Spontaneous Intransitives in Old Japanese and their Relationship with the Verbal Suffix -(r)are-

Abstract

This study explores the semantic and structural continuity between spontaneous intransitive constructions (Jacobsen 1992) and -(r)are- constructions in Old Japanese (OJ). First, it offers a hypothetical morphological account of how the passive suffix -(r)are- may have been reanalyzed from ra-row shimo-nidan (RS2) intransitive verbs, which overwhelmingly express spontaneous changes. It then classifies situation types expressed by intransitive constructions and compares them with those of -(r)are- constructions. Both constructions frequently involve human topics, including cases where the subject is a person or a person’s possession. Together, these cases account for over 70% of intransitive constructions, typically describing situations affecting people. Moreover, even in inanimate-subject intransitive constructions, human topics often appear, indicating that human-centered expressions played a crucial role in the development of -(r)are-. While previous studies have often regarded “spontaneity” as the original meaning of -(r)are-, they have primarily focused on intransitive constructions describing inanimate changes. As such, they have not adequately addressed the semantic and structural continuity between -(r)are- constructions – which frequently describe personal or human-centered changes – and spontaneous intransitive constructions. This study fills this gap by demonstrating that -(r)are- constructions inherited not only morphological patterns but also semantic features from intransitive constructions, forming a continuum of meaning centered on human experiences. Lastly, it highlights a fundamental difference from Indo-European languages, where inanimate-subject passive constructions developed from inanimate-centered anticausative constructions. In Japanese, the presence of a human topic in constructions with the structure [InanimateN V-RARE] led to the development of unintentional constructions, potential constructions, and animate-subject passives, rather than inanimate-subject passives.