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In this paper∗ the writers will attempt to depict in their mutual relations the several types of verb-forms which evolve into the so-called medio-passive, deponent, etc. categories in the historical IE languages as these types seem to have existed in late IE times; and to indicate subsequent developments (e.g., growth of some types, decay of others) that appear to have occurred in the prehistory of the continuant languages. It is our purpose to confine ourselves more or less to descriptive morphology, avoiding, on the one hand, inquiry into the ultimate origin (non-finite verbal, substantival, etc.) of the forms here discussed; and, on the other, as far as possible, entanglement with semantic and syntactic dogma of every sort.
In two recent studies I have attempted to show (a) how such ubiquitous grammatical categories as gender, number, case, person, and the parts of speech are interrelated and have given rise to new categories by mutual superimposition; (b) that the aspects of the Indo-European verb go back to three older verb classes, namely (I) verbs which express a physical or mental state like sleep, thrive, hate, (II) verbs designating a transition from one state into another: awaken, die, and (III) verbs indicating an action proper, i.e., an action caused by the volition of the subject: run, seize, give. It is the purpose of this paper to form a connecting link between these studies by showing that the three original IE verb classes are inextricably bound up with the category of voice or diathesis, which in turn has its origin in the distinction of the nominal and verbal phrase.
[Two allophones of Germanic k became separate phonemes after the i-umlaut had changed the distribution of palatal vowels in Proto-Old-English. Not the phonetic development of palatal [k'], but the distributional change involving velar [k] caused the completion of the phonemic split.]
[A discussion of the vocative endings -e, -ule, -o, -lor. A Slavic origin has been suggested for one or more of these endings. This hypothesis is rejected.]