[Lingtyp] Agentive vs. unagentive causees?

Tue Oct 29 18:16:27 UTC 2024

Dear all,

One language that might possibly be relevant to both Seppo's and Geoff's messages (if only, perhaps, tangentially) could be Mongsen Ao. Below is how the dative-marked / unmarked causee opposition is described in Coupe's grammar (p. 195):

[cid:45a17d4e-80d9-487d-a008-da74913126b8]

And below is an example showing how the 'agentive' (AGT) case enclitic can be used to stress the volitional involvement of the A argument (p. 157), with no change to the verb:

[cid:116776a2-f8d3-4a78-86dd-d64bfc912623]

Hope this helps!

Best,
R

______

Coupe, A. R. 2007. A Grammar of Mongsen Ao  [Mouton Grammar Series MGL, 39]. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
______

Riccardo Giomi
Assistant Professor of Functional Linguistics
University of Amsterdam
Faculty of Humanities: Department of Linguistics
Spuistraat 134, 1012 VB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
________________________________
From: Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org> on behalf of Haig, Geoffrey via Lingtyp <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
Sent: 29 October 2024 18:56
To: Kittilä, Seppo <seppo.kittila at helsinki.fi>
Cc: lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
Subject: Re: [Lingtyp] Agentive vs. unagentive causees?

Dear Seppo,

I can’t help you with examples of distinct causative markers according to volitionality/agentivity of the causee, but I was curious about your remark re the related alternation on causers (I broke X accidentally/on purpose), and the reference to Faucconier (2012). I assume you mean her 2012 thesis?

As I read Faucconiier, a key take-away point of her work was in fact the typological paucity of strategies for flagging volitionality vs. non-volitionality of a transitive subject (A), on the A itself. It can be done by a shift in the verb (often involving a voice alternation), but apparently not often via flagging alone.

I found the claim surprising at the time, but I have to admit I have not actually since found a language that exhibits what (I think) she means, which would be a language that had a marker, –X, to differentiate a volitional breaker from non-volitional breaker, without accompanying changes to the verb (Jane broke the vase (i.e. accidentally) vs. Jane-x broke the vase (intentionally)).

I am aware of such examples with intransitive verbs of course (the famous Batsbi/Tsova-Tush examples, and so on). But not of clear cases of transitives.

Anyway, I’d be happy to hear of clear examples of volitionality-based differential-A marking (ruling out those accompanied by a change of lexical verb (common with light verbs), or a voice shift on the verb).

Not sure if we need to open a sub-thread on the list for this, could be just directly relayed to me. I’d be happy to post a general summary of whatever comes in,

Best wishes

Geoff

**************************************

Geoffrey Haig

Professor of Linguistics

Institut fuer Orientalistik

Universität Bamberg

96047 Bamberg

https://www.uni-bamberg.de/aspra/team/aktuelles-team/prof-dr-geoffrey-haig/

Tel. +49 951 8632490 / Dept. admin: +49 951 863 2491

Von: Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org> Im Auftrag von Kittilä, Seppo via Lingtyp
Gesendet: Dienstag, 29. Oktober 2024 15:52
An: LINGTYP at listserv.linguistlist.org
Betreff: [Lingtyp] Agentive vs. unagentive causees?

Dear all,

Does anyone here happen to know whether there are languages that would code what I have labelled here as agentive and unagentive causees differently. I refer here to cases like 'John made me build a house' (agentive causee) and 'great, now you made me break this' (unagentive causee). In both cases, the causee is responsible for what happens, but there are clear differences in whether the causee acts volitionally, purposefully and is in control. There are many languages where the agentivity/volitionality of the causer is formally manifest in cases like 'I broke something on purpose/accidentally' (for example the case marking of the Causer varies accordingly, see, e.g., Fauconnier 2012), but are there similar cases for Causees. And I am not looking for cases where the degree of volitionality of the Causee is different as in 'I made/let him do something', but cases where the coding of a Causee that accidentally causes something to happen is different from a Causee whose action is volitional and controlled.

All the best,

Seppo
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