Χρονικά των Τσακώνων – Τόμος ΚΓ(2) – Όψεις της Παθητικής στα Τσακώνικα

The purpose of the present paper is to examine a number of issues pertaining to the use of passives in Modern Greek and Tsakonika (Tsakonika is an ancient Greek dialect still spoken in a part of eastern Peloponissos). Discussion will also be extended to the English passive at times. In the first part, analysis will center on some key issues of the passive construction, especially in Modern Greek. A number of points that highlight the difference in the passive between English and Modern Greek will be put forth. A presentation of the standard and traditional views of the passive transformation will follow. In the next part, special emphasis will be given to various proposals that have been put forth as to the lexical nature of the passive participle. Discussion will focus on the nature of the Greek –menos participles and their apparent formation in the lexicon. Finally, an attempt will be made to extend the discussion to the equivalent –mene participles in Tsakonika.