadays many of us see each word order as motivated by a particular context (to express a particular information packaging in that context), and and don</span>’<span lang="EN-GB">t believe
in such thing as a </span>“<span lang="EN-GB">neutral, objective</span>” <span lang="EN-GB">
context, only more or less frequent clause patterns (frequent not because of being basic, but because they fit more contexts). What you are calling the basic pattern is still a topic-comment structure, a predicate focus structure in Lambrecht</span>’<span lang="EN-GB">s
terms (based on your idealisation</span>—<span lang="EN-GB">in natural language data intonation must be taken into account), which in this case has the agent as topic and the patient within the focus. This is the most frequent pattern because of the topicality
of agents, and the high frequency at which patients are introduced within the focus, but that is not the same as calling it the basic form, as it, like all clause types, is motivated by a particular information structure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">All the best,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Randy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt">——</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">Professor Randy J. LaPolla</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt">（罗仁地</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">)</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">,
PhD FAHA </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">Center for Language Sciences</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">A302, Muduo Building, #18 Jinfeng Road, Zhuhai City, Guangdong, China</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt"><a href="https://randylapolla.info/">https://randylapolla.info</a></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">ORCID ID:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color:#494A4C;background:white"><a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6100-6196">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6100-6196</a> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.5pt">邮编：<span lang="EN-GB">519087<br>
</span>广东省珠海市唐家湾镇金凤路<span lang="EN-GB">18</span>号木铎楼<span lang="EN-GB">A302<br>
</span>北京师范大学珠海校区<span lang="EN-GB"><br>
</span>人文和社会科学高等研究院<span lang="EN-GB"><br>
</span>语言科学研究中心<span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">On 28 Jul 2023, at 11:36 AM, Wu Jianming <<a href="mailto:wu.jianming2011@hotmail.com">wu.jianming2011@hotmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Dear Randy,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">As we know, the function of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">voice</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">”</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">in
language is to indicate the relationship between the subject (the doer or the entity performing the action) and the verb (the action or state being performed). However, it's important to note that the surface forms used to indicate voice can vary across languages.
In Chinese, for instance, voice is not typically marked through grammatical inflections or word order changes (e.g. e.g.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">老师发了成绩单</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">[teacher
distribute grade sheets] and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">学生发了成绩单</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">[student
distribute grade sheets]) . Instead, voice is usually inferred from the context or the use of specific words or constructions.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">In fact, in Chinese, functional words like "bei" (</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">被</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">)
and "ba" (</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">把</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">) are used to indicate an asymmetry between participants or a change in the syntactic structure of a sentence, similar to how voice markers in other languages(e.g.
relational or indexing morphemes). While these functional words in Chinese may not be referred to as "voice markers" per se, they do serve a similar function in changing the syntactic structure of a sentence to indicate indicate an asymmetry between participants</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> Active:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">我写了这篇文章。</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">(W</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ǒ</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">xi</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ě</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">le
zh</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">è</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">pi</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">n
w</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">é</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">nzh</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">ng.) -Lit. I write<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>ASP</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>this
article. A > V > P (asymmetry)</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> Passive:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">这篇文章被我写了。</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">(Zh</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">è</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">pi</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">n
w</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">é</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">nzh</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">ng b</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">è</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">i
w</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ǒ</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">xi</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ě</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">le.)<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">–</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Lit.<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><u> </u></b></span><b><u>This
article BEI(</u></b></span><b><u><span style="font-size:10.5pt">被</span></u></b><b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">) me</span></u></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></b></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">write
ASP. (this article was written by me) (P > A asymmetry through<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>BEI</b>)<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:11.25pt">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Active:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">我把房间打扫干净了。</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">(W</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ǒ</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">b</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ǎ</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">f</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">á</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">ngji</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">n
d</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ǎ</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">s</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ǎ</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">o g</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">nj</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ì</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">ng
le.)<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">–</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Lit. <u>I <b>BA</b></u></span><b><u><span style="font-size:10.5pt">（把）</span></u></b><b><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">the
room</span></u></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">.clean ASP ( A > P asymmetry through<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>BA</b>)<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">In a neutral, objective context,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>a prototypical transitive event</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>in
Chinese can indeed be represented using the basic AVP (Active-Verb-Object) or SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) order ( This is how Siewierksa 1988: 8</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">）</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">define basic word order,
but this insight seems to be abandoned by many in favor of more attested surface forms in spoken or written corpus). Here are some examples, where asymmetric word order correspondes to case or agreement markers in other langages.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">AVP (Active-Verb-Object):</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="font-size:10.5pt">我看电影。</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">(W</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ǒ</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">k</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">à</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">n
di</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">à</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">ny</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ǐ</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">ng.) - I watch movies.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="font-size:10.5pt">她吃苹果。</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">(T</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ā</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">ch</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ī</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">p</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">í</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">nggu</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ǒ</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">.)
