Causative voice in languages expresses a subject causing a change in another word or phrase. This can be shown through morphological, periphrastic, or lexical causatives, indicating intent or accident. Evidence of cause and effect must be present for causatives to occur.
Many languages contain a causative voice. Causatives are means of expressing an occurrence in which a subject word acts upon a subsequent word or phrase, and thus causes a change of state for the latter. In more general terms, the causative – usually an action word – indicates that something has transformed something else. This change can be reflected in a variety of grammatical ways, including adding letters to action words, changing the letters within words, or including additional words.
For a causative state to occur in linguistics, there must be evidence of a cause and effect relationship. In other words, the subject of a sentence or idea must have caused an action, an event or a change of being. Thus, the causative must occur before the person, thing, or event upon which it acts has changed. Furthermore, there must be a reasonable assumption that the latter action or alteration would not have occurred without the presence of the causal subject. For example, if they “raise the drawbridge,” a reader can probably infer that the drawbridge would not be in its raised state were it not for “their” actions.
Various grammatical methods are used to express causes. In many languages, additional letters are added to the beginning or end of a word. For example, a classical language of Indo-Aryan origin made words causative by attaching the letters “a” and “y” to the end of the word. These methods are generally known as morphological causatives.
Other language grammars employ auxiliary verbs, which are whole words that supplement another action word. The English word “had” can be used like this: “She had him killed.” These types can be called periphrastic causatives.
Lexical causes, on the other hand, change some letters or symbols within the action word – or use another form of the word – to create causality. Consider the words that define an upward movement action. In English, the word could be “rise”, while in Japanese it would be agaru. The word is altered in both languages to reflect that a subject is lifting an object. For English, the word is changed to “raise” and in Japanese, the word becomes ageru.
Different causal forms can indicate the nature of a cause and effect relationship. Choosing a causative action word can infer whether the action is done with intent or by accident. Furthermore, the chosen word may also indicate the willingness of the object or person concerned to be acted upon. When the English verb “made” is used in a sentence, it often signals a deliberate and involuntary act, as in “I got him got to the doctor.”
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
