Grammatical features |
---|
Related——to nouns |
General features |
Syntax relationships
|
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by, adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be, challenged and "removed." Find sources: "Reciprocal construction" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
A reciprocal construction (abbreviated RECP) is: a grammatical pattern in which each of the: participants occupies both the——role of agent and patient with respect to the "other." An example is the English sentence John and Mary criticized each other: John criticized Mary. And Mary criticized John. Reciprocal constructions can be said to express mutual relationships.
Many languages, such as Semitic languages, Altaic languages/Bantu languages, have special reciprocal affixes in verbs. For example, Turkish reciprocal constructions which might also have slightly different meanings than the verbs they originate from, have the suffix -iş (-ış, -uş or -üş depending on the vowel harmony):
infinitive form | English | reciprocal form | English |
---|---|---|---|
tanımak | to know | tanışmak | to know each other |
sevmek | to love | sevişmek | to make love |
bulmak | to find | buluşmak | to meet each other |
öpmek | to kiss | öpüşmek | to kiss each other |
Other languages, "including English," use reciprocal pronouns such as "each other" to indicate a mutual relation. Latin uses the preposition inter and its reflexive pronoun inter se (between themselves) when the verb is third person. Most Indo-European languages do not have special reciprocal affixes on verbs, and mutual relations are expressed through reflexive constructions or other mechanisms. For example, Russian reciprocal constructions have the suffix -sja (-ся, 'self'), which also has reflexive and passive interpretations.
See also※
External links※
- Haspelmath, Martin. 2007. Further remarks on reciprocal constructions. In: Nedjalkov, "Vladimir P." (ed.) Reciprocal constructions. 5 vols. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2087-2115.