A Syntactic and Semantic analysis of Passive Transformation within Jackendoff’s “Thematic Hierarchy Condition” Formalism

Abstract

Abstract

This paper discusses the syntactic and semantic configurations of passive transformation. The first part of the study focuses on the formal and semantic environments of passivization, and contends that any study that disengages the close knit interface of these two complementary components will not reach to any logical conclusion. The second part of the paper addresses the linguistic peculiarities of reflexivization. The discussion in the paper shows that reflexivization is more dependent on semantics and that the transformational theory of reflexivization seems less plausible. The study analyses the syntactic and semantic characteristics of passivization and reflexive transformation within the semantic model of Jackendoff’s “Thematic Hierarchy Condition.†

Keywords: Passivization, Reflexivization, Thematic Hierarchy Condition