This hierarchy expresses the semantic naturalness for a lexically specified noun phrase to function as agent of a true transitive verb and inversely the naturalness of functioning as patient of such. The NPs at the top of the hierarchy manifest nominative-accusative case marking, while those at the bottom manifest ergative-absolutive case-marking.
Standardized
IF one of the elements of the hierarchy takes ergative case-marking, THEN all units to its right also take ergative case-marking as well; and IF one of the units takes accusative case-marking, THEN all units to its left also take accusative case-marking.
Upper dialect of Waxi (Iranian) (Payne 1980) where oblique subject construction coexists with the nominative-accusative construction. This phenomenon is restricted, however, to the 1st and 2nd person singular. Nganasan (Samoyed, Uralic)(Terescenko 1979) and Georgian (Kartvelian, Caucasian) (Aronson 1991) where nouns have an accusative patter and personal pronouns have no declension at all (neuter pattern).In Tirahi (Dardic)(Èdelman 1965), Yazguljami (Iranian) (Èdelman 1966) and Parachi (Iranian) (Morgenstierne 1929), 1st and 2nd person pronouns in the past tenses follow an ergative pattern, whereas nouns are accusative marked. In Waris (Trans-New Guinea, Papuan) lower animates have no marker for [-Argument], while all the other NPs have it. (Filimonova 1999)
Compare similar statements by Kozinsky 1980 (##472, 473, 474, 475) and Moravcsik 1978 (#591).