Re: LONG: Another new lang

From: Paul Bennett <Paul.Bennett@...>

> Grammar
>
> The grammar is a mixed ergative-absolute / dechticaetative system.
I'm impressed.  This is only the second time I've seen this term used and
the first in a conlang context.  I can't even remember where I saw it
before, but if memory serves, dechticaetiative (which I believe may be the
correct spelling) refers to systems which make a distinction between
principal objects (transitive DOs and ditransitive IOs) and subsidiary
objects (ditransitive DOs).  Am I correct?  I know that Kiswahili exhibits
this behavior, so perhaps I came across it in my readings about that
language.

> The system distiguishes the following cases (this also shows the usual
> word order): /* It's an horrendous abuse of the term "volitive", any
> better suggestions? */
>
> >Transitive Verb
> Subject - Ergative
> Verb - Inflected for Subject
> Object - Absolute
>
> >Ditransitive Verb
> Subject - Volitive
> Indirect Object - Ergative
> Verb - Inflected for Indirect Object
> Direct Object - Absolute
I'm confused!  I would have expected to see the principal objects take one
case (Absolutive perhaps) while the subsidiary objects would take a
different case (perhaps Dative).  Or have I bungled the meaning of
dechticaetiative?  You are correct Volitive is not quite what you mean here.
I would expect Ergative.  The pattern I would have expected here would be:

Transitive Verb
Subject - Ergative
Verb - Inflected for Subject
Object - Absolute

Ditransitive Verb
Subject - Ergative
Indirect Object - Absolutive
Verb - Inflected for Subject
Direct Object - Dative (or some other oblique case)

> >Passive (Di)Transitive Verb with Exophoric Subject (and Ind Obj)
> Verb - Inflected with <-h>
> Object - Absolute
>
> >Ditransitive Verb with Exophoric Indirect Object
> Subject - Volitive
> Verb - Inflected with <-h>
> Direct Object - Absolute
The antecedent of an exophor lies outside the sentence, but the exophor
itself does not.  What case do the exophors take in these constructs?
Is there an antipassive construction?  While ergative languages may have
both a passive and an antipassive (my amman iar does) or just an
antipassive, it would be unusual to have only a passive.  Unless your
language is only morphologically ergative and syntactically accusative.