Re: Ergative (was: Re: Are some languages easier to learn?)

At 03:43 -0500 on 21.10.1998, R. Skrintha wrote:


> Hi,
>
> On Sun, 18 Oct 1998, Matt Pearson wrote:
>
> > In Hindi - and, I believe, many/most/all other Indo-Aryan languages -
> > a split-ergative system is found, such that ergative-absolutive (or
> > ergative-accusative) marking, together with an ergative agreement
> > pattern, shows up in perfective clauses.
[snip]

> I suspect it might have developed from (classical) Sanskrit sentences in
> which during a certain period it became common to write verbless sentences
> with the agent in the instrmental. Eg.,
>
>   Raamena     etat dRSTam (asti)
>   Raama-INSTR this seen   (is)
>   "by Raama this is seen"
>
> ("R" is vocalic; "S" = /S/; "T" is retroflex)
>
> Over time, the -ena masculine instr. ending took on an ergative
> appearance, (thus: Raamena --> Raam ne) while the patient was reanalyzed
> as an accusative.
The NIA ergative construction indeed developed from this Sanskrit
instrumental construction.  I doubt, however, that the Hindi _ne_ marker
developed from the instrumental case ending of Sanskrit a-stems, at any
rate directly, since it wouldn't agree with the sound-laws.  There must
have been some particle involved even if the _n_ is from the instrumental
ending.  Also the instrumental of Sanskrit nouns from other stem-classes
doesn't have an _n_.

/BP


B.Philip. Jonsson <bpj@...>

Solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant (Tacitus)
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