Ergative–absolutive language

Ergativsprachen are a type of languages ​​whose case system is organized differently than in languages ​​that distinguish nominative and Akkusativkasus (and unlike in active languages ​​). In a nominative - accusative system, the only argument of an intransitive verb has the same case as the first argument of the transitive verb ( they are called both "subject" ), for the second argument of the transitive verb exists an additional, special case ( the accusative ). The ideal type of Ergativsprache is a mirror image of organized: the first argument of the transitive verb receives an additional special case ( ergative ) and the intransitive verb assigns the same case, carried by the second argument of the transitive construction.

Ergativsprachen raise questions about the generality of the term " subject" is on; However, their grammatical properties are not uniform, on closer analysis, so that effects of category "subject" in such languages ​​can be found in varying degrees.

Morphological ergativity

In Ergativsprachen the case ( case ) ergative often occurs alongside the nominative. Ergative languages ​​use for the subject of an intransitive verb and the undergoer of a transitive verb the same grammatical case, which is called absolutive and thus corresponds to the nominative in accusative languages ​​, as he usually remains unmarked. Another case is used for the agent, so the acting subject of transitive verbs, namely the ergative.

An example of ergativity in Basque:

If you want to make it clearer, it is believed, the ending of the absolutive in the German would -u, the Ergativs the -o ( or in each case any others). Then the following forms would result in:

And:

Scheme

Ergativische construction and nominative - accusative construction in comparison:

Known Ergativsprachen are Basque, Sumerian, Burushaski, Dyirbal ( an Australian language ), Zazaisch, Kurmanji and Tibetan.

Some Indo-Aryan languages ​​such as Pashto ( in Afghanistan), Hindi, Kurmanji have in the tenses of the present group Akkusativkonstruktion in which the perfect group, however Ergativkonstruktion.

Syntactic ergativity

Some languages ​​that have morphological ergativity, in addition exhibit syntactic ergativity.

In Ergativsprachen without syntactic ergativity is - just as in accusative languages ​​- the subject is always the agent of transitive verbs and the only argument of intransitive verbs. In languages ​​with syntactic ergativity, however, the subject is the argument which is in absolutive, ie the transitive undergoer and the only argument of intransitive verbs. Mostly, however, occurs syntactic ergativity only in some constructions, in the other the language behaves akkusativisch.

Visible syntactic ergativity is, for example, in the set of connection of the subsets: Ergativsprachen infer a missing argument in the absolutive. In German we interpret the sentence " The students saw the teacher and walked away " as " The student saw the teacher and the student walked away ." In contrast, the absolutive argument of the first part of the sentence would be adopted as the subject of the second, intransitive verb in Ergativsprachen. " The student ( ERG) saw the teacher (ABS ) and walked away " is interpreted as " The student ( ERG) saw the teacher (ABS ) and the teacher (ABS ) went away ." A sentence of this kind can serve as a test for native speakers of a particular language to find out whether the language is syntactically an ergative or Akkusativsprache.

Languages ​​with syntactic ergativity example, Archi, Basque, Warlpiri and Chukchi (optional).

Ergativsprachen generally have no passive forms. But you have an anti- passive, where the direct object is deleted and changes the subject from ergative to absolutive, ie the verb is intransitive.

Split ergativity

Split ergativity and split ergativity arises in languages ​​that use other than the Ergativmuster yet another alignment pattern.

This can either depend on the verb form such as Georgian or Zazaischen - here require certain tenses ergative, other accusative - or it depends on the arguments of the verb, as in Dyirbal, where pronouns an accusative and nouns show a Ergativmuster ( s. well animacy hierarchy). Also the Sumerian is an example of split ergativity.

Some Indo-Iranian languages ​​like Pashto ( in Afghanistan), Hindi, Kurdish Kurmanji - have in the times of the present group Akkusativkonstruktion in which the perfect group, however Ergativkonstruktion. This goes back to the fact that the past participle with transitive verbs has liabilities- meaning, intransitive, of course capitalized. We know from the German: "seen" is understood as a liability, " gone " as opposed to. How to Make the Perfect in Hindi as in English as "Peter is gone " ( pitar Gayā hai, has gone literally Peter ). If one were to say "Peter is seen " as understood as a liability in both languages ​​(Hindi: pitar Dekha hai ) would. Therefore we say in German "Peter has seen Anita ". Hindi knows no verb for " have " and says instead, " by Peter Anita is seen " in Hindi pitar ne dekhi hai Anita. The ī of dekhi is a feminine ending, because dekhi ( saw ) refers to Anita, not Peter.