ATLAS OF LANGUAGE

AT-NAV-G02-033 · ATLAS 259

Diathesis

Diathesis here concerns mappings from semantic participants to grammatical functions and their construction-specific alternatives.

Part of the subject path Syntax and Grammar

Why is this entry in the Atlas?

G · Foundational concept R2 · Necessary foundation

Diathesis is needed to explain alternative mappings between participant roles and grammatical functions. The terms diathesis and voice are not equivalent across every grammatical tradition.

Colours and admission grounds

The rectangular label identifies the entry function: F – linguistic figure or procedure; A – analytical concept; G – foundational concept; E – selected concrete case. The rounded badge indicates the admission ground: R1 – distinctive contribution; R2 – necessary foundation; R3 – justified illustrative case. This editorial rationale explains the current selection rather than claiming an undocumented original selection history.

Explanation

Diathesis here means the mapping of semantic participants onto grammatical functions. Active and passive provide an accessible comparison: the same action can be described with the agent or an affected participant as subject. The agent may remain unexpressed in a passive. This pattern must not be imposed on every passive type; impersonal passives need not promote an object to subject. Voice refers to grammatical means for such contrasts, but scholarly usage also overlaps with diathesis. The Atlas explicitly adopts the mapping perspective here.

Movement of thought

1. Identify semantic roles. 2. Establish grammatical functions. 3. Compare active and passive patterns. 4. Consider unexpressed participants and impersonal constructions.

Scientific use case

A contrastive grammar could record roles, functions and verbal marking separately in selected active–passive pairs.

Example

“Mira opens the door” and “The door is opened by Mira” are constructed descriptions of the same imagined action with different subject mappings.

Counterexample

German “Hier wird getanzt” has no subject promoted from a transitive object. A simple exchange formula is insufficient.

Distinction

Distinguish tense, word order alone and a person’s actual passivity. The boundary between diathesis and voice depends on the framework.

Effect on thought and perception

The concept supports analysis of how grammatical constructions present participants differently.

Resonance

The action remains recognisable while its grammatical foreground changes.

Provenance

Parallel source review reconciled 2026-10-07; human specialist review not claimed.

Cite this entry

Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Diathesis“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-NAV-G02-033. ATLAS 259, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G02-033

https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G02-033

The address remains stable; editorial content may evolve. Editorial reading state: 2026-10-15. Include your access date for precise references.