英语被动语态的原型范畴研究的综述报告

英语被动语态的原型范畴研究的综述报告IntroductionThe passive voice is a grammatical structure used in English that chan

英语被动语态的原型范畴研究的综述报告 Introduction The passive voice is agrammatical structure used in English that changes the focus of asentence from the subject to the object. In passive sentences, the subject is not the agent of the action but the recipient of the action, which is performed by the object or an external agent. Passive constructions are often used to avoid mentioning the doer of an action or to emphasize the object or result of the action. The study of the passive voice in English has been atopic of interest for scholars in linguistics, psychology, and education for decades. In this paper, we will provide an overview of the literature on the prototype category of passive voice in English. Prototype Theory Prototype theory is acognitive approach to categorization that argues that categories are not defined by aset of necessary and sufficient features but by atypical or central exemplar that represents the category. According to prototype theory, category membership is based on family resemblance, which means that members of acategory share some but not all features with the prototype. Prototypes are the most typical or representative examples that best capture the essence of acategory, and they serve as acognitive reference point for judging the similarity or dissimilarity of other members. The Prototype Category of Passive Voice The prototype category of passive voice in English has been studied from various perspectives, including grammatical, semantic, syntactic, and cognitive. Researchers have attempted to define the prototype of passive voice by identifying the most typical or representative examples that convey the core meaning of the passive construction. One of the earliest studies of the prototype category of passive voice was conducted by Givón (1979), who proposed a semantic-structural analysis of the passive construction. According to Givón, the prototype of the passive voice is asentence in which the object is promoted to the subject position, and the subject is demoted to the oblique or adjunct position. Givón argued that the passive construction serves aparticular communicative function, which is to foreground the object or result of the action while downplaying the