Re: Ergativity

Andreas wrote:
<<<
Note that (2) is ambiguous - it can mean either that Robert is cooking
something, or that something is cooking Robert. It seems to me the easiest
to
say we've simply got two verbs "to cook" here, one a causative, one an
intransitive.
>>>
Why not three verbs?
An intransitive (to enter/be into an active state), a transitive (to perform
an action affecting/relating to something) and a transitive causative (to
cause something to perform an action or enter into a state). There could
also be a fourth factitive and a fifth lassive (to make/to let something
perform an action or enter into a state).

To kick something --> no specific result implied (focusing on subject's
action)
To break something --> specific result implied (focusing on object's state)
To cook something --> focusing on either the object's resultive state or the
subject's active state.

Mathias

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