The present paper describes the ergative alignment patterns in the extant languages of the Mayoruna branch: Matses, Matis, Kulina, Dëmushbo, and Chankuëshbo/Korubo. The patterns that emerge from the present comparative study suggest that the Mayoruna languages, particularly Matses, are in the process of developing more uniform ergatively-aligned morphology. The alignment patterns in these languages vary in several details, but overall are found to be much more similar to each other than they are to other Panoan languages, thereby supporting the hypothesis that the languages in the Mayoruna branch compose a linguistic subfamily.
Shipibo-Konibo (a Panoan language from the Peruvian Amazon) has a highly consistent ergative-absolutive case-marking system that operates all along the Animacy Hierarchy. The marker -n (which exhibits a rich allomorphy) indicates ergative, genitive, instrumental and other oblique functions. Through internally-headed relative clauses it is possible to relativize on S/O but not on A arguments; this constitutes the only instance of syntactic ergativity. Different types of non-ergative arrangements are present in a variety of constructions: accusative case-marking on emphatic pronouns, accusative distribution of emphatic pronouns and of the verbal plural agreement marker -kan, neutral case-marking in a dedicated progressive construction, a very idiosyncratic A/O/Sa vs. So pattern in the occurrence of doubled pronouns, and tripartite configuration of inflectional morphology on adjuncts.
This paper is an investigation of morphological and syntactic ergativity in Cavineña (Tacanan, Bolivia). Cavineña has a straightforward and consistent ergative/absolutive case-marking system, but unlike other Tacanan languages, Cavineña also has a system of pronominal enclitics in second position in the clause. This system displays a number of intricacies which led previous studies to analyze Cavineña as a person-based split-ergative language. However, it is shown here that the so-called “ergative split” has a morphophonological basis rather than a morphosyntactic one. The second part of the paper searches for ergativity at the level of complex sentences by looking at coreference restrictions between a main clause and a number of dependent clause types. However, none of the coreference constraints investigated work ergatively, but rather according to an S/A pivot or without being sensitive to the grammatical function of the arguments.
This article first gives a typological and morphosyntactic profile of Kuikuro, a southern Cariban language. Kuikuro has ergative nominal case marking and alingnments, as well as nearly identical nominal and verbal inflection. The second part focuses on the absolutive and ergative Cases, the former attributed to internal arguments (S and O) and the latter to the external argument (A). The postposition heke may mark either a syntactic adjunct (Perspective) to intransitive verbs or the external (ergative) argument of transitive or transitivized verbs; we present a (semantic) hypothesis on the relation between these distinct syntactic units. We conclude that in Kuikuro, all intransitive verbs behave as inaccusatives. We find evidence that confirms the emergence of a dominant morphosyntactic ergative through reanalysis of nominalization structures. In the last part, we propose to conjoin two hypotheses, theoretically distinct but empirically convergent. The first one is that offered by Alexiadou (2001) in the frame of the generative formal theory: the state of affairs in ergative languages is similar to the case patterns in nominalizations. The second one is that of Gildea (1998): inside the Cariban family, languages with ergative morphosyntax (Full Set II) are innovative, etymologically relatable to nominalizing and adverbializing morphology of Proto-Cariban.
Nominative-absolutive alignment is a form of split-ergativity in two ways. The first split is internal to the clause type, which presents both nominative and absolutive morphological patterns with no corresponding accusative or ergative patterns: most present no nominal case-marking (although in two of the languages described here, free pronouns can be used only for nominative arguments); where there is auxiliary agreement, it is always with the nominative; absolutive pronominal enclitics mark the main verb. The label nominative-absolutive follows from the absence of a distinct marked accusative or ergative pattern. The second split is based on tense-aspect-mood-polarity, in which the nominative-absolutive clauses code future, imperfective, irrealis, and negative. These patterns are both counter to the expected universal patterns identified in the typological literature: no other cases have been identified in which case-marking is nominative while verbal cross-referencing is absolutive, and the universally expected semantic values of the ergative clause type are, respectively, past, perfective, realis and positive. We conclude by asking if the number of counter-examples to putative universals of split ergativity should lead us to question the validity of the definition for the typological category “ergative construction”.
