accusative and ergative languages

[Ralf-Stefan Georg]

(without stage-directions, if I'm allowed to)

>G. A. Klimov, which has your credentials, and who is rather highly regarded
>in Russia, asserts an ergative stage for language, and I subscribe to his
>interpretation.

Appeal to authority. The least impressive way of reasoning of them all. By far.
Si tacuisses.

>Would you mind detailing the non-ERG features you know in Sumerian?

Consistently ERG in terms of overt case marking in all TAM categories,
enough to impress a non-linguist observer. However, ACC in terms of  verbal
cross-reference in the imperfective system, no doubt.
 Furthermore, the personal pronouns operate on a fully ACC basis, even in
terms of case marking. Sumerian is, like all the other "ERG-lgs", really a
split-ergative language. QED.

St.G.

Stefan Georg
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