Re: Middle Voice

> Interesting and intriguing is Miguel Carrasquer Vidal's posting on
> PIE morphology some years ago.
> In his scenario the endings are built on the dative of persons not
> reflecting the subject as seen by the fact that -m never occurs in
> the first, -r never in the second persons.
>
> Trying to conceive this scenario I see it as an ethic dative
> referring the attention of the action to a person different from
> the subject involved in the colloquial process: "I follow – for your
> information – a wolf", "you follow – I notice – a wolf".
>
> Is this conception sensible for explaining mitigation of the
> subject's influence in a low-activity process starting the whole
> development towards an agent passive?
>

I think Miguel was inspired by the 'allocutive' forms of Basque verbs;
am I right, Miguel?


Torsten