Gradience in Analysis: A Case of Representative Passive
Gradience in Analysis: A Case of Representative Passive

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, a concept of overlapping grammatical categories in a linguistic analysis is discussed. This overlap has gained recognition in research and is often termed as gradience. A specific instance of gradience concerning various types of the passive voice, especially the one involving less-typical information status, is used as an example to illustrate how gradience exists in different languages. The passive is known to function as a topic marker in a clause, but there are some cases where it is used as a focus device. By studying these features both synchronically and diachronically, one can find gradience of the passive both structurally and functionally.

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