Most Active-Stative languages have the case of the subject of intransitives lexically fixed for each verb. A simple way of varying this would be to have the case of the subject of intransitives lexically fixed for each noun.
Of course, further complications could be introduced, with some form of interplay between nominal lexical preferences and verbal lexical preferences. Maybe some simple structure like these:
nounerg nounabs verberg erg abs verbabs abs abs
or like this:
nounerg nounabs verberg erg erg verbabs erg abs
or finally like this:
nounerg nounabs verberg erg abs/erg verbabs abs/erg abs
In the last table, the conflicting preferences are not resolved, but open up for those combinations to have some kind of differential marking on the subject. However, one could also decide to just let one of the combinations remain unresolved. Somehow, it seems natural that the differential marking for the nounabs/verberg combination not to distinguish quite the same meaning as the nounerg/verbabs combination.
Verbs that prefer ergative marking may be verbs that clearly have agents although not necessarily patients, whereas verbs that prefer absolutives may be verbs that more clearly have undergoers, experiencer, perceivers, etc. Nouns that prefer the ergative may, conversely, be nouns with low animacy - nouns that normally would not be parsed as agents otherwise.
Thus, in the conflicting combinations, low-ranked nouns may preferentially receive ergative marking when it would be suppressed by the verb, but high-ranked nouns may go by without any problems. However, with verbs that prefer the ergative, high-ranking nouns may shed the ergative marking if their preference is absolutive, since there is no need to clarify that they indeed are the subject.
Verbs that prefer ergative marking may be verbs that clearly have agents although not necessarily patients, whereas verbs that prefer absolutives may be verbs that more clearly have undergoers, experiencer, perceivers, etc. Nouns that prefer the ergative may, conversely, be nouns with low animacy - nouns that normally would not be parsed as agents otherwise.
Thus, in the conflicting combinations, low-ranked nouns may preferentially receive ergative marking when it would be suppressed by the verb, but high-ranked nouns may go by without any problems. However, with verbs that prefer the ergative, high-ranking nouns may shed the ergative marking if their preference is absolutive, since there is no need to clarify that they indeed are the subject.
Having the resolutions be perfectly vertical or horizontal would make the nominal or the verbal preference entirely suppress the other preference, in which case it makes no sense even to talk of the other word class having such a preference at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment