This database features the cross-linguistic sample of middle marking languages gathered during the project “Towards a diachronic typology of the middle voice” funded by the FWO (Research Foundation Flanders, grant 12T5320N) and hosted by the Department of Linguistics, KU Leuven (2020-2022).

The sample is based on the combination of a variety sample of over 400 languages (Mattiola 2020), in which 105 languages were found to feature middle markers as defined in Inglese (2022a), and a convenience sample of additional 24 languages known to feature middle markers from the existing literature. The final sample includes 129 languages, for a total of 149 middle markers.

The database has served as the empirical basis for three distinct papers, each exploring different aspects of the typology of middle voice systems. This diversity of aims is reflected in the structure of the database. Inglese (2022a) offers a synchronic typology of middle markers, focusing on their shape and on the range of functions (both valency related and non-valency related) that they perform. Inglese (2022b) addresses the interaction between middle markers and other valency changing constructions, focusing on whether in individual languages specific voice operations are expressed by the middle marker, by a different construction, or by both in competition. Finally, Inglese (2023) charts the diachronic sources of middle markers, focusing on reflexive and non-reflexive sources of various types.

References⇫

Inglese, Guglielmo. 2022a. Towards a typology of middle voice systems. Linguistic Typology 26(3): 489-531. [published online 29 November 2021]. https://doi.org/10.1515/lingty-2020-0131

Inglese, Guglielmo. 2022b. How do middle voice markers and valency reducing constructions interact? Typological tendencies and diachronic considerations. Folia Linguistica 56(2): 239–271. https://doi.org/10.1515/flin-2022-2019

Inglese, Guglielmo. 2023. The rise of middle voice systems: a study in diachronic typology. Diachronica 40(2): 195–237. https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.20058.ing

Mattiola, Simone. 2020. Two language samples for maximizing linguistic variety. Preprint. http://amsacta.unibo.it/6504/ (30 March, 2021).