The antipassive construction in Dargi Gilles Authier École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris SLE – Naples – September 2, 2016 1 Syntactic valency alternations a. valency-increasing – subject-adding (causatives, etc.) – object-adding (applicatives, etc.) b. valency-decreasing (= detransitivizing) – subject-removing/demoting (passives, anticausatives) – object-removing/deleting (antipassives, P-incorporation) c. valency-rearranging – subject-object rearranging (inverses) – object-object-rearranging (applicatives) d. argument-identifying (reflexives, reciprocals) 2 Georgian polyfunctional detransitives: one form, four values kal-i a dž-av-s pul-s Woman-NOM spend-PRS-3 money-DAT « The woman spends (the) money. » Detransitive Patient preserving pul-i i-xardž-eb-a 1) « The money is spent (by the woman). » 2) « The money spends (easily). » Agent preserving kal-i i-xardž-eb-a 1) « The woman spends herself (for others). » 2) « The woman spends (a lot). » 3 Avar Bezhta Kryz 4 Kryz: maximal lexical rectriction Only eat and drink bala-yar-ir yux ğiğ-de-d child-PL-ERGmilk drink.IPF-NEG.PRS-N The foals do not drink milk. AP u-be-k ibe bala-yar ğiğ-ar-de-d 3-NPL-SUB SELFNPLGEN child-PL drink.IPF-DETR-NEG.PRS-NPL Their foals do not drink under them. 5 Kryz: maximal lexical rectriction = Productive (recent) passive lem-ird yux ğiğ-ar-de-d donkey-GEN milk drink-DETR-NEGPRS-N The milk of the donkey is not drunk. Only other instance: T‘ start knitting a sock => AP lay a first egg Highly recessive: archaism 6 Avar musa-ca kağat qwa-na Musa-ERG letter(NOM) write-AOR « Musa wrote a letter. » / musa qwa-dar-ana Musa write-DETR-AOR « Musa has been busy writing. » Lexically restricted, irregular: derivational č’ a-ze tr. kill → č’ a-dar-ize (intr.) qwer-ize tr. slay → qweq-ar-ize (intr.) aħ-ize tr. all → aħ-de-ze (intr.) b-its-ine → bits-ard-ize « make a massacre » « slay cattle (before winter) » « call repeatedly, shout » « reproach » 7 Bezhta and other Tsezic languages Active öždi qarandi boy.ERG hole.NOM(N) The boy dug the hole. telic past y-ö:t’ö-yö N-dig-PST Antipassive => imperfective/atelic interpretation öžö (qarandi-yad)ö:t’ö-lä:-yo boy.NOM(M) hole-INSTR (M)-dig-DETR-PST The boy was digging (at the hole . 8 Dargic languages 9 Ergative alignment Mäžu xuxu-li äli ati ḡa a ul witch-ERG A.(NOM) guard « The witch made Alibatir a guard. » v-arq’-ib M-do.PF-AOR(3) äli ati ḡa a ul v-itag-ib A.(NOM) guard M-become.PF-AOR(3) « Alibatir became a guard. » 10 Active / Antipassive constructions Murad-li bäliq:-e Murad-ERG fish-PL.NOM d-urc-ule NPL-catch.IPF-CV / Antipassive Murad bäliq:-a-li v-urc-ule Murad(NOM) fish-PL.OBL-ERG M-catch.IPF.CV ca=y COP-M ca=y COP-M Both: Murad is at hi g / at hes fishes. < Tsugni same in the North (Akusha, Tanti) and in the South (Icari) 11 A non-typical antipassive not a voice-like morphological phenomenon: no marking but for the different verbal agreement but a construction reversing the regular transitive one the argument with Agent role appears in the nominative and the Patient is almost always present, in the e gati e case 12 Aspectual meaning? DOM? Usually progressive or habitual contexts/forms the Patient is often plural, contextually indefinite: ħu 2.NOM(M) – vallah By_God se b-ic-es what(NOM) N-sell.PF-INF nu ä ’lu-ma 1.NOM(M) wit-PL.ERG kay-ibsi-ri? M.sit.PF-PERF.ATTR-2 v-irc-u-si-ra. M-sell.IPF-IPF.ATTR-1 « What are you selling, sitting (here)? – By God, I am a wit-monger! » 13 Lexical sensitivity eat a d dri k pro ide the ajorit of te t e a ples + have synthetic perfectives used with AP construction BUT antipassive is easily elicited with most transitive verbs, including with young speakers (bilingual in Russian) 14 Lexical restrictions Xaba-li ’ulha grandmother-ERG bread(NOM) Gra d a is aki g read. *Xaba grandmother ’ulha-li bread-ERG b-uc’-u-li cari N-bake-IPF-ATTR COP.F r-uc’-u-li F-bake-IPF-ATTR cari COP.F In Tsugni, but apparently not in Akusha 15 ? Not Patient topicality marking Baba-li Mother-ERG niššala our ’üle cow.PL.NOM iccule milking cari cop.F Baba Mother(NOM) niššala our ’üla-li iccule cow.PL.OBL-ERG milking cari cop.F Mother ilks our o s i the illage. 16 Not DOM It äči-li 3(NOM) work-ERG « He works » v-irq’-u-li M-do.IPF-IPF-CV It-ili b-irq’-u-li 3-ERG N-do.IPF-IPF-CV = It v-irq’-u-li 3(NOM) N-do.IPF-IPF-CV « He is doing this work. » ca-y COP-M ca-y COP-M i this äči work(NOM) ca-y COP-M i this äči-li work-ERG 17 Aspect restriction ħä äči b-arq’-ibli ca-y that work(NOM) N-do.pf-CV COP-M It-ili 3-ERG « He did that work. » *It ħä ʕäči-li v-arq -ib-li ca-y 18 Aspect, not tense (When I arrived) It-ili 3-ERG ħä äči b-irq’-ulde that work(NOM) M-do.IPF-IPF.PST it 3(NOM) ħä äči-li that work-ERG v-irq’-ulde M-do.IPF-IPF.PST Both: « He was working on this. » 19 Cf. North-West Iranian Talyshi Sabir Mǝ ǝd-i ıjo -ǝdǝ ǝ-vinde / ǝ-vindi / vinde-dǝ S(NOM) M-OBL market-AT FUT-see / IPF-see.IPF / see-PRES « Sabir will see/ would see / sees Memmed at the market. » Sabir-i Mǝ ǝd ıjo -ǝdǝ=ş S-OBL M(NOM) market-AT=3(A) « Sabir saw Memmed at the market. » vinde see.AOR 20 But perfective AP < inchoative (other er s tha eat a d dri k resort to a i hoati e ha ge-of-state) periphrastic turn: xaburta b-uh-es eħ iẍ-ili sabi. tale.PL.ERG HPL-tell-INF HPL.start-PF.CV COP.HPL « They started narrating tales. » il äħ ad-li-s ’a-la ’ält a 3(NOM)(N) Ahmad-OBL-DAT fire-GEN flame.PL.ERG irt-es b-u -ili sabi. let_go.IPF-INF N-be.PF-PF.CV COP.N « It (the dragon) started throwing at Ahmad with flames. » 21 Preliminary conclusion / hypotheses Not patient-topicality related (except eat a d dri k restricted to imperfective or change-of-state contexts Not strictly grammatical but syntactic: nominative pivot ? or pragmatic: backgrounded events ? 22 S/A orientation ? nu 1.NOM(M) ä ’lu-ma wit-PL.ERG v-irc-u-si-ra. M-sell.IPF-IPF.ATTR-1 « I am a wit-monger! » More permanent property of the agent Present tense <= periphrasis i perfe ti e participle+copula naturally subject A/S oriented => pi ot function ? 23 A/S orientation of the imperfective participle čak’a Bird(NOM) kari-la-r oven-LOC-F ’a ’-li bread-ERG r-uc’-u-si F-bake-IPF-ATTR xala- eš-li-či arbäq’-i sabi Grand-mother-OBL-SUP N.arrive.PF-CV COP.N The sparro arri ed ear a gra d other who as aki g read i the o e . => fi ite for s ased o this parti iple ? But ot al a s… 24 Syntactic ergativity? Many of the AP examples are in complex sentences suggesting that the antipassive construction makes the Agent in the nominative accessible to the discursive role of continuous topic => No i ati e role ai te a e 25 Nominative role maintenance in final clauses il i dz-i that spring-LAT ši b-už-es water.OBL(ERG) N-drink.IPF-INF lä-b- ’-u-si sabi PV-A-come.IPF-IPF-ATTR COP.A « At the spring arrived a chicken, to