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The middle voice is a construction type which differs from the active voice and passive voice in form and function. Its main function is to characterise or qualify an entity, such as hierdie mes this knife in (1), with reference to the action expressed by a verb, such as slyp sharpen in (1), rather than describing the action or activity as such, as would be the case in regular active or passive declaratives. As the subject of a middle verb construction refers to an entity which is qualified and therefore differentiated from other entities, it is contrastive in nature. Thus hierdie mes this knife in (1) contrasts with other knives, whereas (2) is devoid of meaning in as far as knives are usually sharpened.
| Hierdie mes slyp maklik. |
| this knife sharpen.PRS easily |
| This knife is easy to sharpen. |
| ?Messe slyp maklik. |
| knives sharpen.PRS easily |
| Knives sharpen easily. |
The entity to be characterised is expressed by the grammatical subject of the clause, and the semantic relationship between entity and action is usually defined further by an evaluative modifier, such as maklik easily in (3). The modifier assists in adapting the verbal action to its function as qualifier in the middle construction. Thus sy handskrif his handwriting is qualified not only in regard to the act of reading (lees), but in particular in regard to the ease of reading (maklik), i.e. its readability.
| Sy handskrif lees maklik. |
| his handwriting read.PRS easily |
| His handwriting is easy to read. |
In order to distinguish between the thematic role of a middle subject, which resembles the role of a direct object in an active sentence, and the role of the subject of an ergative verb when used intransitively, a distinction needs to be made between the thematic role of patient, indicating that an entity undergoes the action stemming from an agent, and that of theme, indicating that an entity is merely involved in an action. The object of a transitively used ergative verb, as in (4), corresponds to the subject of the same verb when used intransitively, as in (5). (5) is a middle construction because the subject, die ligte stoele the light chairs, has the role of patient. (6), however, is a regular intransitive construction, and die stoele the chairs has the role of theme. The intransitive clause (7) cannot be a middle construction, as the subject is agentive, rather than patient or theme. Middle constructions usually require an evaluative modifier, such as maklik easily. Therefore, if maklik is omitted in (5), a middle reading is unlikely.
| Hulle skuif die stoele in nuwe rye. |
| they shift.PRS the chairs in new rows |
| They are shifting the chairs in new rows. |
| Die ligte stoele skuif maklik. |
| the light chairs shift.PRS easily |
| The light chairs are easy to shift. |
| Die stoele skuif rond tydens die aardbewing. |
| the chairs shift.PRS around during the earthquake |
| The chairs move around during the earthquake. |
| Die leeu brul in die bos. |
| the lion roar.PRS in the bush |
| The lion is roaring in the bush. |
The subject of a middle verb construction need not only have the thematic role of patient, as in (8), but may also be instrument, or have locative or temporal reference, as in (9), (10) and (11), respectively. The subject of a middle verb may therefore be typified as non-agentive.
| Die vars brood sny lekker. |
| the fresh bread cut.PRS nicely |
| The fresh bread cuts nicely. |
| Die nuwe mes sny lekker. |
| the new knife cut.PRS nicely |
| The new knife cuts nicely. |
| Daardie pad ry moeilik. |
| that road drive.PRS with.difficulty |
| That road is difficult to drive on. |
| Sondae skou beter as jy jou huis wil verkoop. |
| Sundays show.PRS better if.CNJ you.2SG your house want.to.AUX.MOD sell.INF |
| Sundays are better show days if you want to sell your house. |
Therefore, if a middle construction requires a non-agentive subject, a verb expressing action or activity and in most cases an evaluative modifier, such a construction may be schematised as follows:
[S[NP[- agentive]]] [VP [V[ + action] (modifier)]]
For a middle construction, such as (12a) and (12b), to be recognised as such rather than as an active construction, the thematic role of the subject needs to be differentiated clearly from the subject role expected in a corresponding active construction. For a given verb the thematic role of a middle subject may, however, not be restricted to one possibility. Thus, die koek the cake in (12a) has the role of patient as it has in its active correlate (12ai), while die mes the knife in (12b) has the role of instrument as it has in its active correlate (12bi). In both cases the middle subject may be described as non-agentive.
A middle verb construction usually – but not always – requires an evaluative modifier to mediate semantically between the entity to be characterised and the verbal action by which it is qualified. Given that wissel change is a transitive verb, a construction such as (13a), with a non-agentive subject, is marked. However, a middle interpretation becomes possible when a modifier is added. Two types of modifier may be distinguished, one which merely modifies the action expressed by the verb, and another which also makes reference to subjective evaluation by an implied agent. Thus, while vinnig quickly in (13b) merely refers to the efficiency with which the gears are changed, maklik easily in (13c) refers to the subjective evaluation of the process by an implied agent.