- She eats apples.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="font-size:10.5pt">他写书。</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">(T</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ā</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">xi</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ě</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">sh</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ū</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">.)
- He writes books.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> Indeed, Mandarin Chinese often uses a topic-comment structure in sentence construction. This means that the sentence begins with a topic
or a known piece of information, followed by the comment or new information about the topic. This structure allows speakers to emphasize certain aspects of the information being conveyed.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> However, it is also true that the basic word order (strictlly following Anna</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">s
definition) in Mandarin Chinese is typically Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) or Actor-Verb-Phrase (AVP) for encoding prototypical transitive events. This word order is commonly used in declarative sentences and is considered the most standard and authentic way
of expressing such events. This word order aligns with the way events are conceptually organized in the world, particularly in terms of the temporal axis.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Regards,</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Jianming Wu </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Shanghai International Studies University</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="font-size:10.5pt">从</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Windows<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">版</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"><a href="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB">邮件</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">发送</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">发件人</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"><a href="mailto:randy.lapolla@gmail.com">Randy
J. LaPolla</a><br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">发送时间</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">2023</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">年</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">7</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">月</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">28</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">日</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">10:18<br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">收件人</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"><a href="mailto:wu.jianming2011@hotmail.com">Wu Jianming</a><br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">抄送</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"><a href="mailto:sergeloesov@gmail.com">Sergey Loesov</a>;<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org">LINGTYP@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG</a><br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt">主题</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Re: [Lingtyp] Transitive verbs with both active and passive
readings</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Hi Jianming,</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Thanks for your reply.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">When you say<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">without
a specific context</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">, you are actually creating two interpretive contexts in your mind to create the two different meanings; there is no such thing as understanding language
(or any phenomenon) without creating a context of interpretation. The fact that you can create these two meanings from the same form means there is no voice opposition in the language. The semantics of the referents referred to can influence the interpretation,
but that is also not voice, e.g.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">老师发了成绩单</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">[teacher
distribute grade sheets] and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">学生发了成绩单</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">[student
distribute grade sheets] are normally understood out of specific context as having different transitivity structures, with<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">teacher</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">’</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">as
agent, but<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">students' as patient, but this is not voice.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Y. R. Chao argued that bei and ba are "pre-transitive" markers that help to disambiguate the direction of action, not passive and active
markers.He also argued that even in the structure N V N</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">, the direction of action is not necessarily from the initial N to the N</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">,
and he used the example of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">dog bite man</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">If you agree with Chao (and L</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">ü</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Shuxiang,
and me) that Mandarin is topic-comment, not subject-predicate, there is no<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">basic AVP</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt">”</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">order.
As Chao said, all clauses are topic comment, though in some cases there is no topic.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">All the best,</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Randy</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="font-size:10.5pt">——</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Professor Randy J. LaPolla</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt">（罗仁地</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">,
PhD FAHA </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Center for Language Sciences</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">A302, Muduo Building, #18 Jinfeng Road, Zhuhai City, Guangdong, China</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"><a href="https://randylapolla.info/">https://randylapolla.info</a></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">ORCID ID:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color:#494A4C;background:white"><a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6100-6196">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6100-6196</a> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">
</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="font-size:11.5pt">邮编：</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.5pt">519087<br>
</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt">广东省珠海市唐家湾镇金凤路</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.5pt">18</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt">号木铎楼</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.5pt">A302<br>
</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt">北京师范大学珠海校区</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.5pt"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt">人文和社会科学高等研究院</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.5pt"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt">语言科学研究中心</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt">On 28 Jul 2023, at 7:22 AM, Wu Jianming <<a href="mailto:wu.jianming2011@hotmail.com">wu.jianming2011@hotmail.com</a>> wrote:</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB">Dear Randy<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> The concept of nouns, verbs, voice, and transitivity indeed involves matching content and forms in language. In Chinese, the expression "chicken not eat" can
