Since English and German belong to the West Germanic family, both languages are - considered from a historical perspective – closely related. However, English and German have developed in entirely different ways over time. While English was strongly influenced by many foreign languages, such as French, German remained closer to the language group both originally derived from. Precisely these divergent developments make a contrastive analysis between the two major languages particularly interesting. Within this paper, English and German will be compared with regard to the passive voice, one form of the grammatical category voice that is, according to König & Gast (2009: 123), easy to identify in English and German and rather unproblematic to compare. In its general meaning, the term voice is used interchangeably with diathesis. In this sense, the concept of voice
relates to the argument structure of predicates, i.e. the relationship between thematic roles like Agent, Patient, Instrument and grammatical functions like subject and object, as well as to the alternations found between different argument structures. (ibid.).
While diathesis appears to be a characteristic of any verb, voice - in the more restricted understanding of the word – “means the form of a [...] verb which shows whether the person or thing denoted by the subject acts or is acted upon” (Xavier 2008: 50). The narrower concept of voice, thus, differentiates between the active and the passive.
In the course of my studies, the grammatical phenomenon of voice has been used several times to exemplarily compare English with German. The system of voice in English and German has been (re-)introduced in the course of this semester´s seminar English in Contrast. Therefore, my interest in this topic was already raised before the seminar and I found it particularly interesting to learn more about the differences of English and German passives. As a future teacher of both of these major languages, I consider this an excellent opportunity to gain a detailed inside into this matter.
This term paper aims at figuring out in how far the passive voice is different in English and German. Despite both languages` very same origin, it is assumed that, due to language change, English and German show considerable differences in the passive voice. The work by König & Gast (2009) will be taken as the basis for a discussion on this question...
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 General Background Information on the Passive Voice in English and German
2.1 Form and Functions
2.2 Long Passives versus Short Passives
2.3 Passive Auxiliaries
2.3.1 English
2.3.2 German
3 Different Types of Passives in English and German
3.1 Passives with Intransitive Verbs
3.2 Passives with Transitive Verbs
3.2.1 Monotransitive Verbs
3.2.2. Ditransitive Verbs with Indirect and Direct Object
3.2.3 Prepositional Passives
4 Conclusions
References
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper aims to conduct a contrastive analysis of the passive voice in English and German to identify how these closely related West Germanic languages have developed distinct structural and functional characteristics over time. The study examines basic grammatical differences, the usage of various auxiliary verbs, and the specific constraints governing passive formation in both languages.
- Comparison of formal and functional properties of the passive voice
- Distinction between short and long passives
- Analysis of passive auxiliary verbs (e.g., be/get vs. werden/bekommen/sein)
- Constraints on passivisation regarding intransitive, transitive, and ditransitive verbs
- Examination of prepositional passives and preposition stranding
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Form and Functions
When changing a sentence from active to passive voice in both English and German, certain structural changes have to take place, cf. (1).
At the clause level, firstly, the active subject (here: The man/Der Mann) becomes the passive agent that is introduced by the preposition by in English and von/durch in German. In both languages, this “internalised complement” (Ward et al. 2002: 1428) is optional and can be deleted in most cases. Thus, in going from active to passive in English and German the former subject is demoted to a facultative prepositional complement, cf. brackets in (1b) and (2b).
Secondly, the active object (the woman/der Frau) becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Following Ward et al. (cf. ibid.: 1428), the active object, now promoted to subject status, becomes external to the passive´s verbal phrase. According to Eisenberg (2004: 127), in German passivisation, object promotion can also be called “Zweitschritt”, since subject demotion is also possible without any change of the active object. In contrast to English passivisation, German passives may also be formed with intransitive verbs, cf. (3.1). In going from active to passive, the verb valency is reduced by one argument, which means that with German active intransitive verb phrases subjectless passives may also be found.
Thirdly, within the verb phrase, both the English and German passive add the auxiliary verb, which is followed by the past participle of the main verb (here: helped/geholfen). The English passive auxiliary is positioned closest to the main verb, whereas the German auxiliary and the main verb form the "Verbalklammer", which is considered a typical phenomenon of German active sentences, cf. (2b) (cf., e.g., ibid.: 126; Quirk 1991: 159-60; Collins & Hollow 2000: 136-37; Ward et al. 2002: 1427ff.; König & Gast 2009: 123; Greenbaum & Quirk 2004: 44f.; Börjars & Burridge 2001: 164; Biber et al. 2002: 167).
Chapter Summaries
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the grammatical category of voice and outlines the paper's aim to contrast the development and usage of passive constructions in English and German.
2 General Background Information on the Passive Voice in English and German: Analyzes the structural transformation from active to passive, including subject demotion, object promotion, and the differences between short and long passive forms.
3 Different Types of Passives in English and German: Investigates specific constraints on passivisation, focusing on intransitive, transitive, and ditransitive verbs, as well as the unique phenomenon of prepositional passives.
4 Conclusions: Summarizes the key findings, reiterating that while both languages share basic passive characteristics, they differ significantly in their constraints and the range of auxiliary verbs employed.
Keywords
Passive voice, English, German, Contrastive analysis, Diathesis, Verbalklammer, Auxiliary verbs, Passivisation, Transitivity, Intransitive verbs, Prepositional passives, Subject demotion, Object promotion, Modal infinitive, Morphosyntax.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper focuses on a contrastive analysis of the passive voice in English and German, exploring how both languages, despite their shared West Germanic origin, have developed different grammatical structures and constraints regarding passive formation.
What are the central thematic fields addressed?
The central fields include formal structure (subject/object changes), the functionality of auxiliary verbs, the distinction between short and long passives, and the differences in passivisation across verb types.
What is the core research objective?
The objective is to determine how the German passive voice differs from the English passive, specifically identifying constraints that limit or enable passive construction in each language.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The paper uses a contrastive linguistic methodology, referencing established research by linguists such as König & Gast, Quirk, and Eisenberg to compare grammatical phenomena across the two languages.
What is covered in the main section?
The main section discusses the formal mechanics of passivisation, the subdivision into short and long passives, the various auxiliary verbs used in each language, and the constraints regarding intransitive, transitive, and prepositional verb structures.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include passive voice, contrastive analysis, passivisation, transitivity, and morphosyntax.
Why are intransitive verbs important in this comparison?
Intransitive verbs are significant because German allows for subjectless "impersonal passives" with these verbs, whereas English does not permit subjectless sentences, making such passivisation impossible in English.
How does the usage of auxiliary verbs differ between the two languages?
English primarily uses "be" and "get" as passive auxiliaries, whereas German employs a wider range, including "werden" (the regular form), "bekommen/kriegen", "sein", "bleiben", and "gehören".
What is the "Verbalklammer" in the context of German passive?
The "Verbalklammer" (verbal bracket) refers to the positioning of the auxiliary and the main verb in German sentences, which serves as a characteristic structural difference compared to the English passive structure.
- Quote paper
- Babette Treptow (Author), 2012, The Passive Voice, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/208788