The difference between the two types of modifier is reflected in corresponding "easy to please" constructions, in that only the subjective evaluation produces an acceptable utterance:
In some cases the use of the verb as only complement is sufficient to indicate the successful completion of the action signalled by the verb. This interpretation may be strengthened by stressing the verb.
A number of constructions, for instance the passive voice as in (16a), resemble the middle verb construction to a greater or smaller extent. The middle construction differs from the passive in having a non-agentive subject, not employing a periphrastic passive verb form, and in not expressing an agent explicitly by means of a deur-phrase, as in (16b).
In the first section, Construction and function, the basic constituents of the middle construction and their interrelated functions are described. The middle voice is a construction whose main function is to characterise or qualify a sentential subject with reference to a verbal complement. A modifier is usually employed to specify the intended relationship between the verbal qualifier and the nominal being qualified. Thus in (17), where die nuwe boek the new book is qualified by the action lees to read, the adverbial lekker nicely indicates that the intended attribute is 'readability' rather than the process of 'reading' as such.
| Die nuwe boek lees lekker. |
| the new book read.PRS nicely |
| The new book is nice to read. |
The role of the middle subject is discussed in the second section, namely The subject of the middle construction. The subject is characterised as basically (i) non-agentive and (ii) contrastive, and may have various roles in common with non-subject roles of active sentences. These may be (iii) thematic roles, e.g. patient, theme, instrument and even locative and temporal indications. In the section Middle, ergative and intransitive constructions the focus is on the relationship between subject and verb, and it is pointed out that the latter two construction types cannot be equated with the middle. The following section, Evaluative modification, highlights the role of the modifier in linking verbal action to the nominal it characterises or qualifies. Next, reference is made to the role of an implied or overt experiencer. Finally, a number of constructions which partially resemble the middle construction are compared and contrasted with it, e.g. the passive, topicalised actives, the easy/hard to please construction, derivations with -baar -able as suffix, and attributive present participles and past participles .
The middle voice is a construction type differing from the active voice, on the one hand, in not admitting an agentive subject, and from the passive, on the other hand, in not employing verbal periphrastic forms or admitting an agentive deur by-phrase. From a functional point of view, the middle construction is employed primarily in a characterising or qualifying role rather than expressing an action, and the entity referred to by the subject is characterised as being amenable to the action expressed by the verb. Van Schoor (1983:188-189) describes the process as one where a predication consisting of a transitive verb and its object, as in (18a), relinquishes its secondary position to become the focus point of a new predication in which the subject position is appropriated or seized and an adjunct of manner or adjuct of comparison attains primary importance. In (18b) lekker nicely predicates boek book, but only in regard to the reading thereof.
However, in view of the fact that more than just transitive verbs are involved as grammatical sources, this analysis should be extended further. Apart from being theme or patient, the subject of a middle verb may also fulfill the thematic role of instrument, or have locative or temporal reference. The verb, usually with the aid of an evaluative modifier of the verbal action such as maklik easily, moeilik with difficulty, goed well or swak/sleg badly, depicts a property or characteristic of the subject referent such as the readability of hierdie boek this book in (19a), and the enjoyability of Piazzola se musiek Piazzola's music in (19b). While hierdie boek in (19a) derives from the direct object of the transitive verb lees read, as in (19ai), Piazzola se musiek in (19b) stems from the prepositional object of the verb luister listen in (19bi).
Semantically, employing a verb in middle verb function involves three elements which usually find formal expression: (i) an entity to be qualified (the grammatical subject), (ii) the verb itself and (iii) further evaluative modification serving to explicate the way the verbal action is suited to qualifying the entity in question, for example onderhoudend engaging in (20ai). The modification may also involve subjective evaluation by an implied experiencer, as for example in the case of maklik easily in (20a), gemaklik easily in (20ai) and lekker enjoyable in (20b).
The use of a verb in its middle function is recognisable through the discrepancy between the action described by the verb and the lack of an agentive subject preceding the verb, for after all webpages, as in (21a) cannot – or should not – download of their own accord; sand, as in (21b) cannot compact itself; and paper, as in (21c), is not typically used as a cutter. The discrepancy brought about by the subject relinquishing its usual role of agent or theme, gave rise to the term usurpation used by De Villiers (1975:186-187) and others in describing this construction. The middle verb construction depends on the subject referent's capability of supporting a non-agentive interpretation, typically as patient in relation to the action specified by the verb. In the following examples the webblad web page (21a), sandgrond sandy soil (21b) and papier paper (21c) are all thematically interpretable as patient in relation to the action specified by the verb.
