Re: THEORY: transitivity

Jim Henry wrote:
> (These involuntary sensation states really
> have two patients and no agents.  So I need two different patient
> case markers...)
I call these Experiencer-object verbs.  The experiencer is placed in the
dative case, while the object is placed in the absolutive.

Lassi'l ta'lkwaz pitanu'
see-3rdSIrrAbs I-dat stone
I see the stone.

One can make it into an Experiencer-subject verb, which makes the
experiencer ergative, and the thing seen absolutive, which gives the
verb a sense of volition, "control by experiencer", as I stated in my
grammar.

Lassi'l-ku pitanu'
see-3rdSIrrAbs-I.nom stone
I look at the stone, I observe the stone, I watch the stone.

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