The morphosyntax of middles in Hill Mari

The article examines passive and anticausative change-of-state predicates in Hill Mari with three verbal suffixes: -alt, -g, and -mə̑. The suffix -alt primarily functions as an anticausative marker with secondary passive uses; the passive interpretation shows considerable inter-speaker variation and stem-based restrictions. The suffix -g is mainly anticausative and is often fused with stems on a synchronic level, allowing for -g-alt combinations that may appear excessive. The participle suffix -mə̑ functions as a dedicated passive marker. Although these suffixes are synonymous in certain contexts, they exhibit distinct properties in terms of licensing agentive and non-agentive participants. The analysis is framed within the layering approach to verbal structure. The findings suggest that -alt spells out a Middle Voice head, ‑g occupies the v head position, and -mə̑ realizes a higher Passive (Voice) head. The lack of agentivity restrictions in V-alt passives challenges the so-called “default agent” hypothesis, which was proposed based on comparable u-syncretic passives in languages such as Modern Greek and Hebrew, which prohibit non-agentive participants, and thus contributes to the typology of Middle Voice. In addition, the presence of zero-meaning alt-derivations and V-g-alt verbal forms provides arguments against derivational approaches to non-active verbs.