ergativity
▲
0▲ 0 ▼ 0
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 1 Apr 2023, 16:21.
[comments] nlnnolwynnergativityverbs
5. 2021 CoWriMo
?
?
7. 2022 Goals
?
?
9. 2023 Goals
?
?
10. 2023 Lexember Roundup
?
?
11. 2024 Goals
?
?
13. Captative verbs
?
?
14. Collocations
?
?
15. Colors in Nolwynn
?
?
21. Culture: Food Rituals
?
?
23. Culture: Names
?
?
24. Culture: Parenting
?
?
25. Culture: Religion
?
?
26. Demonstratives
?
?
27. Discourse particles
?
?
28. Emotion signifiers
?
?
29. ergativity
?
?
31. font characters
?
?
33. Grammatical moods
?
?
37. Intransitive Verbs
?
?
39. Lesson #1: Verb basics
?
?
40. Lesson #2: Verbs again
?
?
41. Making comparisons
?
?
42. More about pronouns
?
?
47. Politeness and respect
?
?
53. Relative Clauses
?
?
55. Story mood
?
?
57. Telling time
?
?
58. Tulwyn vs Nolwynn
?
?
59. Untranslatable words
?
?
?FYI...
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
NolwynnLike many verb-final languages, Nolwynn is primarily ergative-absolutive. Nolwynn could perhaps more accurately be called Fluid S, since using ergative markings or accusative markings depends on the volition of the subject.
Simple explanation of ergativity:
There are 3 types of arguments – S[ubject], A[gent], and P[atient]
- Subject – the main argument of an intransitive verb: eeyrikoa, I sleep; lozúna twuza, the woman walks.
- Agent – the active participant in a transitive sentence. The agent acts with volition and enacts some kind of change: pwalotxa rewa lozúna ezareyaa, the woman pets the panda;
- Patient – the passive argument in a transitive sentence: pwalotxa rewa lozuna ezareyaa; the woman pets the panda.
This means that the subject of an intransitive verb is treated like a direct object of a transitive verb – they are both treated the same.
Nolwynn uses the particle rewa to show that the following subject noun is an ergative argument.
Pwalotxa rewa lozúna ezareyaa
Panda ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent woman stroke.3SGUnknown code
The woman pets the panda
Pwalotxa rewa tšer ezareyaa?
panda ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent who pet.3SThird person singular (person)
neither speaker nor addressee
Who pets the panda?
When the subject is a pronoun, rewa is not used. Instead, the infix -we- is used. It is considered a shortened version of rewa. Append -we- directly to the pronoun:
Wiwunwalaa geeywenaza
English speak.1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I<ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent>
I speak English
Unerizšeya swo’eey utxaoziiwe
Boyfriend accompany.1SGUnknown code love.3SGUnknown code <ERGErgative (case)
TRANS subject; agent>
She loves my boyfriend
Pwalotxa ezareyawea
panda pet<ERG>.3S
She pets the panda.
But ergativity is unmarked in the imperative forms:
Pwalotxa ezareyá!
panda pet.IMPImperative (mood)
command
Pet the panda!
Some verbs, when used with a conscious object, require the preposition luka "in regards to" rather than the ergativity particle rewa:
orika zwoleeywe
tree see.1S<ERG>
Kxalina luka zwoleeywe
Kxalina in regards to see.1S<ERG>
Verbs that use this pattern are derived from body parts resulting in an action that doesn’t necessarily impact the object in a tangible way. Separating the object from the active verb is seen as a mark of respect; increasingly, youth are not doing it.
Here are some other articles that describe other details about Nolwynn's verbs:
participles
intransitive verbs
indirect objects
grammatical moods
captative verbs
ergativity
converbs
✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
Comments
