 |
13th International Conference
on Functional Grammar
|
| Functional hierarchy of macroroles in active,
ergative and nominative constructions |
Irine Melikishvili,
Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi,
Georgia
1.
In two Kartvelian languages – Georgian and Svan - three
types of syntactic constructions are realized: Active and
extended Ergative in intra-clausal marking of arguments and
Nominative in syntactic organization of the sentence.
2. The first construction is connected with the imperfective
aspect. The core arguments have two patterns of marking: a)
the active argument is marked with the nominative case and
active v- pattern of personal markers; b) the inactive
arguments - Possessor, Perceptor, Experiencer (S), Patient (Od),
Recipient, Addressee, Benefactor (Oind) - are marked with
dative case and inactive m- pattern of personal markers. This
construction with two macroroles (ACT and INACT) and without
the distinction between Patient and Recipient is defined as
active and not nominative. In the opposition active/inactive,
active is the
unmarked category
3. In the aorist the binary system undergoes double
division: the Active macrorole of imperfective series is
divided into two differently marked categories: one is marked
with the nominative (S) and the other (A) with the ergative
case. The Patient (Od) is separated from the inactive
macrorole and has different morphological marking –
nominative case; other inactive arguments maintain the dative
marking. This construction can be regarded as the extended
Ergative.
4. The
Perfective construction is formed through the transformation
of static perfect into active on the basis of
possessive-benefactive version. The subject of transitive and
intransitive agentive atelic verbs (A) is marked with oblique
case – dative, and cross-referenced with the inactive m-
pattern of personal markers. The patient and subject of
intransitive telic and static verbs are marked with the
nominative. The construction can be regarded as extended
Ergative too.
5. The active construction is to be regarded as primary
in Kartvelian languages because of the unmarked character of
aspectual and temporal forms, conditioning the active
construction, the impossibility of the reconstruction of the
ergative case marker on Common Kartvelian level and the
nonexistence of ergativity in verbal morphology of aorist
forms. The existence of the undoubtedly secondary ergative(dative)
construction, conditioned by perfective aspect, also points in
the direction of the possibility of emergence of secondary
ergativity in Kartvelian languages on the basis of the active
construction.
6. The principles of grouping of verb arguments into
macroroles and their hierarchy are different in active,
ergative and nominative constructions. The underlying
principle of AC is the direct semantically based marking of
arguments. The underlying principle of EC is the immediate
constituent structure of VP: the nearest arguments (O, S) of
VP are regarded as unmarked. The underlying principle of NC is
the grammaticalisation of subject/predicate relationship; the
subject has the unmarked value. All these principles are
universal, but in each construction one of them has the
dominant position in organizing of verb arguments into
macroroles and determining their functional hierarchy.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
