Abstract
This study examines the ergative marking system in Changki, a dialect of the Ao language of Nagaland, India. Changki exhibits an ergative-absolutive pattern but is not strictly an ergative-absolutive language. The ergative marker -nə́ on A arguments of transitive verbs is obligatory in some constructions, while it is non-obligatory in others. The primary goal is to examine the factors determining obligatory and non-obligatory ergative marking and their functions in Changki. The study shows that animacy, discourse-pragmatic factors, and high agency verbs determine the ergative marking. Furthermore, ergative may also appear with S arguments of unergative verbs if the action is performed deliberately or purposely, but not with S arguments of unaccusative verbs. The use of ergative has multiple functions, such as providing agency to the inanimate subjects, focusing the agent/actor in a discourse, and highlighting the agency of the agent. This study will enhance the understanding of non-obligatory ergative systems in Naga, in particular, and Tibeto-Burman languages as a whole.
Abbreviations included in the Leipzig Glossing Rules
- 1sg
-
first person singular
- 3sg
-
third person singular
- all
-
allative
- cop
-
copula
- dat
-
dative
- decl
-
declarative
- def
-
definite
- erg
-
ergative
- f
-
feminine
- fut
-
future
- ins
-
instrumental
- m
-
masculine
- pfv
-
perfective
- pl
-
plural
- prog
-
progressive
- prs
-
present
- pst
-
past
Abbreviations not included in the Leipzig Glossing Rules
- 1a
-
first person subject agreement marker
- 2a
-
second person subject agreement marker
- 2p
-
second person object agreement marker
- 3a
-
third person subject agreement marker
- abs
-
absolutive case
- agt
-
agentive case
- ant
-
anterior tense/aspect
- dim
-
diminutive suffix
- disjunct
-
disjunct
- evidential
-
evidential
- hab
-
habitual
- impf
-
imperfective
- impfv
-
imperfective aspect
- nr
-
nominalizer/relativizer suffix
- nrl
-
non-relational prefix
- obj
-
object marker
- perf
-
perfective
- rpet
-
repetitive aspect
- seq
-
sequential converb suffix
- sim
-
simultaneous converb suffix
- temp.cv
-
temporal converb suffix
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments and suggestions. Any errors are solely our responsibility.
-
Research ethics: NA.
-
Informed consent: NA.
-
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
-
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
-
Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.
-
Research funding: None declared.
-
Data availability: Not applicable.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Animacy, postpositions, and the spatial cases in Niya Prakrit
- Transmission history and textual criticism of the Sanskrit Jīvakapustaka in light of the Mahātikta formula and its Siddhasāra parallel
- Postpositional locative expressions in Dogri: a syntactic-semantic analysis of spatial, directional, and temporal relations
- Agentive and non-agentive light verb constructions in Pahari-Pothwari
- Ergative marking system in Changki
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Animacy, postpositions, and the spatial cases in Niya Prakrit
- Transmission history and textual criticism of the Sanskrit Jīvakapustaka in light of the Mahātikta formula and its Siddhasāra parallel
- Postpositional locative expressions in Dogri: a syntactic-semantic analysis of spatial, directional, and temporal relations
- Agentive and non-agentive light verb constructions in Pahari-Pothwari
- Ergative marking system in Changki