Passive in Kazym Khanty and the Interaction of Givenness, Topicality and Animacy

Abstract

This paper concerns the active/passive voice alternation in Kazym Khanty. According to the existing literature, the use of passive in Khanty is conditioned by information structure. Kazym dialect data, however, suggest that there are other parameters such as givenness and animacy that affect the choice of voice. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the relevant parameters and highlight the ways they interact. The study reveals that in all-new contexts with no established topic speakers choose the voice construction based on animacy, while givenness and topi­cality play a decisive role on later stages of the discourse.

Keywords

• khanty; passive; voice; morphosyntax; animacy; topicality; givenness