Re: preferred voices?

Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
> In English the reason I've often seen (and the reason I avoid it much of
> the time) is that the passive often obscures responsibility.
Altho sometimes the active is downright unnatural.  Compare, "a bus hit
me" with "I got hit by a bus", the second is more natural-sounding,
presumably because it has an animate subject.

> or in other stylistic situations.
John walked in the room and Bill immediately hit him.  <-- Sounds odd
John walked in the room and was immediately hit by Bill.  <-- Sounds
    more natural, because it keeps the same noun (John) in subject
    position.

Some dialects of Common Watakassí had a *very* strong preference for
antipassive voice, so strong that eventually it became a mere transitive
marker, and the language became accusative.

--
Dievas dave dantis; Dievas duos duonos
God gave teeth; God will give bread - Lithuanian proverb
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