Antipassives and applicatives in Persian

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Abstract
In the discussion between basic and non-basic voices, many researchers consider verb change as the main factor in non-basic voices. For instance, in Persian, both the passive voice and causative constructions exhibit such characteristics, utilizing markers to indicate passive and causative verbs. However, from a functional-typological perspective, every construction is defined based on function(s) it plays. The same construction may have various strategies across different languages. One of these strategies could involve changes in the form of the verb, but other strategies also exist for each construction. This paper aims to define the functions of two non-basic constructions: the anti-passive construction and the applicative construction. In the anti-passive construction, the patient role is downgraded and becomes less prominent, while in the applicative construction, the oblique participant becomes more prominent and becomes object, concurrently causing a downgrade in the prominence of the agent. We attempt to demonstrate which strategies Persian employs to represent these two constructions. Through this functional analysis, we will examine the reasons for the existence of these constructions in Persian and their typological relationship with other languages.
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