Re: Instrumental case in ergative constructions

On Mon, 24 Apr 2000, BP Jonsson wrote:

> The ergative constructions in New Indo-Aryan go back to constructions using
> a passive past participle instead of a finite verb and the agent in the
> instrumental case.
>
> Are there any other languages where the instrumental case is used as the
> agental case in ergative constructions?
>
Hayu other Kiranti languages have this same pattern:

  La postposition -/ha/, marque du sujet ergatif, sert egalemant
  a marquer un instrument ou, plus generalement, un adverbial de
  maniere

  (Michailovsky, Boyd. 1988. La Langue Hayu. CNRS.

Of course, the really interesting question, given the proximity
of Kiranti and Indo-Aryan is whether one influenced the other,
or whether instrumental-as-ergative is a reflection of some more
general tendency, or whether it is more of an areal trait of
the Himalayan region.

Boudewijn Rempt  | http://www.valdyas.org