Marked nominative as a type of ergative - WCCFL 42 talk

Oct 17, 2026

Uploaded by Damian

Marked nominative systems are examined as a challenge to standard case theory when treated as nominative-accusative patterns with a “markedness reversal.” The talk argues that these systems are better analyzed as ergative-absolutive alignment. Ergative case is proposed to be assigned to noun phrases in SpecVoiceP, and the approach relies on an expletive Voice head whose EPP requirement is satisfied by movement of the internal argument of unaccusative verbs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages80

Reading Time3 h 22 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Most common alignment systems

Markedness

Marked nominative

The puzzle

This talk

Marked nominative as a type of ergative Maria Kouneli Rutgers University [maria.kouneli@rutgers.edu](maria.kouneli@rutgers.edu) April 14th, 2024 WCCFL 42, UC Berkeley Kouneli Marked nominative April 14th, 2024 0 / 43 Introduction Most common alignment systems ▶ Nominative-Accusative: A , S , O (1) Sakha (Turkic) (Vinokurova 2005 via Baker 2015: p. 1) a. Min kel-li-m. I.nom come-past-1sS ‘I came.’ b. Min oloppoh-u aldjat-ty-m. I.nom chair-acc break-past-1sS‘I broke the chair.’ Kouneli Marked nominative April 14th, 2024 1 / 43 Introduction Most common alignment systems ▶ Nominative-Accusative: A , S , O (1) Sakha (Turkic) (Vinokurova 2005 via Baker 2015: p. 1) a. Min kel-li-m. I.nom come-past-1sS ‘I came.’ b. Min oloppoh-u aldjat-ty-m. I.nom chair-acc break-past-1sS ‘I broke the chair.’ ▶ Ergative-Absolutive: A , S , O (2) Tsez (Nakh-Daghestanian)(adapted from Polinsky & Potsdam 2001: p.586) a. eniy-a¯ ziya b-iser-si mother-erg cow.III.abs III-feed-pst.evid ‘The mother fed the cow.’ b. ziya b-ik’i-s cow.III.abs III-go-pst.evid ‘The cow left.’ Kouneli Marked nominative April 14th, 2024 1 / 43 Introduction Markedness ▶ Ergative and accusative are usually marked, while nominative and absolutive are usually unmarked. ▶ In Dependent Case theories (Marantz 1991 and subsequent work), this markedness pattern is built into the theory: ergative and accusative are the dependent cases, while nominative and absolutive are the unmarked cases. Kouneli Marked nominative April 14th, 2024 2 / 43 Introduction Markedness ▶ Ergative and accusative are usually marked, while nominative and absolutive are usually unmarked. ▶ In Dependent Case theories (Marantz 1991 and subsequent work), this markedness pattern is built into the theory: ergative and accusative are the dependent cases, while nominative and absolutive are the unmarked cases. ▶ In Agree-based theories, it is common for ergative and accusative to be associated with v, and for nominative and absolutive to be associated with T (Legate 2008 a.o. ) . ▶ Even though there is no clear theory of markedness in these approaches, the case associated with T is usually the unmarked one. Kouneli Marked nominative April 14th, 2024 2 / 43 Introduction Marked nominative ▶ These systems have what looks like nominative-accusative alignment for morphological case and agreement ▶ ...but nominative is always (morphologically) marked and accusative is unmarked. (3) Kipsigis (Nilotic) a. ∅-´e-`e n`e:g s`om´ok-´u p´e:k. 3-drink-ipfv goats.nom three-nom water ‘The three goats are drinking water.’ b. ∅-r´uj-t´o:s n`e:g s`om´ok-´u. 3-sleep-pl.ipfv goats.nom three-nom ‘The three goats are sleeping.’ Kouneli Marked nominative April 14th, 2024 3 / 43 Introduction The puzzle ▶ Marked nominative looks like a mix of nominative-accusative and ergativeabsolutive alignment. ▶ Reflected in terminology (‘marked nominative’ vs. ‘extended ergative’; Dixon 1979, 1994) . Kouneli Marked nominative April 14th, 2024 4 / 43 Introduction The puzzle ▶ Marked nominative looks like a mix of nominative-accusative and ergativeabsolutive alignment. ▶ Reflected in terminology (‘marked nominative’ vs. ‘extended ergative’; Dixon 1979, 1994) . ▶ These systems violate Greenberg’s Universal 36: ▶ “Where there is a case system, the only case which ever has only zero allomorphs is the one which includes among its meanings that of the subject of the intransitive verb”(Greenberg 1966: p.95) . Kouneli Marked nominative April 14th, 2024 4 / 43 Introduction The puzzle ▶ Marked nominative looks like a mix of nominative-accusative and ergativeabsolutive alignment. ▶ Reflected in terminology (‘marked nominative’ vs. ‘extended ergative’; Dixon 1979, 1994) . ▶ These systems violate Greenberg’s Universal 36: ▶ “Where there is a case system, the only case which ever has only zero allomorphs is the one which includes

FAQs

What problem does marked nominative pose for existing theories of case?

Marked nominative appears to mix properties of nominative-accusative and ergative-absolutive systems, and it challenges how current case theories handle the resulting markedness pattern.

How does the talk reinterpret marked nominative systems?

It argues that marked nominative systems are actually a type of ergative-absolutive alignment rather than nominative-accusative systems with a markedness reversal.

Where is ergative case assigned in the proposed analysis?

Ergative is assigned to noun phrases in SpecVoiceP.

Oct 17, 2026

Uploaded by Damian