Hindi particles and the Ergative Case
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2013
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Linguistics
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Thesis (B.A.)
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Abstract
The impetus for this thesis was a 2011 field methods paper that focused on the -/nd
particle in Hindi, and the evidence for labeling Hindi an ergative-absolutive
language. Preliminary study of the Hindi dataset yielded the conclusion that -/nsl is a
case marker that serves to identify Ergative case on subject arguments in transitive
sentences, and that that ergativity is split in Hindi along tense/aspectuallines, with the
expression of -/nd occurring at the intersection of past tense and perfective aspect. While
there is some basic truth to that assertion, it is sorely lacking in scope and depth. Simply
asserting that Hindi overt argument marking alignment is "ergative", as expressed
through a subject marker -/nsl, not only completely ignores the presence of object marker
-/kol as a serious challenge to ergative conceptualization of Hindi argument marking, but
it also undermines our ability to begin to understand the true nature and beautiful
complexities of those two particles.
Traditional analyses of ergativity would assert that -/nsl and -/kol should not be able to
coexist, and yet they do. This thesis seeks to solve the "problem" ofthis coexistence by
proposing a unifying and all-encompassing solution which reconciles -/nsl and ko. In the
process, I present a more detailed understanding of the nature of both particles, the
ultimate effect of which being a new way of conceptualizing Hindi argument marking.