The goal of this paper is to explore ergativity in Trumai, a genetically isolated indigenous language of Brazil. The initial sections describe and analyze the alignment patterns observed in morphology and syntax, including a detailed investigation of verbal classes. Morphologically, case is ergative-absolutive, but syntactically the situation is more complex: word order and several syntactic constructions (including raising, relative and reflexive clauses) present ergative-absolutive patterns, but there are also two much less salient nominative-accusative patterns (effects in argument suppression, use of posture auxiliaries). No particular alignment is observed in other domains traditionally used to identify grammatical relations (e.g., anaphoric control of coreference). After examining arguments for O/S or A/S as subject, we reach the conclusion that Trumai lacks evidence for traditional grammatical relations. The paper concludes with a discussion of the historical sources of the patterns found in basic main clauses.
Katukina-Kanamari, possibly the only extant language of the Katukina family, features ergative alignment both in morphology and syntax. The paper is devoted to the description of the various domains of grammar where ergativity is present, as well as of a functionally conditioned accusative pattern. The main aim is to show, on the basis of empirical data, that on the formal side a syntactically ergative language can be quite isomorphic with an accusative language, the main differences being the always present split of transitivity in ergative languages and the interface between semantics and morphosyntax: the mapping of semantic roles onto grammatical relations is inverted between ergative and accusative systems, not only in the structure of the basic clause but also in valence changing processes.
In Movima (unclassified, lowland Bolivia), the arguments of a transitive clause are basically encoded according to the position of their referents in a salience hierarchy, which includes deictic, semantic, and pragmatic levels. The participant roles of the arguments (actor or undergoer) are indicated by direct and inverse marking on the predicate. The argument whose referent is lower in the hierarchy is encoded in the same way as the single argument of intransitive clauses, and it also has a privileged syntactic status. This results in an unusual split-ergative alignment pattern: the direct construction, which is pragmatically unmarked, patterns ergatively, and the inverse construction patterns accusatively. I propose that the system can be accounted for by the syntactic similarity of nouns and verbs and the identical encoding of the possessor and the salient argument of a transitive clause. Both transitive and intransitive clauses may, therefore, have arisen from an intransitive equational construction with either a monovalent/nonpossessed or a bivalent/possessed predicate nominal.
The present paper describes the ergative alignment patterns in the extant languages of the Mayoruna branch: Matses, Matis, Kulina, Dëmushbo, and Chankuëshbo/Korubo. The patterns that emerge from the present comparative study suggest that the Mayoruna languages, particularly Matses, are in the process of developing more uniform ergatively-aligned morphology. The alignment patterns in these languages vary in several details, but overall are found to be much more similar to each other than they are to other Panoan languages, thereby supporting the hypothesis that the languages in the Mayoruna branch compose a linguistic subfamily.
Shipibo-Konibo (a Panoan language from the Peruvian Amazon) has a highly consistent ergative-absolutive case-marking system that operates all along the Animacy Hierarchy. The marker -n (which exhibits a rich allomorphy) indicates ergative, genitive, instrumental and other oblique functions. Through internally-headed relative clauses it is possible to relativize on S/O but not on A arguments; this constitutes the only instance of syntactic ergativity. Different types of non-ergative arrangements are present in a variety of constructions: accusative case-marking on emphatic pronouns, accusative distribution of emphatic pronouns and of the verbal plural agreement marker -kan, neutral case-marking in a dedicated progressive construction, a very idiosyncratic A/O/Sa vs. So pattern in the occurrence of doubled pronouns, and tripartite configuration of inflectional morphology on adjuncts.
This paper is an investigation of morphological and syntactic ergativity in Cavineña (Tacanan, Bolivia). Cavineña has a straightforward and consistent ergative/absolutive case-marking system, but unlike other Tacanan languages, Cavineña also has a system of pronominal enclitics in second position in the clause. This system displays a number of intricacies which led previous studies to analyze Cavineña as a person-based split-ergative language. However, it is shown here that the so-called “ergative split” has a morphophonological basis rather than a morphosyntactic one. The second part of the paper searches for ergativity at the level of complex sentences by looking at coreference restrictions between a main clause and a number of dependent clause types. However, none of the coreference constraints investigated work ergatively, but rather according to an S/A pivot or without being sensitive to the grammatical function of the arguments.
