The Oxford Handbook of Ergativity (Oxford Handbooks)

This volume offers theoretical and descriptive perspectives on the issues pertaining to ergativity, a grammatical patterning whereby direct objects are in some way treated like intransitive subjects, to the exclusion of transitive subjects. This pattern differs markedly from nominative/accusative marking whereby transitive and intransitive subjects are treated as one grammatical class, to the exclusion of direct objects. While ergativity is sometimes referred to as a typological characteristic of languages, research on the phenomenon has shown that languages do not fall clearly into one category or the other and that ergative characteristics are not consistent across languages. Chapters in this volume look at approaches to ergativity within generative, typological, and functional paradigms, as well as approaches to the core morphosyntactic building blocks of an ergative construction; related constructions such as the anti-passive; related properties such as split ergativity and word order; and extensions and permutations of ergativity, including nominalizations and voice systems. The volume also includes results from experimental investigations of ergativity, a relatively new area of research. A wide variety of languages are represented, both in the theoretical chapters and in the 16 case studies that are more descriptive in nature, attesting to both the pervasiveness and diversity of ergative patterns. 1. Inroduction / Jessica Coon, Diane Massam, And Lisa Demena Travis -- 2. Egativity In Discourse And Grammar / John W. Du Bois -- 3. Parameterizing Ergativity: An Inherent Case Approach / Michelle Sheehan -- 4. Accusative And Ergative In Hindi / Anoop Mahajan -- 5. On Inherent And Dependent Theories Of Ergative Case / Mark C. Baker And Jonathan David Bobaljik -- 6. The Locus Of Ergative Case / Julie Anne Legate -- 7. Ergative Need Not Split: An Exploration Into The Totalerg Hypothesis / Itziar Laka -- 8. The Structural Source Of Split Ergativity And Ergative Case In Georgian / Léa Nash -- 9. Split Ergativity In Syntax And At Morphological Spellout / Ellen Woolford -- 10. Split Ergativity Is Not About Ergativity / Jessica Coon And Omer Preminger -- 11. Ergativity And Differential Case Marking / Andrej Malchukov -- 12. Three-way Systems Do Not Exist / Gereon Müller And Daniela Thomas -- 13. Antipassive / Maria Polinsky -- 14. Remarks On The Relation Between Case-alignment And Constituent Order / Tarald Taraldsen -- 15. Ergativity In Nominalization / Artemis Alexiadou -- 16. Ergativity And Austronesian-type Voice Systems / Michael Yoshitaka Erlewine, Theodore Levin, And Coppe Van Urk-- 17. On The Morphosyntactic Reflexes Of Information Structure In The Ergative Patterning Of Inuit Language / Alana Johns And Ivona Kuc̆erová -- 18. Ergative Constellations In The Structure Of Speech Acts / Martina Wiltschko -- 19. Grammaticalization Of Ergative Case Marking / William B. Mcgregor -- 20. Deconstructing Iranian Ergativity / Geoffrey Haig -- 21. Intransitivity And The Development Of Ergative Alignment / Edith Aldridge -- 22. Developments Into And Out Of Ergativity: Indo-aryan Diachrony / Miriam Butt And Ashwini Deo -- 23. Ergativity And Language Change In Austronesian Languages / Ritsuko Kikusawa -- 24. Lexical Category And Alignment In Austronesian / Daniel Kaufman -- 25. The Acquisition Of Ergativity: An Overview / Edith L. Bavin -- 26. The Role Of Defaults In The Acquisition Of Basque Ergative And Dative Morphology / Jennifer Austin -- 27. A Comparative Study Of The Acquisition Of Nominative And Ergative Alignment In European And Mayan Languages / Clifton Pye And Barbara Pfeiler -- 28. Processing Ergativity: Behavioral And Electrophysiological Evidence / Adam Zawiszewski -- 29. Experimental Approaches To Ergative Languages / Nicholas Logenbaugh And Maria Polinsky -- 30. Correlates Of Ergativity In Mayan / Judith Aissen -- 31. Ergative Case In Burushaski: A Dependent Case Analysis / Mark C. Baker -- 32. Ergativity In Basque / Ane Berro And Richardo Etxepare -- 33. Hindi/urdu And Related Languages / Miriam Butt -- 34. Ergativity In Inuktitut / Richard Compton -- 35. Ergativity In Nakh-daghestanian / Diana Forker -- 36. Ergativity In Neo-aramaic / Geoffrey Khan -- 37. Ergativity In Africa / Christa König -- 38. Ergativity In Tibeto-burman / Shobhana Chelliah -- 39. The Ergative In Warlpiri: A Case Study / Mary Laughren -- 40. Ergative--absolute Patterns In Tongan: An Overview / Yuko Otsuka -- 41. Alignment Across Tsimshianic / Tyler Peterson -- 42. What Being A Syntactically Ergative Language Means For Katukina-kanamari / Francesc Queixalós -- 43. Ergativity In Jê Languages / Andrés Pablo Salanova -- 44. Interaction Of Ergativity And Information Structure In Jaminjung (australia) / Eva Schultze-berndt -- 45. Alignment And Orientation In Kartvelian (south Caucasian) / Kevin Tuite -- References -- Author Index -- Language Index -- Subject Index. Edited By Jessica Coon, Diane Massam And Lisa Demena Travis. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 1139-1239) And Index. This volume examines the phenomenon of ergativity, a grammatical patterning whereby direct objects are in some way treated like intransitive subjects, to the exclusion of transitive subjects. It includes theoretical approaches from generative, typological, and functional paradigms, as well as 16 language-specific case studies.