ergative (n.) (erg, ERG)

A term used in the GRAMMATICAL description of some languages, such as Inuktitut and Basque, where a term is needed to handle CONSTRUCTIONS where there is a formal parallel between the OBJECT of a TRANSITIVE VERB and the SUBJECT of an intransitive one (i.e. they display the same CASE). The subject of the transitive verb is referred to as ‘ergative’ whereas the subject of the intransitive verb, along with the object of the transitive verb, are referred to as ABSOLUTIVE. In some languages this kind of case marking (ergativity) is displayed only under certain circumstances, with ACCUSATIVE patterns being used elsewhere (split ergativity). For example, in Yucatec Mayan, in the PERFECT, the absolutive marks both the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb, while the ergative marks the subject of transitives. In the imperfect, the absolute marks only transitive objects, while the ergative marks the subjects of both transitives and intransitives. The concept of ergativity has also been applied to English and other languages by some LINGUISTS, though the formal markers of the relationships involved are less clear. In this approach, SENTENCES such as The window broke and The tree broke the window would be analyzed ‘ergatively’: the subject of the intransitive use of broke is the same as the object of its transitive use, and the AGENT of the action is thus said to appear as the ‘ergative subject’. Ergative verbs are also known as UNACCUSATIVE verbs, especially in RELATIONAL GRAMMAR.