Re: A sample of Tiki vocabulary

On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 20:07:41 -0500, Herman Miller <hmiller@...> wrote:

>I'm not clear on the difference between fluid-S and split-S.
My understanding is that a split-S language has two sets of intransitive
verbs, some of which obligatorily take an Agent subject, and some taking a
Patient subject.

In a fluid-S language, (at least some) intransitive verbs may take either
Agent or Patient subjects, with corresponding semantic differences in the
result. For instance, a verb like 'slide' with an Agent subject could
indicate volitional sliding (as children playing on ice), while Patient
subject might indicate non-volitional or accidental sliding.

Bfowol

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