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From: wales@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Query on ergative languages
Message-ID: <6312@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 13-Jul-85 17:36:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.6312
Posted: Sat Jul 13 17:36:11 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 17-Jul-85 21:17:08 EDT
Reply-To: wales@ucla-cs.UUCP (Rich Wales)
Distribution: net
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 29

I am seeking more information on so-called "ergative" languages.

In ergative languages, the "subject" and "direct object" concepts of
Indo-European and many other languages (wherein every verb must have
a "subject") do not exist.  Rather, they have what might be called
"patient" and "agent" concepts; every verb must have a "patient").

(a) "Patient" basically corresponds to the "subject" of intransitive
    verbs, or the "direct object" of transitive verbs.

(b) "Agent" basically corresponds to the "subject" of transitive verbs.

The best-known example of an ergative language is Basque.  European
grammarians, never having encountered an ergative language before and
committed to casting every language into a Graeco-Latin mold, tried to
explain Basque by proposing that every transitive verb in the language
used the passive voice!

What I want to find out is, what other ergative languages exist other
than Basque?  I have heard rumors that some Polynesian and Caucasian
languages are ergative, but I have not yet been able to verify this.

Also, are there any languages which use neither the "subject/object"
nor the ergative "patient/agent" concepts for binding nouns to verbs?
-- 
Rich Wales // UCLA Computer Science Department // +1 213-825-5683
	3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, California 90024 // USA
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