A middle construction may therefore be schematised as follows:
[S[NP[- agentive]] [VP [V[ + action] (modifier)]]]
In view of their characterising function, middle constructions are usually contrastive in nature. The subject may refer to an individuated entity in a class, or – in the case of generic reference – to a subclass within a wider category of classes. Thus in (22a) the subject refers to an individual flat in the category of flats (even a single sale), while in (22b) the subject refers to flats in contrast to other dwellings.
In the following, fully generic reference is excluded in (23aii) and (23bii) for lack of contrast, as sweeping is usually done with brooms and no tennis player can serve without a racket.
Comparative constructions are favoured by middle verbs as they also entail contrastive reference:
The subject of the middle construction may have several thematic roles in relation to the verb, such as patient, theme or instrument, and may even be a locative or temporal expression. When in the role of patient, it may correspond to the object of a transitive construction, as in (25a), or to the role of theme, as in (25b) or that of instrument, as in (25c), when corresponding to a prepositional object. When locative, as in (25d), or temporal, as in (25e), as expressed by an adjunct referring to 'place' or 'time', respectively, it may characterise a certain location or time as suitable for an action to take place. These roles can all be subsumed under non-agentive usage.
In some instances a distinction between subject-as-object (the transitive middle) and subject-as-prepositional-object does not seem relevant, as the source could have been either:
A middle verb may be related to its subject in more than one way. Die nuwe saag the new saw in (27b), for instance, functions as an instrument, while die brandhout the firewood in (27c) undergoes the action and is therefore a patient.
Verbs like beskadig damage, skuif shift/move, breek break, verkleur discolour and brand burn, be on fire may be described as ergative verbs – "denoting verbs which can be used both transitively and intransitively to describe the same action, with the object in the former case being the subject in the latter, as in I boiled the kettle and the kettle boiled" (Kavanagh 1999). In order to differentiate between a middle construction, an ergative construction and a regular intransitive construction, a distinction will be made here between the terms patient and theme as thematic roles. The patient role will be understood to refer to an entity undergoing action implying an agent, while theme will only refer to an entity involved or participating in some action or activity. (28a) would be interpreted as a middle construction, because beskadig damage is a transitive verb, with pewter as direct object in the role of patient in (28ai). On the other hand, verteer digest, which could be transitive, as in (28bi), or intransitive, as in (28bii), is probably a regular intransitive in (30b) as it is unlikely that the athletes consciously partake in the digestive process.
The difference between beskadig as middle verb in (28a) and verteer as regular intransitive in (28bii) only resides in the fact that the thematic role of pewter is patient in the context of (28a), but that of verteer is theme in the context of (28b). In (29a) and (29ai) below, it is unlikely that break functions as a middle verb, since the action is a spontaneous (and unwanted) event rather than an action purposely performed with that effect in mind. Maklik easily is furthermore optional in (29a) and (29ai), while middle verbs are usually accompanied by an evaluative modifier. Pannekoeke pancakes and naels nails are therefore theme rather than patient. (29aii) and (29b) are also clearly intransitive rather than middle constructions, since adverbials such as vanself by themselves and outomaties automatically indicate that no external agentivity is involved. Similarly, verkleur fade, discolour in (29bi) can only be intransitive, even though verkleur can be used transitively, as in (29bii) and (29biii).
Intransitives with agentive subjects are excluded as a source of middle constructions as such constructions require non-agentive subjects:
| Die leeus brul weer. |
| the lions roar.PRS again |
| The lions are roaring again. |
Sentences (31) and (32) below have all the makings of middle constructions. (31) is ambiguous between active and middle voice for semantic reasons: The thematic roles of agent and instrument, both of which may describe the subject die mes the knife, are both sufficiently agentive to weaken the required contrast between a middle verb and its (non-agentive) subject. However, as (31) and (32) are excerpts from narratives in the historical present, they represent once-off events, which disqualifies them from being middle constructions. The subjects are simply involved in the action, as instrument in the case of (31) and as theme in the case of (32), and no information is divulged about characteristics of the mes knife and houtdeur wooden door, respectively.
| Die mes sny maklik deur die kabelbinder. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| the knife cut.PRS easily through the cable.tie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The knife cuts through the cable tie easily. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NWU Lapa corpus 1.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'n Dubbele houtdeur skuif maklik oop en sy staan in 'n reusevertrek. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a double wood.door slide.PRS easily open and she stand.PRS in a giant.room | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A double wooden door slides open easily and she stands in a gigantic room. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NWU Lapa corpus 1.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When an action is predicated to an entity, as typically happens in the middle construction, it may not be clear in what way the action is intended to qualify the subject referent. How is rye bread able to perform slicing, as in (33a), or a rural road able to drive, as in (33b)? Further qualification is usually required in the form of an evaluative modifier. The addition of maklik easily in (33ai) makes it clear that the bread is associated with ease of slicing, and lekker pleasantly in (33bi), indicates that the road makes for good driving.
