Causativisation

Causativisation is a linguistic process where a verb is modified to indicate that the subject causes an event or action to happen, rather than performing it directly. In essence, it transforms a non-causative verb into a causative one. For example, the verb "fall" describes an event happening to something. When causativised, it becomes "to make fall" or "to cause to fall," implying an external agent responsible for the falling.

This transformation can be achieved through various grammatical mechanisms across different languages. Some languages use affixes, adding prefixes or suffixes to the verb stem. For instance, in Turkish, the suffix "-dir" is often used for causativisation, as seen in "ölmek" (to die) becoming "öldürmek" (to kill). Other languages employ separate causative verbs, where a distinct verb signifies causation. Japanese is an example, using the suffix "-saseru" to create causative forms.

The concept of causativisation is important in understanding verb semantics and cross-linguistic grammatical structures. It highlights how languages express the relationship between an agent and an event, distinguishing between direct action and induced action. The presence and form of causativisation vary significantly among the world's languages, reflecting diverse strategies for grammatical encoding.