Ergativity: toward a theory of a heterogeneous class: toward a theory of a heterogeneous class
@article{Bittner1996ErgativityTA,
title={Ergativity: toward a theory of a heterogeneous class: toward a theory of a heterogeneous class},
author={Maria Bittner and Ken Hale},
journal={Linguistic Inquiry},
year={1996},
volume={27},
pages={531-604}
}The theory of Case and agreement presented in Bittner and Hale 1996 reduces the traditional distinction between syntactic and morphological ergativity to a structural difference - namely, opacity or transparency of VP to government from C. This hypothesis is tested against detailed evidence from Inuit (opaque) and Warlpiri (transparent). The complex Case and agreement systems of both languages are fully accounted for, and it is shown that the proposed structures further explain other structure…
No Paper Link Available
172 Citations
The Dative-Ergative Connection
- Linguistics
- 2006
The classic division between structural vs. inherent/ lexical case proposed within Government-Binding (Chomsky 1981) remains a very popular one, despite evidence to the contrary that the inner…
On the syntax of ergativity ın Kurdish
- Linguistics
- 2014
Abstract This paper is an attempt to develop an analysis of ergativity syntax, focusing on the past transitive structures in Kurdish where ergativity manifests itself. Adducing evidence from a…
On Diagnostics of Structural Case and the Nature of Ergative Case : A Reply to Woolford 2006
- Linguistics
Almost everyone agrees that case marking on nominals splits into two distinct types. The first, referred to as “structural case,” does not depend on the particular thematic role assigned to the…
Symmetry in Structure Building
- Biology
- 2004
. This paper defends three interconnected claims: (a) selection is the only licensing procedure available to UG, specifically, checking is an instance of selection; (b) selection obtains in the…
On Inherent and Dependent Theories of Ergative Case
- Linguistics
- 2017
It is argued that no known language displays a straightforwardly active case pattern—a fact that can be explained by the DCT but not the ICT.
On Dependent Ergative Case (in Shipibo) and Its Derivation by Phase
- LinguisticsLinguistic Inquiry
- 2014
Focusing on the Shipibo language, I defend a simple ‘‘dependent case’’ theory of ergative case marking, where ergative case is assigned to the higher of two NPs in a clausal domain. I show how…
Syntactic Ergativity as Case Discrimination
- Linguistics
- 2017
Similar effects are seen in Tongan, which responds to the ban on ergative extraction with a different “repair”. Instead of avoiding ergative, as West Greenlandic does (by using its antipassive…
The structural ergative of Basque and the theory of Case
- Linguistics
- 2014
We investigate the nature of morphological ergativity through the ergative/split-S system of Basque. We show that in Basque ergative case and agreement reflect structural rather than inherent Case:…