An important distinction to be made is between modifiers relating the process to an implied experiencer, such as fantasties fantastic, in (34a), and those which merely modify the process, such as vinnig swiftly in (34b). Sometimes an ambiguity may arise, as maklik easily in (34c) may either refer to the user's experience of using the knife, or the knife's cutting ability.
In some cases the mere success (or failure) of the action expressed by the verb vis-à-vis the entity it is predicated to is sufficient to characterise the entity in question. The relevance of the verb as qualifier is enhanced by positive or negative polarity (wel indeed or nie not) or by simply placing emphasis on the verb. What is accomplished by the modifier goed well in (35a), is also accomplished by merely stressing the verb, as in (35ai). In (35b) and (35c) the polarity introduced by wel indeed, beslis definitely or emphasis is sufficient to bring about a middle interpretation, as are nooit never in (35d) and ook also in (35di).
Given its function as characteriser or qualifier, the middle construction always implies an experiencer. This role is overtly present in (36a) and (38b). In (36a) vir Jan for Jan points to Jan's evaluation of the truth of the statement, i.e. Jan is convinced of the truth of the characterisation embodied in the proposition. In (36b) the characterisation of the music is rendered subject to Jeanette's opinion.
The thematic relationship of a middle construction subject to the verb is similar to that of a passive construction subject to the verbal periphrasis, cf. (38a), where dit it refers anaphorically to pewter. Beskadig damage appears in a passive construction in (38b), and as transitive verb in (38c). In example (38b) beskadig is used in a passive construction incorporating the modal verb kan can. Kan's reference to 'capability' or 'ability' suggests a semantic correlation with the middle use of beskadig through its constructional meaning of 'characterisation'.
| Die program is maklik om te installeer. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| the program is easy for.COMP PTCL.INF install.INF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The program is easy to install. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VivA-KPO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In this construction the verb usually expresses a useful outcome or desired result, cf.
As used in (42a), breek break seems a useful action and breek readily functions as middle verb. In (42b) breek is degenerative, and a middle interpretation unlikely.
Several of the -baar derivations listed by Combrink and Dodds (1984) Combrink and Dodds seem amenable to being used in middle constructions. In many cases these verbs may be typified as 'producing a useful or desired result in an appropriate context'. This, in turn, may indicate that middle verbs are, in their characterising or qualifying function, resultative in nature. Examples: oorreedbaar able to be convinced, smeebaar forgeable, verskuifbaar moveable, ploegbaar ploughable, skeibaar separable, drinkbaar drinkable, verhandelbaar negotiable, telbaar countable, herstelbaar reparable, verkoopbaar sellable, etc.
| Die skoene loop lekker: die lekker lopende skoene |
| the shoes walk.PRS comfortably: the comfortably walking.PRS.PTCP.ATTR shoes |
| The shoes are comfortable to walk with: the shoes comfortable to walk with |
This format is, however, seldom used, as noun phrases are not easily extended to include an evaluative modifier, such as lekker in the above, and because the head is typically in an agentive relationship with the participle. A middle interpretation is possible in the following cases:
Verkoop sell is one of a few verbs that may be used as a middle verb without an evaluative modifier. Therefore:
| Die huise verkoop: die verkopende huise (is in die minderheid) |
| the houses sell.PRS: the sell.PRS.PTCP.ATTR houses (be.PRS in the minority) |
| The houses are selling: the houses which sell (are in the minority) |
The following seem doubtful:
However, while the head of the participial construction may reflect the subject-verb relationship of the middle construction, the adverbial qualifier of the former relates differently to the head. In the middle construction in (48a) the evaluative modifier goed qualifies the sellability of the houses (hinting at the number of houses sold), whereas goed in the participial construction suggests that the houses were sold at a good price. While maklik in the participial construction in (48b) and (48c) modifies the action of transplanting and reading, respectively, it mainly characterises bome and boek in respect to verbal action in the middle construction. While the middle verbs verkoop, verplant and lees in (48a), (48b) and (48c), respectively, qualify their subjects, the corresponding participles mainly describe completed action with the head undergoing the action. This accords with Butler's (2016:83) view "that the participle form only profiles all the states of the process as they unfold". It seems that 'n maklik gelese/geleeste boek a book which was read easily may be understood both in the participial sense of 'a book that was easy to read', with a perfective interpretation matching the middle function, and in the passive sense of 'a book that is easily read'. The verb lees read differs from verkoop sell and verplant transplant in being aspectually durative, while they are terminative.
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