Universal #591

Legacy number: 591

 Number  588
 Original  Whenever in a language there are two classes of noun phrases such that members of one class are case-marked ergatively and members of the other class are case-marked accusatively, and there is a semantic difference between the classes related either to activeness of noun phrase referents, or their quantitative properties, or their pragmatic prominence, members of the class that ranks higher on these properties will be marked accusatively and members of the lower-ranking class, ergatively.
 Standardized  Whenever in a language there are two classes of noun phrases such that members of one class are case-marked ergatively and members of the other class are case-marked accusatively, and there is a semantic difference between the classes related either to activeness of noun phrase referents, or their quantitative properties, or their pragmatic prominence, members of the class that ranks higher on these properties will be marked accusatively and members of the lower-ranking class, ergatively.
 Keywords  case, accusative, ergative, NP, hierarchy, split
 Domain  inflection, syntax, semantics
 Type  implicational hierarchy
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute?
 Basis  languages mentioned in Moravcsik 1978d
 Source  Moravcsik 1978d: 257

← Back to Universals Archive

Discussion
Notes
See also similar statements by Kozinsky 1980 (##472-474) and Silverstein 1976 (#217).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
See also similar statements by Kozinsky 1980 (<a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=472"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">, <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=473"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">, <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=474"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">) and Silverstein 1976 (<a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=217"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">).