[Lingtyp] non-agentive transitives

[Alexander Letuchiy]

Dear Ferenc,

Two phenomena in Russian seem to be related
to your question.

The first of them is so-called "spontaneous" ("stixiynaya" construction with unmarked transitive verbs. Though no dedicated marker is used, the verb can change subject marking from nominative to instrumental, and this is only possible with natural (and some other, but mainly non-controlled) forces:

Possible:
Vzryv                    otbrosil       ego   na      sto   metrov
explosion.NOM  threw.out   him   on      100 meters
'The explosion threw him 100 meters away.'

or

Vzryv-om           ego   otbrosilo    na      sto   metrov
explosion-INS   him  threw.out   on      100 meters
'The explosion threw him 100 meters away.'

Possible:
Vasja              otbrosil        myach  na   sto  metrov
Vasja.NOM   threw.out    ball        on  100 meters
'Vasja threw out the ball 100 meters away.'

Impossible:
Myach   otbrosilo    Vas-ej        na    sto  metrov
ball         threw.out   Vasja-INS  on   100  meters
'Vasja threw out the ball 100 meters away' (the instrumental marking of agentive subject is ungrammatical).

Best regards,

Alexander Letuchiy, Moscow
________________________________
From: Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org> on behalf of Havas Ferenc <hfz at iif.hu>
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2020 12:37 PM
To: lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
Subject: [Lingtyp] non-agentive transitives


Dear Colleagues,

My question is about the differential marking of agentive and non-agentive subjects in transitive sentences. It is well known that in some languages, called active or agentive, the marking of the subject of intransitive verbs (whether by a case or by agreement) differs depending on whether the subject is agentive or patient-like. As Marianne Mithun puts it: “ln all of these languages one case is used for semantic agents of most transitive verbs and the single argument of some intransitives while a different case is used for the semantic patients of most transitive verbs and the single argument of other intransitives. The sets of verbs occurring with each case are largely the same from one language to the next. Most verbs in the first set denote events performed, effected, instigated and controlled by their participants (’jump', 'go', 'catch'). Most verbs in the second set denote state significantly affecting their participants ('be sick', 'be tired', 'be caught’)”. (Language 1991, 67/3, 523)

So much about subjects of intransitive predicates. Less light seems to have been cast on transitive subjects in the dedicated languages, though the pattern exists. Consider e.g. these Kaddoan sentences (selected from the same paper, 525–528):

  1.  ci-hahyúnčah  'I'm going to go home.’
  2.  ku-táyʡayah 'I'm tired, disgusted, fed up.'

(3)  ci-kíʡčah 'I'm going to kill him.'

  1.  kú-ʡnutah ’I like it.’



(1) and (2) show that agentive and non-agentive subjects of intransitive sentences have distinct verbal prefixes: ci- versus ku-.  (3) and (4) in turn illustrate the differential marking of agentive and non-agentive subjects in transitive sentences with the very same prefixes as in intransitive sentences.

So my questions are

a) WHICH SUBJECTS?
Which subjects are non-agentively marked in transitive sentences? I would expect them to be passive experiencers (of verbs like ’see’, ’hear’ as opposed to ‘look at’, ‘listen to’), recipients (’get’, ’inherit’), possessors (’have’), undergoers of unintentional mental processes (’remember’, ’forget’), emotions (’like’, ’dislike’, ’hate’).

b) UNIFORM MARKING?
If a language has splits in both transitive and intransitive sentences, are the agentive and non-agentive markers of the same form in the two types of sentences?

At the end of the day, the central issue is whether the agentive – non-agentive split does or does not work the same way in intransitive and transitive sentences. If it did, the mere “split intransivity” concept of agentive languages would be worth reconsidering.

Thank you for your assistance.

Ferenc Havas

Professor Emeritus of Linguistics

ELTE University, Budapest
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