Re: THEORY: Can Ditransitive Verbs Agree With More Than Two Core Arguments?

--- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Chris Bates <chris.maths_student@N...>
wrote:
> Actually, ergative languages which only agree with the abs argument
> aren't that common. THe most common patterns are either: agreement
with
> neither, or agreement with both. Some exhibit accusative agreement
only
> with the subject. But only a very small number agree only with the abs
> argument.
Thanks.

(I remember reading that some languages have accusative agreement on
the verb and ergative case-endings on the NPs, but no languages have
ergative agreement and accusative cases.)

Do you by any chance have a reference that shows how common these
patterns you speak of are?  ("...how common are these patterns of which
you speak", I guess might have been more better to say.)

The statistical implication universal of which I was speaking is more
explicitly and precisely, "if in an ergative language a monotransitive
clause's verb cross-references or agrees with the ERGATIVE argument,
then with overwhelmingly more than chance frequency, it also cross-
references or agrees with the ABSOLUTIVE argument."

-----

Tom H.C. in MI

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