On the diachrony of the ‘Ethical Dative’
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T. Givón
Abstract
In this paper I will discuss the diachronic rise of the so-called ‘Ethical Dative’ (henceforth ED). In examining first data from Spanish or Hebrew, a multi-step diachronic progression seems to lead to the ED construction:ALLATIVE > DATIVE > BENEFACTIVE >REFLEXIVE-BENEFACTIVE > EDSome people may be tempted to call such development a ‘grammaticalization chain’. A closer examination of data from a third language, Tamil, shows that the only necessary step in the seeming ‘chain’ is the final local step REFLEXIVE-BENEFACTIVE > ED. The whole ‘chain’ seems to be highly universal only because each of its individual local steps is by itself highly universal. But the only step relevant to the rise of ED is the final local step. In addition to elucidating the development of the ED construction itself, the data discussed here call into question the theoretical validity of the concept ‘grammaticalization chains’.
Abstract
In this paper I will discuss the diachronic rise of the so-called ‘Ethical Dative’ (henceforth ED). In examining first data from Spanish or Hebrew, a multi-step diachronic progression seems to lead to the ED construction:ALLATIVE > DATIVE > BENEFACTIVE >REFLEXIVE-BENEFACTIVE > EDSome people may be tempted to call such development a ‘grammaticalization chain’. A closer examination of data from a third language, Tamil, shows that the only necessary step in the seeming ‘chain’ is the final local step REFLEXIVE-BENEFACTIVE > ED. The whole ‘chain’ seems to be highly universal only because each of its individual local steps is by itself highly universal. But the only step relevant to the rise of ED is the final local step. In addition to elucidating the development of the ED construction itself, the data discussed here call into question the theoretical validity of the concept ‘grammaticalization chains’.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction ix
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Part I. Typological studies
- Non-aprioristic typology as a discovery tool 3
- Chorophorics, or the difference between place as an entity and place as a position in space 27
- On the diachrony of the ‘Ethical Dative’ 43
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Part II. Contributions to historical linguistics
- Biactantial agreement in the Gongduk transitive verb in the broader Tibeto-Burman context 69
- The dinguist’s dilemma 83
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Part III. TAME and case alignment
- Person-sensitive TAME marking in Galo 107
- Agent case marking in Sahaptian 131
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Part IV. Multi-clause constructions
- The Kurtöp - si construction 155
- Verb serialization in Ede from a diachronic perspective 179
- Tense-aspect morphology from nominalizers in Newar 195
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Part V. Functional motivation and extension
- Predicting reference form 223
- Causation as “functional sink” in Northern Paiute 237
- The challenge of Maa ‘Away’ 259
- Name index 283
- Language index 287
- Subject index 291
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction ix
-
Part I. Typological studies
- Non-aprioristic typology as a discovery tool 3
- Chorophorics, or the difference between place as an entity and place as a position in space 27
- On the diachrony of the ‘Ethical Dative’ 43
-
Part II. Contributions to historical linguistics
- Biactantial agreement in the Gongduk transitive verb in the broader Tibeto-Burman context 69
- The dinguist’s dilemma 83
-
Part III. TAME and case alignment
- Person-sensitive TAME marking in Galo 107
- Agent case marking in Sahaptian 131
-
Part IV. Multi-clause constructions
- The Kurtöp - si construction 155
- Verb serialization in Ede from a diachronic perspective 179
- Tense-aspect morphology from nominalizers in Newar 195
-
Part V. Functional motivation and extension
- Predicting reference form 223
- Causation as “functional sink” in Northern Paiute 237
- The challenge of Maa ‘Away’ 259
- Name index 283
- Language index 287
- Subject index 291
