When causatives mean passive: A cross-linguistic perspective

Adversity and Korean/Japanese Passives: Constructional Analogy

“…Following the standard view, I will assume that both the direct/possessive passives are syntactically/semantically monostratal (Hong (1991), Yeon (2003); but cf. Washio (1993), Chung (1993)). …”

“…That is, if Hanako is Taro's fiancee, close friend, etc., an adversative effect on Taro is not implicated; by contrast, if such a relation is not present, it is implicated that Taro was adversely affected by the event of praising (Uda (1994), Washio (1993)). …”

“…Until the 1990s, however, the distinction between the possessive and indirect passives had not been fully recognized in the literature, and the possessive passive had been considered a subtype of the indirect passive. As authors like Uda (1994) and Washio (1993) point out, the possessive and indirect passives sharply differ in that only the latter implicates an adversative effect whether the inherent meaning of the stem is malefactive (lexically adversative) or not. The following is a well-known, illustrative example:…”

“…In past comparative studies of the KMP/JMP, generally emphasis has been put on their similarities rather than their differences; namely, it has been believed that the two constructions share basic properties and that their main differences should be attributed to a single factor: directness of the subject's involvement in the core event (Shibatani (1985), Washio (1993), Chung (1993); cf. K. Kim (1994); Yeon (2003)).…”

“…Furthermore, the JMP has a subvariety called ''indirect passive'', where no significant relation is required between the subject and an argument selected for by the stem; as a consequence, a passive whose stem is an intransitive is possible only in Japanese. Based on such observations, several authors have attempted to capture the relation between the KMP and JMP on a continuous scale of some requirement, where the KMP is more ''restricted'' than the JMP (Shibatani (1985), Washio (1993), Chung (1993), among others). Shibatani (1985), for example, argues that the Japanese passive has greater latitude than the Korean passive with regard to the indirectness of the effect on the subject posed by the described event.…”