Re: Noun Cases

Quoting Javier BF <uaxuctum@...>:

> >> I believe I found the answer after asking the question. I found a list
> >> of cases. It defines Causative as "indicating causation by" and
> >> Instrumental as "indicating means by which." So I guess it's the
> >> difference between "he was hit BY a tree" and "he was hit WITH a tree"?
> >> Or could Instrumental be used for both of these?
> >
> >That's how I understood it. Causative and Instrumental are also used in
> the
> >conlang I'm currently working at, Ayeri.
>
> The one in "he was hit BY a tree" is just good ol' ergative,
> or call it "agentive" if it feels less heretic than using the
> term "ergative" outside the context of 'ergative' languages.
What feels heretic to me isn't using 'ergative' in a non-ergativity, but using
it for what apparently is an oblique case. Is there any precedent for
this? 'Agentive' seems unhappy too, since a tree hardly is an "agent" in the
act of hitting, but that's semantics.

It is certainly _possible_ to use the same case for both, in which
case 'instrumental' would be the obvious choice of term.

                                                  Andreas