Whence and whither, you Cushitic Middle?

Abstract The article explores the middle and reflexive verbs in the Cushitic language group (with a focus on East Cushitic) and highlights the pervasiveness of the autobenefactive value in much of East Cushitic. After an overview of the values of the Middle, focused on Gawwada, the typology of the Middle will be discussed. It will be argued that to place the Middle along a transitivity scale (as proposed by Kemmer 1994) does not do justice to the manifold uses of this verbal extension in Cushitic, the autobenefactive in particular. It will be suggested that the Middle is a semantic and pragmatic function expressing the scope (interest and volitionality) of the subject, itself an aspect of subjectification (Traugott 1995) and reminiscent of the ‘affectedness of the subject’ (Klaiman 1991) and ‘centrality of the body’ (Mous and Qorro 2000) and ‘subject’s experience’ (Kawachi 2004).