Re: Ethical Dative, was Re: Polysynthetic Languages

In a message dated 9/29/2003 7:51:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
christophe.grandsire@FREE.FR writes:


>The closest I can find in English of this phenomenon is the expression "on 
>me" in "don't die on me" that I've heard a few times. It it as close to the 
>ethical dative of Spanish as you can find.
It occurs to me that there's another English construction that is perhaps a 
little bit like the "ethical dative" in some other languages.  I'm thinking of 
the use of "your" in sentences like:

1. In short, it's your typical picturesque northeastern small town.

2. Ryan Bowen isn’t your typical NBA player.

3. But Jessie is not your average Damsel in Distress.

4. This isn't your average trail ride!

5. Your typical ad agency is more interested in creating award-winning 
designs than meeting your needs.

6. Collateral Damage is your typical formulaic vehicle for Mr. Schwarzenegger

(I have taken all these examples from a quick web search.)

In these sentences, "your" doesn't have its normal meaning.  The trail ride, 
ad agency, NBA player etc. aren't "yours" in any obvious sense.  You might say 
that "your" doesn't really mean anything, strictly speaking.  Perhaps it 
serves to engage the listener's personal interest.

Maybe someone else can give a better explanation.

Doug

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