Resumen de Completives as markers of non-volitionality

Stefanie Fauconnier

• This article discusses a cross-linguistic phenomenon where a completive marker is used to express non-volitionality. I propose a semantic account for this phenomenon, based on the idea that completive markers can be used to emphasize the completion of an action as unexpected and unanticipated. This phenomenon is relevant from a broader typological perspective because it reveals that it is not possible to provide a unified analysis of non-volitional constructions in terms of reduced transitivity. Instead, I propose an analysis where different types of nonvolitional constructions are characterized by a shift in emphasis from the starting point of the action towards its endpoint.