accusative and ergative languages

[Patrick C. Ryan]

Dear Leo and IEists:

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Leo A. Connolly <connolly at memphis.edu>
Sent: Monday, July 19, 1999 3:35 PM

Pat writes:

I do not want to divert you both from the discussion you are having about
related points, which I find very interesting, but I would like to comment
on one point.

Larry wrote:

>> The "passive" view of ergative languages in general is indefensible.

Leo wrote:

> Absolutely agreed!

Pat writes:

Again, I feel that it is again a battle of definitions. If by 'passive' we
mean a two-element construction in which the non-ergatively marked NP is the
patient of the VP, then an 'ergative' language like Sumerian is 'passive'.

Part of the problem, I think, is utilizing concepts like Larry's
"intrinsically transitive". 'Transitive' can be defined either as a
three-element construction or a construction of two elements with an implied
or differently expressed third element ("passive-with-agent"). Since I do
not believe in phenomena ex machina, I believe that all VP's essentially
include a causal factor (one-element) and an effectual one (one-element) so
that expressed or unexpressed, every VP implies two additional elements.

So, to my way of thinking, an 'intransitive' sentence like 'I go to the
city' is, from the standpoint of analysis, better regarded as a paraphrase
for 'I make myself move to the city'.

And a 'stative' like 'The flower is red' is better analyzed as a paraphrase
for 'Somebody/thing has reddened the flower'.

This analysis makes it easy to understand why, in an ergative language, the
'subjects' of 'intransitives' and 'statives' are in the absolutive. It
suggests that in an 'intransitive' construction, the expressed NP is not
necessarily the agent but may be the patient of a reflexive construction in
which the agent, being identical with the patient, has been deleted for
redundancy.

Pat

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