Re: GROUPLANG: cases (was: noun and verb roots)

Pablo wrote :

> >(i) 4 base-cases
> >
> >1. Agentive
> >2. Absolutive
> >3. Ergative
> >4. Patient
>
> I agree with this. Let me say, however, that it's more or less
> what I posted as a first version of the case system (long ago now),
Sorry, I didn't get that

> tho I used nominative and accusative for agent and patient.
> But I also included a "copulative" case to handle
> things like "He is a friend", "He is the boss", and "He is old".
> "He is old" would be replaced by an absolutive "he" + "to-be-red".
abs-he to-be-red

> But "He is the boss" is an equation; I don't think this case
> system could handle it properly... unless we have an equating verb
> "to be".
that's exactly the agentive's role :
age-me boss : 'I work as/have the role of the boss'
age-me abs/pat-he boss : 'I'm his boss'
age-me abs/pat-he friend : 'I'm his friend'

Note that absolutive/patientive could be replaced there with attributive 'to
feature' a boss, a friend (attributive is usually mistaken for 'genitive').

You're right : your 'copulative' 'to be'-case is an equative and may be further
divided into 3 cases :
identitive in 'he is the boss',
agentive in 'he behaves as the boss',
equative as in 'he pertains to the category of bosses'.
Of the 3, only agentive deals with process (working as a boss) : that's why I
pick it and leave the 2 other cases rest to verbs like for lative and locative
cases.

> >(iv) from passive state ('to be bitten') towards active state ('to bite').
> >
> I don't get what you mean here (and in (ii))
if 'bite' is a state, is the predicate's root the active 'biting' as in
nominative systems or the passive 'being bitten' as in ergative systems ?

> >I suggest we call the system STM (St Thomas' Meathod).
> >
> Fine. But why?
Hey ! This was only a joke ! St Thomas only believed concrete evidence he could actually see :-)

Mathias


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