agent/patient

[George Elgin, Suzette Haden Elgin]

I've had a question out to some other lists for quite a while, and would
like your input before I give up. If I relied on the data I've had so far,
I would have to make a statement something like "There exists no language
in which, if the patient is lexicalized in a sentence, the agent *must* be
lexicalized." I asked about sentences like the English "Mistakes were made"
and "Oil was spilled" variety. So far, everyone says that the language in
their response to my query allows passives with deleted agent, or has the
"Oil-spilling happened" or "Oil spilled (itself)" alternatives, or more
than one of that set. Even in languages where pronominal markers on verbs
carry the information, everyone answering me has had examples of
constructions where the morpheme for the agent could be deleted.

I 'm very uneasy about the idea that this is a "universal" (choose your
term). Does anyone on this list know of a language for which, if the oil
that was spilled is mentioned, you *must* present the spiller, if only as
some sort of indefinite? I'd be grateful for your help. Perhaps there is
some simple and obvious functional explanation that makes my question an
absurd or stupid one, and I'm just not perceiving it; it wouldn't be the
first time.

Suzette Haden Elgin
ocls at ipa.net