carry the same meaning as "chicken not eaten" or "chicken not eating" without a specific context. This implies that the active and passive content of voice, which determines how the verb relates to the subject, does exist in Chinese. However, within a known
context, the expression forms can be omitted or become redundant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> On the other hand, using constructions like "bei + Agent" or "ba + Patient" provides a better way to encode both the content and forms of voice in Chinese, particularly
when necessary. This showcases the flexibility and uniqueness of the language in conveying meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:12.0pt">
<span lang="EN-GB">So, in Chinese, when it comes to voice, we indeed have both the content side and the expression side of voice, with constructions like "bei +A" ,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>“<span lang="EN-GB">ba +P</span>”<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">or
the basic AVP order being utilized as needed. But for an isolated NP+VP construction without a context, the active or passive status of the verb is sometimes ambiguous.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:12.0pt">
<span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:12.0pt">
<span lang="EN-GB">Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:12.0pt">
<span lang="EN-GB">Jianming Wu<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:12.0pt">
<span lang="EN-GB">Shanghai International Studies University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB">Sent from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986">Mail</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>for
Windows<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><b><span lang="EN-GB">From:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="mailto:randy.lapolla@gmail.com">Randy J. LaPolla</a><br>
<b>Sent:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>2023</span>年<span lang="EN-GB">7</span>月<span lang="EN-GB">27</span>日<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">22:04<br>
<b>To:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b><a href="mailto:sergeloesov@gmail.com">Sergey Loesov</a><br>
<b>Cc:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b><a href="mailto:lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org">LINGTYP@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG</a><br>
<b>Subject:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Re: [Lingtyp] Transitive verbs with both active and passive readings<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB">Hi Sergey,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB">Y. R. Chao argued that as Mandarin Chinese verbs have no inherent direction of action, a corollary of the topic-comment (not subject predicate) structure of clauses,
Mandarin Chinese has no voice distinction (Mandarin Primer, 1948: 35, with his Romanisation replaced by Pinyin and glosses added):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“<span lang="EN-GB">An important corollary to this [topic-comment structure-RJL] is that the direction of action in verbs is to be inferred from the context. Thus, in talking about
feeding poultry, <i>J</i></span><i>ı</i><i><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̄</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB"> bù ch</span></i><i>ı</i><i><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̄</span></i><i><span lang="X-NONE"> </span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB">le</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> [chicken
NEG eat PFV] means 'The chickens are not eating any more,' but as a reply to a host offering more chicken, the same sentence would mean '(As for) chicken, (I) am not going to eat any more.' Again, <i>Lia</i></span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB">ng-ge
rén zuò y</span></i><i>ı</i><i><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̄</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB">-ba</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB"> y</span></i><i>ı</i><i><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span></i><i><span lang="X-NONE">zi</span></i><span lang="X-NONE"> [two
CL people sit one-CL chair]</span><span lang="EN-GB">' Two people sit on one chair' : <i>Y</i></span><i>ı</i><i><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̄</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB">-ba</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB"> y</span></i><i>ı</i><i><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span></i><i><span lang="X-NONE">zi </span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB">zuò
lia</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">̌</span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB">ng-ge rén</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> [one-CL chair sit two-CL people] 'One chair seats two people.' In short, there is no distinction of voice
in Chinese verbs." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Hope this helps.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">All the best,</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Randy</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="font-size:10.5pt">——</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">Professor Randy J. LaPolla</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt">（罗仁地</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">)</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">,
PhD FAHA </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">Center for Language Sciences</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt">A302, Muduo Building, #18 Jinfeng Road, Zhuhai City, Guangdong, China</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.5pt"><a href="https://randylapolla.info/">https://randylapolla.info</a></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">ORCID ID:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color:#494A4C;background:white"><a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6100-6196">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6100-6196</a> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="font-size:11.5pt">邮编：<span lang="EN-GB">519087<br>
</span>广东省珠海市唐家湾镇金凤路<span lang="EN-GB">18</span>号木铎楼<span lang="EN-GB">A302<br>
</span>北京师范大学珠海校区<span lang="EN-GB"><br>
</span>人文和社会科学高等研究院<span lang="EN-GB"><br>
</span>语言科学研究中心<span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">
<span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">
<span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB">On 27 Jul 2023, at 5:28 PM, Sergey Loesov <<a href="mailto:sergeloesov@gmail.com">sergeloesov@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Dear colleagues,</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Do you know of languages that have past-tense forms of transitive verbs with both active and passive readings? In particular, languages in which the same token can appear as both active and passive,
depending on the context?</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">This seems to be the case in the unwritten language Modern Western Aramaic, spoken in the Syrian Anti-Lebanon/Kalamoun. Thus,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>ifṯeḥ</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(a
Perfect-Resultative verb form) may mean ‘he (has) opened’ and ‘he has been opened/he is opened.’</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Thank you very much,</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sergey</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span lang="EN-GB">_______________________________________________<br>
Lingtyp mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a><br>
<a href="https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp">https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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