From: Greekroy@aol.com
Date: Wed Feb 26 1997 - 19:27:42 EST
Carl,
What this thread really boils down to is, "can we force another language to
mean what we want it to mean?"
And after you observation, I realize that indeed the Middle/Reflexive is
much closer in intent to the "passive" voice in Spanish than it would be to
anything in English...
Or, more precisely, English does not allow the subject the freedom to be
reflexive...therefor' we have dificulty accepting it in other languages...
Thank you Carl for your time,
Wayne Royce Allison
An Aspiring Greek Student
In a message dated 97-02-26 10:40:13 EST, you write:
<< >Carl, sir.
>
>isn't the GENESQAI deponent? if it is would that make any bearing what
>you said...instead of it being the middle voice?
Ron, this just happens to be one of the things that I throw temper tantrums
about, one of those boils that's built up over 35+ years of teaching Greek;
you are probably fortunate not to have been around the last time it burst.
"Deponent" is precisely the term that I object to, although I'm sure it
will survive my death by decades and centuries. What I object to is the
assumption built into the name that this form is somehow out of place
because it isn't middle or passive in English or whatever language we
happen to speak--that is, the term is based on the assumption that it is
natural for a verb with the meaning of GENESQAI to be in the active voice.
But that's precisely what is not true. It is natural for GENESQAI to be in
the middle voice (it kicks and screams when you try to put it in the active
voice!). There are many verbs that have natural forms in the middle voice
only, and there are several other verbs which, even though they are active
in one tense and middle in another (e.g. LAMBANW/LHYOMAI/ELABON,
MANQANW/MAQHSOMAI/EMAQON, AKOUW/AKOUSOMAI/HKOUSA).
>>
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