| 'Ergativity' is an umbrella term used in modern | | | | be grouped into five case types. Naturally, every |
| typological linguistics to cover a variety of | | | | language has a lot of possibilities in order of |
| grammatical phenomena. Basically, ergativity is a | | | | expressing the nominal case marking. Those |
| grammatical pattern in which nouns are inflected | | | | comprise: case inflections, particles and adpositions, |
| or marked for case. Fabricius observed this | | | | word order, cross-referencing and verbal |
| phenomenon (which he named as nominativus | | | | agreement, etc. |
| transitivus) in Greenlandic Eskimo in 1801, but in | | | | There are two basic types of ergative languages: |
| fact Adolf Dirr used the term 'ergative' (based | | | | the classic type and the active-stative type. Let |
| upon the Greek word "ergon", plural "erga", 'work, | | | | us explain: |
| task') for the first time in 1912. The essential thing | | | | · THE CLASSICAL definition says that an |
| about ergativity is that this pattern challenges a | | | | ergative language treats the subjects of |
| universal characterization of "subject". Up to now, | | | | intransitive verbs (Si) in the same way as the |
| Asian, Australian and American (Eskimo, Mayan | | | | objects of transitive verbs (O) - that is, Si/O |
| and various Ge-Amazonian) languages have been | | | | behave alike since absolutive zero marks both --, |
| claimed to have some ergative properties. It is | | | | and differently from a transitive subject (St), |
| interesting to note that ergativity is virtually | | | | which receives an ergative special marker. For |
| nonexistent in Europe (with Basque of the | | | | example, in West Greenlandic Eskimo the ergative |
| western Pyrenees as the single exception) and | | | | marker is the suffix '-p', whereas in Basque is '-k'. |
| Africa. Needless to say, ergative languages are still | | | | · THE ACTIVE-STATIVE type marks |
| being discovered. | | | | some Si (so-called non-actives or 'unaccusatives') |
| Quite simply, ergative case occurs on nominal | | | | with O, whereas another class of Si (so-called |
| case marking on the nouns and/or on the verbal | | | | actives/agentives or 'unergatives') has the same |
| agreement system. To see how this works, let | | | | marking as St. In other words, there are two |
| us consider first that every natural language has | | | | subgroups of intransitive verbs: 'unaccusative' (e.g. |
| three types of clause: a minor type and two | | | | 'sleep') and 'unergative' (e.g. 'dance'). Note that |
| major types of verbal phrases. These three are: | | | | these semantics terms are currently used for |
| 1. EQUATIVE (also equational), which involves two | | | | Basque, which is an ergative active language. |
| noun phrases (NPs). For example, "My daughter is | | | | Now let us consider that since ergative marking |
| a teacher" (some languages require copula, i.e. | | | | may occur also in tripartite languages, as noted |
| copular verb, like English is; others do not) in which | | | | above, it follows that there is no absolutive bond |
| the subject and complement refer to the same | | | | in tripartite (O is marked by accusative) and in |
| person; | | | | active (Si is marked by ergative) languages. |
| 2. INTRANSITIVE, which involves a verb and one | | | | Hence, we should recognize that the absolutive |
| core NP (as in "The baby cries") - that is, | | | | grouping (Si/O) is not a necessary feature of |
| intransitive verbs are followed by no obligatory | | | | ergative languages. |
| element; and | | | | Since R. M. W. Dixon's classic study on the |
| 3. TRANSITIVE, which involves a verb and two | | | | Australian language Dyirbal (1972) it is known that |
| or more core NPs. | | | | there are at least two classes of ergative |
| As a result, every language should always find the | | | | languages: a small class of syntactically ergative |
| means to distinguish between the three basic | | | | languages (also inter-clausal) and a large class of |
| grammatical categories, namely: intransitive | | | | morphologically ergative languages (also |
| subject (Si), transitive subject (St), and direct | | | | intra-clausal). The former show an absolutive |
| object (O). More precisely, the languages of the | | | | pivot, i.e. a grammatical subject grouping (Si/O) on |
| world use systems of case marking to show the | | | | clausal coordination, while the latter have nominal |
| function of the noun or noun phrase in a clause. | | | | case marking and/or verbal agreement or |
| We can say that the chief function of case | | | | cross-referencing of persons on the verbs. For |
| marking systems is to disambiguate contexts, | | | | the most part, morphological ergative languages |
| which is to permit the hearer to identify the | | | | may have both systems at the time, i.e. display |
| semantic role of the denotation of an NP. | | | | ergative pattern for case marking and accusative |
| Plainly, there are five types of logically possible | | | | for agreement. |
| systems for assigning case to Si, St, and O, to | | | | Finally, it is need to be stressed that ergative |
| know: the nominative-accusative (the pattern | | | | languages are never pure. This is because many |
| known from the major European languages), in | | | | languages show mixed nominative-accusative and |
| which all subjects are assigned a single marker | | | | absolutive-ergative features. This means that two |
| (nominative) distinctly from O (accusative); the | | | | ways of organizing case marking and agreement |
| absolutive-ergative, in which Si and O have the | | | | occur in ergative languages. More precisely, |
| same morphological marker (absolutive, usually | | | | ergative languages have a split ergative pattern in |
| null), while a different marker is used for St | | | | which some but not all transitive clauses are |
| (ergative); the tripartite (also three-way) with | | | | ergative constructions. This phenomenon is called |
| three distinct markers (this system is relatively | | | | split ergativity, which it is to say that an agent is |
| rare); the neutral, in which the same marker | | | | marked for ergative case or left unmarked |
| (possibly null) is used for all three categories; and | | | | depending on its position on the animacy |
| the horizontal (also double-oblique), in which St and | | | | hierarchy, or on the tense/aspect/mood of the |
| O are identically marked in opposition to Si (so far | | | | clause, or on the grammatical status of the |
| unattested). In short, according to case marking | | | | clause, whether it is main or subordinate, etc. |
| displayed by subjects and objects languages can | | | | |