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Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area
Vol. 48:1 (2025) ► pp.99–132

The ergative and its differential marking in Mùwe Ké

ORCID logo | Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University
This paper showcases the Mùwe Ké ergative -gane / -gadiː, a unit formed from -ga, a particle of specificity, with ablative marker -ne or demonstrative dìː. This is unique in the language family, where ergative -gi is usually found, and it is shown that ‘modern’ -gane has replaced historical -gi in the language, which is still found on pronominals. The functions of -ga and -gane are shown to centre around precise indication, highlighting, and intersubjective focussing of attention. The second half of the paper provides a presentation of the differential use of -gane. Looking at possible differential argument marking triggers, it is shown that only information structure and the notion of focus account for the differential patterns found in the language.
Keywords: Mùwe Ké, Tibeto-Burman, Mugu, Nepal, ergative, differential argument marking, differential ergative marking, information structure, focus
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Methods of data collection
  • 3.Terminology
    • 3.1Grammatical notions
    • 3.2Information structure
    • 3.3Differential argument marking
  • 4.The Mùwe Ké ergative
  • 5.Differential ergative marking in Mùwe Ké
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Note
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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