Re: Strange voices

>1. subject-P verb complement-OBL
>Example: cat-P sleeps on mat-OBL -> mat-P on-sleeps-* cat-OBL
>"The mat on-it-sleeps a cat".
>
>Example: dog-A bites cat-P -> dog-P OBJECT_APPLIC-bites-* [cat-OBL]
>In my mind it looks as if the focus is shifted from the argument(s)
>to the verbal action itself: "The dog is the one who bites [the cat]."
>
>Does this make any sense? If so, any ideas for the name of this beast?
>
>Terbian also has a mediopassive and a generic applicative voice that
>transforms an oblique argument into a patient ("he swims under the boat"
>-> "he underswims the boat").
I don't know what to call these, but the verb forms (on-it-sleeps,
one-who-bites, under-swims) remind me of Tsalagi (i.e. Cherokee).

"The mat on-it-sleeps a cat" would make perfect sense to a speaker of
Hixkaryana (sp?) which is an OVS natlang. (Drat! I've already packed that
book.)



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