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Promotion

MORPHOLOGY/SYNTAX: promotion is what happens if an object (or internal argument) becomes the subject (or external argument) with all the usual properties of subjects due to some morphological or syntactic operation. EXAMPLE: if we form the passive of break (= broken), the object (or internal argument) is promoted to become the subject:

(i)  he broke the vase
(ii) the vase was broken

LIT. Spencer, A. (1991)
Williams, E. (1981b)