Despite displaying identical exponents (a reflexive clitic, imperfective tenses and agreement between the verb and the preverbal definite DP theme), change-of-state predicates in generic/middle contexts (inchoative middles, henceforth), can in fact have two different underlying representations: (i) a generic inchoative and (ii) a generic se-passive, this being the only one projecting a Voice head passivized by the reflexive clitic, which denotes an implicit generic external argument. Spanish allows the insertion of an affected applicative head in inchoative configurations (Cuervo 2003), which introduces an unselected dative argument interpreted either as an unintentional causer of the event if merged above the verbalizing head, or as affectee if merged below it. Crucially, this paper shows that the generic passive configuration disallows the applicative's unintentional causer interpretation, since the position above vP is already filled by Voice; therefore, the only available merging position for the applicative is below vP. However, the unintentional causer interpretation is possible in generic inchoative constructions, which lack a VoiceP. The data and analysis presented here support Wood and Marantz's (2017) proposal of a single argument-introducing head whose category and interpretation vary in terms of the syntactic context it is merged in. Finally, this study stresses the need to establish a more detailed classification of Spanish se-constructions as a whole and middles in particular with respect to their interaction with applied arguments.

This study assesses the scope of the Crosslinguistic Influence (CLI)

Les construcciones mediopasives son predicaos xenéricos que describen propiedaes intrínseques d’un oxetu nocional, realizáu como suxetu gramatical en posición preverbal. Una de les carauterístiques asociaes polo xeneral a esti tipu d’estructures a nivel interllingüísticu ye la participación d’un axente implícitu nel eventu. D’acordies con Suárez-Palma (2019; 2020), propónse qu’ello ye debío a la presencia d’un sintagma Voz (SVoz) pasivizáu per aciu del pronome reflexivu se nestes oraciones, lo mesmo en castellán que n’asturianu. Estes estructures, amás, permiten l’inxerimientu d’un argumentu adicional con casu dativu, interpretáu como afeutáu pol resultáu final del oxetu nocional. Siguiendo a Cuervo (2003) y Pylkkänen (2008), esplícase qu’un sintagma aplicativu (SApl) inxer esti argumentu na derivación al amestase per debaxo del SVoz. Asina mesmo, úfrense datos que demuestren que les medio pasives tán suxetes a variación morfosintáutica nestes dos llingües. D’esta miente, espónse que’l castellán cuenta amás con una construcción homófona, anque ensin SVoz –y darréu d’ello non axentiva– qu’espresa camudamientu d’estáu xenéricos y espontanios. El pronome reflexivu nesta variante incoativa sedría la forma fonética d’un subeventu de camudamientu (vGO, según Cuervo (2003)). Contrariamente, l’asturianu, que dispón tamién de la variante non axentiva de la mediopasiva, prescinde del reflexivu nestos contestos porque vGO nun tien conteníu fonéticu nesta llingua. Curiosamente, los argumentos adicionales dativos nes versiones incoatives puen interpretase como de causantes accidentales del eventu. Ello ye debío a que’l SApl ocupa’l llugar que dexa llibre’l SVoz na derivación. A lo cabero, incídese na falta d’una clasificación dafechu de les mediopasivesnes dos llingües.

Middle-passive constructions in Asturian –a Romance language spoken in the diglossic region of Asturias, in northern Spain– appear to optionally allow the occurrence of the reflexive pronoun se in them; this has been traditionally considered a pleonastic use of the reflexive due to the influence of Spanish, i.e. the dominant language in the territory (ALLA 2001). Here, I show that the presence of such pronoun is neither aspectual nor stylistic; instead, I argue that this clitic spells out a passivized Voice head encoding the participation of an implicit generic agent/experiencer in the event, i.e. a generic passive construction. The non-pronominal variant, on the contrary, is only possible with unaccusative verbs or those undergoing the causative alternation, i.e. in inchoative configurations, which can be generic. Evidence for this claim is that only the pronominal counterpart can control into a purpose clause but does not license the insertion of the PP por sí mesmu (‘by itself’), and vice versa. Additionally, these structures can host an additional dative argument which can only be interpreted as an unintentional causer of the event in absence of the reflexive, therefore supporting Suárez-Palma’s (2020) claim that there exists a mutual incompatibility between Voice and a high applicative head –both different realizations of i* (Wood & Marantz 2017)–, which compete for the position above the verbalizing head in generic passives. Finally, cases of linguistic transfer between Asturian and Asturian Spanish are discussed.

Asturian middle-passive contexts containing activity verbs, such as lleer (to read), as well as a relational or body-part noun as their grammatical subject allow for the insertion of a non-selected dative argument interpreted as the inalienable possessor of such noun. Two configurations can yield these structures: one where the dative phrase raises to preverbal subject position, and another where the dative DP is left-dislocated and the theme in subject position. Interestingly, an analysis relying on the notion of low applicative heads relating the possessor and the possessee cannot successfully account for these configurations. An approach whereby the inalienable possession construal arises inside the DP-theme and subsequently spreads to the applicative head that introduces the dative possessor successfully overcomes this shortcoming.