Language change and cultural change: The grammaticalization of the GET-passive in context

Reciprocal and reflexive ('middle') readings of the GET passive (as in GET INTRODUCED, GET MARRIED, GET DRESSED Or GET SHAVED) have been taken as indicative of the status of the GET-passive as a middle construction more generally. Historically, this interpretation is misleading, as these (marginal) GET-passives refer to cultural practices that have undergone massive change between the time of the inception of the GET-passive (before the 1760s) and today. What today are GET-middles used to be canonical passives with a two-participant structure. If we do not consider the historical cultural contexts and findings from historical cultural studies, we run the risk of imposing a hegemonic present-day view on previous stages of the language, falsifying our interpretation of instances of language change. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.