(Disclaimer: I am not a linguist.)
I am learning Norwegian now, and they have some verb form when you attach -s to the end. It is often called passive voice (used in Present tense and in infinitive only, I guess). For example:
- å møte 'to meet': vi møter 'we meet (someone else)', vi møtes 'we meet (each other)'
- å kalle 'to call (by name)': jeg kaller 'I call (someone or something)', jeg kalles 'I am called'
I know that similar construction exists in Swedish.
I am a native Slavic speaker and we have the verbs ending with -ся (się in Polish) which have almost the same meaning. In Slavic languages, the origin of this kind of endings is clear, it means 'oneself'. For example, учиться 'to study' literally means учить себя 'to teach oneself'. So I started thinking that Norwegian and Swedish verbs maybe have some similar origins.
But does anyone know for sure?