This article first gives a typological and morphosyntactic profile of Kuikuro, a southern Cariban language. Kuikuro has ergative nominal case marking and alingnments, as well as nearly identical nominal and verbal inflection. The second part focuses on the absolutive and ergative Cases, the former attributed to internal arguments (S and O) and the latter to the external argument (A). The postposition heke may mark either a syntactic adjunct (Perspective) to intransitive verbs or the external (ergative) argument of transitive or transitivized verbs; we present a (semantic) hypothesis on the relation between these distinct syntactic units. We conclude that in Kuikuro, all intransitive verbs behave as inaccusatives. We find evidence that confirms the emergence of a dominant morphosyntactic ergative through reanalysis of nominalization structures. In the last part, we propose to conjoin two hypotheses, theoretically distinct but empirically convergent. The first one is that offered by Alexiadou (2001) in the frame of the generative formal theory: the state of affairs in ergative languages is similar to the case patterns in nominalizations. The second one is that of Gildea (1998): inside the Cariban family, languages with ergative morphosyntax (Full Set II) are innovative, etymologically relatable to nominalizing and adverbializing morphology of Proto-Cariban.
Nominative-absolutive alignment is a form of split-ergativity in two ways. The first split is internal to the clause type, which presents both nominative and absolutive morphological patterns with no corresponding accusative or ergative patterns: most present no nominal case-marking (although in two of the languages described here, free pronouns can be used only for nominative arguments); where there is auxiliary agreement, it is always with the nominative; absolutive pronominal enclitics mark the main verb. The label nominative-absolutive follows from the absence of a distinct marked accusative or ergative pattern. The second split is based on tense-aspect-mood-polarity, in which the nominative-absolutive clauses code future, imperfective, irrealis, and negative. These patterns are both counter to the expected universal patterns identified in the typological literature: no other cases have been identified in which case-marking is nominative while verbal cross-referencing is absolutive, and the universally expected semantic values of the ergative clause type are, respectively, past, perfective, realis and positive. We conclude by asking if the number of counter-examples to putative universals of split ergativity should lead us to question the validity of the definition for the typological category “ergative construction”.
The goal of this paper is to explore ergativity in Trumai, a genetically isolated indigenous language of Brazil. The initial sections describe and analyze the alignment patterns observed in morphology and syntax, including a detailed investigation of verbal classes. Morphologically, case is ergative-absolutive, but syntactically the situation is more complex: word order and several syntactic constructions (including raising, relative and reflexive clauses) present ergative-absolutive patterns, but there are also two much less salient nominative-accusative patterns (effects in argument suppression, use of posture auxiliaries). No particular alignment is observed in other domains traditionally used to identify grammatical relations (e.g., anaphoric control of coreference). After examining arguments for O/S or A/S as subject, we reach the conclusion that Trumai lacks evidence for traditional grammatical relations. The paper concludes with a discussion of the historical sources of the patterns found in basic main clauses.
Katukina-Kanamari, possibly the only extant language of the Katukina family, features ergative alignment both in morphology and syntax. The paper is devoted to the description of the various domains of grammar where ergativity is present, as well as of a functionally conditioned accusative pattern. The main aim is to show, on the basis of empirical data, that on the formal side a syntactically ergative language can be quite isomorphic with an accusative language, the main differences being the always present split of transitivity in ergative languages and the interface between semantics and morphosyntax: the mapping of semantic roles onto grammatical relations is inverted between ergative and accusative systems, not only in the structure of the basic clause but also in valence changing processes.
In Movima (unclassified, lowland Bolivia), the arguments of a transitive clause are basically encoded according to the position of their referents in a salience hierarchy, which includes deictic, semantic, and pragmatic levels. The participant roles of the arguments (actor or undergoer) are indicated by direct and inverse marking on the predicate. The argument whose referent is lower in the hierarchy is encoded in the same way as the single argument of intransitive clauses, and it also has a privileged syntactic status. This results in an unusual split-ergative alignment pattern: the direct construction, which is pragmatically unmarked, patterns ergatively, and the inverse construction patterns accusatively. I propose that the system can be accounted for by the syntactic similarity of nouns and verbs and the identical encoding of the possessor and the salient argument of a transitive clause. Both transitive and intransitive clauses may, therefore, have arisen from an intransitive equational construction with either a monovalent/nonpossessed or a bivalent/possessed predicate nominal.