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SUMMARY:Probabilistic ergative case in the languages of Manang (Nepal) - D
 r. Oliver Bond\, University of Surrey
DTSTART:20131204T171500Z
DTEND:20131204T190000Z
UID:TALK48570@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Joe Perry
DESCRIPTION:Oliver Bond (University of Surrey)\, Kristine A. Hildebrandt (
 SIUE) and Dubi Nanda Dhakal (Tribhuvan University)\n\nBoth the presence an
 d the absence of information are sometimes equally useful for communicatio
 n. A substantive example of this paradox is found in languages where other
 wise obligatory grammatical information identifying core arguments (e.g. e
 rgative case) may be ‘optionally’ absent without any consequences for 
 the grammatical function of NPs in the clause. Far from being communicativ
 ely uninformative\, the absence of ergative case marking has been linked t
 o a range of different effects on the meaning of a clause within languages
  exhibiting this variability (McGregor 2009). These include focus alternat
 ions (e.g. Tounadre 1995)\, and the marking of modality (e.g. Hildebrandt 
 2004) and aspect (e.g. Li (2007). \n\nWithin discourse\, Differential Subj
 ect Marking (DSM) is sometimes more probabilistic than predictable (Bond\,
  Hildebrandt and Dhakal 2013). The existence of ‘optional’ ergative ca
 se marking (OEM)\, and other types of DSM involving case alternations\, ra
 ises important questions about our understanding of the role of case in la
 nguage by (i) contesting the theoretical predominance of purely structural
  and lexically governed cases in mainstream linguistic theory and (ii) cha
 llenging preconceived ideas about the relationship between effability\, ob
 ligatoriness and grammaticality. The factors that condition OEM cross-ling
 uistically indicate that an adequate model of language must take into acco
 unt subtle yet generalisable semantic and pragmatic conditions on the morp
 hological form of core arguments (McGregor 2009). This clearly indicates t
 hat both morphosyntactic features (such as case) and conditions on those f
 eatures (in the sense of Corbett 2006\, 2012) play an important role in th
 e distribution of case marking. \n\nOEM is attested in many languages of t
 he Himalayas\, Australia and Papua New Guinea\, yet little is currently kn
 own about possible variation in conditions on case-optionality across clos
 ely related languages in contact. This research reports on the results of 
 a micro-typology of Indic\, Tamangic and Tibetan languages spoken within t
 he Tibetan Plateau Buffer Zone between the more typologically consistent I
 ndospheric and Sinospheric Tibeto-Burman languages of the region (Matisoff
  1991\, Bickel and Nichols 2003\, Hildebrandt 2007). Our approach\, which 
 uses data gathered using parallel elicitation and discourse collection met
 hods\, permits the exploration of linguistic variability through exploring
  the consistencies and subtle differences among the languages under invest
 igation.\n	In this paper we discuss the factors that contribute to the pro
 bability of ergative case marking occurring on a given noun phrase. The va
 riables investigated include the different attested features underlying sp
 lits in grammatical domains that permit OEM\, and the language-specific pr
 agmatic and structural conditions under which ergative case marking is abs
 ent. Specifically\, we consider the roles that features and conditions pla
 y in establishing the probabilistic distribution of ergative case and cons
 ider whether instances of agentive subjects without the morphological expo
 nence of case involve an ergative case feature. \n\nOur approach aims to d
 istinguish between (i) arguments that are consistently ergative (i.e. wher
 e the role of this case feature value is clear)\, (ii) arguments where the
  absence of ergative marking simply indicates the use of a morphologically
  unmarked case (such as absolutive\, which is zero-marked in many of the l
 anguages in our survey)\, and (iii) arguments where the absence of ergativ
 e case marker indicates an alternation in the morphosemantic or informatio
 n-structural properties of the clause\, but not the grammatical function o
 f the NP.\n\nWe demonstrate that among the most important variable for the
  presence of ergative case marking within the languages of Manang is topic
 ality. While tense-aspect\, focus and volitionality of the subject are cle
 arly important factors in determining the splits in the marking of ergativ
 e case in some languages such as Nepali and Lhasa Tibetan\, conditions on 
 the distribution of ergative in other languages such as in Manange and Nar
  concern maintenance of reference. For instance\, in Manage discourse\, er
 gative marking usually denotes a switch between equally agentive protagoni
 sts providing the ergative marked NP is the subject of an affirmative\, ev
 idential marked main clause or converbial transitive clause with a differe
 nt subject to its matrix. In Nar\, the ergative clitic typically marks non
 -discourse topic agents of transitives and ditransitives in affirmative\, 
 past tense main clauses. However\, this distribution is not absolute. Rath
 er than being predictable on the basis of a single condition or\, indeed\,
  being rigidly fixed\, the evidence examined points to an analysis of OEM 
 in which a multitude of conditions on case marking are employed to indicat
 e a meaningful contrast.\n
LOCATION:Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies\, Room 7
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