Voice (grammar) - Passive in Topic-prominent Languages

Passive in Topic-prominent Languages

Topic-prominent languages like Mandarin tend not to employ the passive voice as frequently. Mandarin-speakers construct the passive voice by using the coverb 被 (bèi) and rearranging the usual word order. For example, this sentence using active voice:

Note: the first line is in Traditional Chinese while the second is Simplified Chinese.

狗	咬了	這個	男人。
狗	咬了	这个	男人。
Gǒu	yǎo-le	zhège	nánrén.
dog	bite-PERFECT	this	man
"A dog has bitten this man."

corresponds to the following sentence using passive voice. Note that the agent phrase is optional.

這個	男人	被	(狗)	咬了。
这个	男人	被	(狗)	咬了。
Zhège	nánrén	bèi	(gǒu)	yǎo-le.
This	man	BEI	dog	bite-PERFECT.
"This man was bitten (by a dog)."

In addition, through the addition of the auxiliary verb "to be" (shì) the passive voice is frequently used to emphasise the identity of the actor. This example places emphasis on the dog, presumably as opposed to some other animal:

這個	男人	是	被	狗	咬了。
这个	男人	是	被	狗	咬了。
Zhège	nánrén	shì	bèi	gǒu	yǎo-le.
This	man	to be	BEI	dog	bite-PERFECT.
"This man was bitten by a dog."

Although a topic-prominent language, Japanese employs the passive voice quite frequently, and has two types of passive voice, one that corresponds to that in English and an indirect passive not found in English. This indirect passive is used when something undesirable happens to the speaker.

彼	は	泥棒	に	財布	を	盗まれた。
Kare	wa	dorobō	ni	saifu	o	nusumareta.
He	TOPIC	thief	AGENT	wallet	OBJECT	steal-PASSIVE-PAST
"His wallet was stolen by a thief."

僕	は	彼女	に	嘘	を	つかれた。
Boku	wa	kanojo	ni	uso	o	tsukareta.
I	TOPIC	her	AGENT	lie	OBJECT	tell-PASSIVE-PAST.
"I was lied to by her." (or "She lied to me.")