Documentation

Linglib.Fragments.Finnish.Predicates

Finnish Verb Entries @cite{karlsson-2017} #

Finnish verbs illustrate two phenomena that exercise linglib's infrastructure:

  1. The impersonal "passive" — Finnish lacks a true passive. What is traditionally called the passive is an impersonal construction: the agent is demoted to an implicit generic human referent, not promoted to a by-phrase. The subject position remains empty.

    Active: Mies avasi oven. 'The man opened the door.' "Passive": Ovi avattiin. 'The door was opened (by someone).'

    This is formalized using VoiceFlavor.impersonal, distinct from both nonThematic (anticausative, no agent at all) and agentive (syntactically projected agent).

  2. Verb type classification — Finnish has 6 productive verb types (conjugation classes) based on infinitive stem shape (Karlsson §10.1). We record the type as data, not as separate MorphRules, since the classification is lexical.

Finnish verb type (conjugation class, Karlsson §10.1).

Instances For
    Equations
    • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
    Instances For

      A Finnish verb entry with active and impersonal "passive" forms.

      • infinitive : String

        Infinitive (dictionary form, I infinitive)

      • gloss : String

        English gloss

      • verbType : VerbType

        Verb type (conjugation class)

      • pres3sgAct : String

        3sg present active

      • presImpersonal : String

        Impersonal "passive" present

      Instances For
        Equations
        • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
        Instances For
          Equations
          Instances For
            Equations
            Instances For
              Equations
              Instances For
                Equations
                Instances For
                  Equations
                  • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                  Instances For

                    Active Finnish voice: agentive, projects a syntactic agent.

                    Equations
                    Instances For

                      Finnish "passive" voice: impersonal, no syntactic agent specifier. The agent is existentially closed — someone performs the action, but the someone is not a syntactic argument.

                      Equations
                      Instances For

                        Finnish "passive" does NOT project an agent syntactically.

                        Finnish "passive" HAS semantic content (existential closure over agent), unlike true anticausatives which are semantically vacuous.

                        Finnish "passive" is distinct from anticausative — both lack a syntactic agent, but impersonal Voice has semantics while nonThematic does not.

                        All impersonal forms end in -aan or -ään (back or front harmony on the passive marker).

                        Finnish voice system: two-way asymmetrical (active/impersonal).

                        Finnish lacks a true passive — what is traditionally called the passive is an impersonal construction where the agent is demoted to an implicit generic human referent, not promoted to a by-phrase (@cite{karlsson-2017} Ch. 11). Active is the basic form.

                        Equations
                        • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                        Instances For

                          Finnish is the ideal testing ground for implicative verb semantics because it has a much richer inventory of lexically-specific implicatives than English. Where English has primarily manage (underspecified) and dare (courage), Finnish has ~12 common implicatives that each lexicalize a different prerequisite type.

                          The structure extends `FinnishVerb` with implicative fields. 
                          

                          A Finnish implicative verb entry, extending the base verb with implicative classification from @cite{nadathur-2024}.

                          Instances For
                            Equations
                            • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                            Instances For

                              onnistua 'succeed, manage' — two-way positive, unspecified prerequisite. "Eman onnistui pakenema-an" → 'Eman fled.' "Eman ei onnistunut pakenema-an" → 'Eman did not flee.' (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 2)

                              Equations
                              • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                              Instances For

                                uskaltaa 'dare' — two-way positive, prerequisite = courage. "Juno uskaltaa avata oven" → 'Juno opens the door.' "Juno ei uskaltanut avata ovea" → 'Juno did not open the door.' (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 4)

                                Equations
                                • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                Instances For

                                  viitsiä 'bother' — two-way positive, prerequisite = engagement. (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 10)

                                  Equations
                                  • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                  Instances For

                                    malttaa 'have the patience' — two-way positive, prerequisite = patience. "Marja malttoi odottaa" → 'Marja waited.' "Marja ei malttanut odottaa" → 'Marja did not wait.' (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 11)

                                    Equations
                                    • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                    Instances For

                                      hennoa 'have the heart' — two-way positive, prerequisite = hard-heartedness. (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 27)

                                      Equations
                                      • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                      Instances For

                                        kehdata 'act without shame, be unembarrassed' — two-way positive. (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 40)

                                        Equations
                                        • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                        Instances For

                                          ehtiä 'find/make time' — two-way positive, prerequisite = time. (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 39)

                                          Equations
                                          • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                          Instances For

                                            jaksaa 'have the strength' — one-way positive, prerequisite = strength. Positive: "Sampo jaksoi nousta" ↛ 'Sampo rose.' (only implicature) Negative: "Sampo ei jaksanut nousta" → 'Sampo did not rise.' (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 5)

                                            Equations
                                            • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                            Instances For

                                              mahtua 'fit, be small enough' — one-way positive, prerequisite = fitness. "Freija mahtui kulkemaan oven" ↛ 'Freija went through the door.' "Freija ei mahtunut kulkemaan oven" → 'Freija did not go through the door.' (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 30)

                                              Equations
                                              • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                              Instances For

                                                pystyä 'be able' — one-way positive (the Finnish counterpart of be able). "Maarit pystyi tappelema-an" ↛ 'Maarit fought.' "Maarit ei pystynyt tappelema-an" → 'Maarit did not fight.' (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 29)

                                                Equations
                                                • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                                Instances For

                                                  laiminlyödä 'neglect' — polarity-reversing two-way. "Hän laiminlöi korjata virheen" → 'He did not correct the error.' "Hän ei laiminlyönyt korjata virhettä" → 'He corrected the error.' (@cite{nadathur-2024} ex. 44)

                                                  Equations
                                                  • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                                  Instances For

                                                    epäröidä 'hesitate' — polarity-reversing one-way. "Juno epäröi ottaa osaa kilpailuun" ↛ 'Juno did not take part.' "Juno ei epäröinyt ottaa osaa kilpailuun" → 'Juno took part.' (@cite{nadathur-2024} §6.4, ex. 46)

                                                    Equations
                                                    • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                                    Instances For

                                                      Convert a Finnish implicative verb to an ImplicativeClass.

                                                      Equations
                                                      Instances For