Re: Instrumental case in ergative constructions

B.P. Jonsson wrote:

>Are there any other languages where the instrumental case is used as the
>agental case in ergative constructions?
Many Australian languages use a single case (typically called the "ergative")
to mark both transitive subjects and instruments.

My conlang Tokana does the same thing to some degree:  Inanimate
'actors' are marked with instrumental case whether they are construed
as 'secondary actors' (instruments) or 'primary actors' (inanimate agents):

   Ma  kiospè  itan  hauata
   I.Nom  burned-it  the.Inst  fire-Inst
   "I burned it with the fire"

   Itan  hauata  kiospè
   the.Inst  fire-Inst  burned-it
   "The fire burned it"

This is not quite the same thing as you're for, though.  Transitive subjects
can also be marked using the nominative or ablative case, depending on
animacy, definiteness, and volitionality.

Matt.