This chapter discusses argument structure alternations capitalizing on the Role and Reference Grammar (RRG) notions of logical structure, macrorole and privileged syntactic argument assignment, and linking. A distinction is drawn between lexical and syntactic processes. The lexical alternations (for example, causativization and anticausativization) are often limited in productivity and serve to enrich the lexicon. The syntactic alternations (for example, passivization and antipassivization) are characterized by mappings between the lexical and the syntactic levels, and may play an important role in referent tracking or topic continuity.

In this chapter, we will discuss the core Voice alternations in Germanic languages. Different Voice alternations have in common that the argument structure of the underlying verb, in particular the semantic and syntactic properties of the verb’s external argument, are manipulated and this often goes along with changes in the morpho-syntax of the verb or the verbal phrase. In Section 1, we discuss inner-Germanic variation in the formation of analytic eventive and adjectival passives. In Section 2, we discuss the Mainland Scandinavian s-passives and in Section 3 we discuss noncanonical get-passives and related constructions. In Section 4, we turn to the morpho-syntactic variation in anticausative formation. Finally, in Section 5, we discuss how dispositional statements known as generic middles are realized across the Germanic languages.