drink water. » ä ä. chicken(NOM)(A) 26 Nominative role maintenance in final clauses ču-čil v-arx i k’a REFL.PL-COMIT M-together dumplings.ERG kat-urli say. (M)make_sit.PF-CV COP.M uk-aq-es (M)eat.IPF-CAUS-INF « He made him sit (and) eat dumplings with them. » 27 Nominative role maintenance => depictive simultaneous converbal clause il-di ši ’a kula-la 3-ERG miller-GEN čud i- i k’a dumplings.ERG qalibarg family(N) b-uk-uli N/HPL-eat.IPF-IPF.CV b-a ĝ-ib. HPL/N-find.PF-AOR(3) « He found the miller and his family eating dumplings. » 28 nominative role maintenance: simultaneous converbs r-uqna ḡi F-old(NOM) berkluma food.PL.ERG proud F-be-PF.CV annoying F-be-PF.CV r-irc-uli F-sell.IPF-CV r-i -ubli, xux r-i -ubli, « The old woman, selling food, became annoyingly proud and... » 29 nominative role maintenance: simultaneous converbs iš-di äħ adħi 3-PL(NOM) some_time kal-i sabi remain.pf-PF.CV COP.HPL žalta b-irq’-u-li. dispute-PL.ERG HPL-do.IPF-IPF-CV « They remained quite some time bickering. » 30 Nominative role maintenance in sequential clauses xalq’-li d-e ž-ili, People-OBL(ERG) NPL-drink.PF-CV r-uqna-s kal-i aħe . F-old-DAT remain.PF-CV NEG « After the people had drunk (water, NPL), there remained none for the old woman. » 31 Nominative role maintenance => after sequential clause du ħä galga-li-či Child tree-OBL-SUPERLAT i -ba ukuli apple-PL.ERG (M)eat.IPF.CV ac’-ili climb-PF.CV say. COP.M « The boy had climbed on the tree (and) was eating apples. » 32 nominative role maintenance ? Or backgrounding ? äli ati u či-li-či-v-ad kac’-ili Alibatir(NOM) horse-OBL-SUPER-M-EL dismount.PF-PF.CV ä či ag-li v-irq-u-li, whip-OBL(ERG) M-beat.IPF-IPF-CV b-ataq-ur il N-let_go-AOR(3) 3(N) « Alibatir dismounted, and, whipping his horse, dispatched it. » 33 Just backgrounding function? unc-i ši -ni ox-PL(NOM) water-OBL(ERG) « While the oxen were drinking… » d-už-u-si zamana NPL-drink.IPF-IPF-ATTR time 34 Foregrounding ? Contrast focus ? ’a ’ sen ħe-b-ir-ul-ri, bread(NOM) why NEG-N-do.IPF-PRS-2 de ’-li r-uk-u-li? flour-OBL(ERG) F-eat.IPF-IPF-CV « Why, instead of making bread, do you eat flour? » 35 Con lusion : o je ts « Unmarked object tend to be rhematic, marked object tend to be thematic » (Dalrymple & Nikolaeva) Not in our case 36 Con lusion : su je ts Keenan & Comrie (1977) « the general claim that in ergative languages absolutives are more relativizable than ergatives receives little support »… Do we need to work with a soluti es ? Cf. Kibrik Rather use nominative and look for a way to unify transitive alternations 37 Conclusion 3: Dargi as an unstable (socio-)linguistic system The AP construction is less frequent ut ot recessive i the language Elusive data: most of the literature written down in a standard different from the speakers ati e dialect AP is much less rare in complex sentences, with a clear « nominative maintenance bias » And it regularly pops up in schoolbooks Maybe… a calque of the Russian nominative-accusative alignment? 38 Thank you for your attention (and to Gasik Sulaibanov) gilles.authier@gmail.com École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris 39 Antipassive nominativepivot in simultaneouscontinuous construction ildi alža a-la berkluma-ni b-uk-aq-u-li, b-už-aq-u-li un-ra 3.PL(NOM) paradise-GEN food.PL.ERG kal- HPL-eat-CAUS-IPF-CV HPL-drink-CAUS-IPF-CV stay-AOR-1 « I kept feeding them with foods from paradise. » 40