Re: Ergative Construction?

En réponse à Elliott Lash <AL260@...>:

> I have a rudimentary language which seems like it could be ergative. Any
> help would be appreciated.
>
> In the language there are morphemes which agree with the object of the
> verb:
>
> myo' /mjo?/ "to hunt (something)
> myo'es /mjo?@s/ "to hunt things"
> myo'a /mjo?a/ "to have hunted something"
> myo'as /mjo?as/ "to have hunted things"
>
> (Note these can also be 3rd person singular "he hunts it", "he hunts
> them")
>
> However, when these are attached to an intransitive verb, the meaning is
> different:
>
> pe'tenyi /pe?ti-nyi/
>    "to go into some inhabitable area"
>    "he goes into some inhabitable area"
> pe'tenyis /pe?ti-nyis/
>     "they go... "
>
> (phonology note: [e] > [i-]/_n)
>
> So my question is, could this be a form of ergative morphology?
>
Definitely! Agreement of the verb in number with the subject of an intransitive
sentence, and with the object of a transitive sentence. Avar is also a natlang
where the verb agrees only with the object of transitive sentences and the
subject of intransitive ones (don't ask me more about it, I know that only
because it's an example given in the booklet I have with me right now :) ). As
for the fact that the verb agrees only in number (or does it agree in person
too?), it's a feature that exists in some languages. In some languages even,
it's the form of the verb that says whether the subject, or a complement
(depending on the language) is singular or plural :) .

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

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