Re: Ergative to Nominative Transition

>Does the following transition seem likely?
>
>Proto-Gweinic was a mixed ergative language. The nouns used ergative (E)
>and absolutive (Ab) and the pronouns used nominative (N) and accusative
>(Ac). The ergative and nominative and the absolutive and the accusative
>were identical in the inanimate desclension except for the nominative
>singular, since there were only two inanimate pseudo-pronouns, compared to
>six animate ones. The first change occurred when a Proto-Gweinic speaker
>used VNAc in an originally VNAb construction. Then VEAc replaced VEAb. Now
>that there was no difference in the transitive roles of E and N, N and E
>became confused, and the new animate N ending was the E ending (R) followed
>by the old N ending (k<h>ex). The E ending was inserted to the other cases
>on analogy with the nominative. The inanimate ending underwent a parallel
>development (N + leG, N + puotj).  The change from VEAc to VNAc left VAb as
>an anomaly which underwent leveling to become VN.
>In summary:
>1. VNAB -> VNAC
>2. VEAB -> VEAC
>3. VEAC -> VNAC
>4. VAB -> VN
>Various sound changes altered Proto-Gweinic into Gweinic:
>1. tj, dj -> s, z
>2. s -> z
>3. ow, ej -> o:, e:
>4. M, R -> m, r before a vowel
>5. u, o -> w, j before a vowel
>6. G -> j, x -> h -> 0
>
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