Marked Absolutive and Marked Nominative Case Systems in Synchronic and Diachronic Perspective

这个项目的目标是研究一种罕见的格系统的地理分布、类型学和历时性，我们称之为“有标记的主格/绝对格”。这些系统的定义特征是，有一个显性的格语素为主格/绝对格（即不及物和及物结构之间共享的格），与非显性（零）语素为主格/作格形成对比。这种显性与零标记的分布违背了类型学的期望，有时甚至被认为是不可能的。最不常见的亚型，“显着绝对，主要发现于中美洲，和其他更广泛的已知亚型，”显着主格，主要发现于非洲和一般加州地区的北美。我们将研究异常格系统之间的共性和差异，并将它们与一般的格系统联系起来，涉及形式标记与功能标记的问题，并且在可能的情况下，我们将寻求阐明格系统的起源和发展。由于有标记主格/绝对格的不同实例之间的变化轨迹是不及物从句中的格标记，特别是在名词性述谓等小从句类型中，因此对有标记主格/绝对格的研究将补充对不同类型的不及物从句中格标记的一般类型学研究。这将基于涉及大小写的所有对齐类型的语言的平衡的全球样本。

The goal of this project is to study the geographical distribution, typology and diachrony of a rare type of case system, which we call `marked nominative/absolutive¿. The defining characteristic of these systems is that there is an overt case-morpheme for the nominative/ absolutive case (i.e. the case that is shared between intransitive and transitive constructions), in contrast to a non-overt (zero) morpheme for the accusative/ergative. This distribution of overt vs. zero marking goes against typological expectations and is even sometimes considered to be impossible. The most uncommon subtype, `marked absolutive¿, is found mainly in Mesoamerica, and the other, more widely known subtype, `marked nominative¿, is found mainly in Africa and in the general California area of North America. We shall be investigating commonalities and differences among the anomalous case systems and relate them to case systems in general, to issues of formal vs. functional markedness, and, where possible, we shall seek to shed light on the origins and developments of the case systems. Since the locus of variation among different instances of marked nominative/absolutive is case marking in intransitive clauses, particularly in ¿minor¿ clause types such as nominal predication, the investigation of marked nominative/absolutive will be supplemented with a general, typological study of case marking in different types of intransitive clauses. This will be based on a balanced, world-wide sample of languages of all alignment types that involve case-marking.