Looking for ergativity in Indo-Aryan
-
Saartje Verbeke
Abstract
Indo-Aryan languages are often described as ergative or split-ergative. The article investigates the extent of this claim, by looking at a number of constructions in 22 New Indo-Aryan languages. It is shown that ergative constructions are in general the minority, and that other mechanisms of alignment, such as transitivity-indicating agreement patterns, are as valuable to be studied as strictly ergative patterns. Our conclusion also applies to historical studies on the evolution of the Indo-Aryan alignment system, which sometimes seem to focus too much on specific ergative patterns, thus overlooking other motivations of alignment.
Abstract
Indo-Aryan languages are often described as ergative or split-ergative. The article investigates the extent of this claim, by looking at a number of constructions in 22 New Indo-Aryan languages. It is shown that ergative constructions are in general the minority, and that other mechanisms of alignment, such as transitivity-indicating agreement patterns, are as valuable to be studied as strictly ergative patterns. Our conclusion also applies to historical studies on the evolution of the Indo-Aryan alignment system, which sometimes seem to focus too much on specific ergative patterns, thus overlooking other motivations of alignment.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Ergativity in Indo-Aryan and beyond 1
- Looking for ergativity in Indo-Aryan 39
- The origin and development of the Old Indo-Aryan predicated - tá construction 61
- On the establishment of ergative alignment during the Late Middle Indo-Aryan period 109
- Why the ergative case in modal (in)transitive clauses? The historical evolution of aspect, modality, ergative and locative in Indo-Aryan 133
- Ergative alignment in Western New Indo-Aryan languages from a historical perspective 165
- The restoration of the ergative case marking of ‘A’ in perfective clauses in New Indo-Aryan 201
- Syntactic lability vs. ergativity in Indo-Aryan 237
- Language Index 259
- General Index 261
- Author Index 265
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Ergativity in Indo-Aryan and beyond 1
- Looking for ergativity in Indo-Aryan 39
- The origin and development of the Old Indo-Aryan predicated - tá construction 61
- On the establishment of ergative alignment during the Late Middle Indo-Aryan period 109
- Why the ergative case in modal (in)transitive clauses? The historical evolution of aspect, modality, ergative and locative in Indo-Aryan 133
- Ergative alignment in Western New Indo-Aryan languages from a historical perspective 165
- The restoration of the ergative case marking of ‘A’ in perfective clauses in New Indo-Aryan 201
- Syntactic lability vs. ergativity in Indo-Aryan 237
- Language Index 259
- General Index 261
- Author Index 265
