Ergative in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam thar
Classical Tibetans has been reported to be an aspectually split ergative language (Regamey, 1954; Dixon, 1979). although this is true only of some texts. DeLancey (1984) shows that case marking in modern Lhasa Tibetan has an active-stative pattern. The data given in Saxena (1988) suggest that there...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179191 |
| _version_ | 1824455717120114688 |
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| author | Saxena, Anju |
| author2 | University of Oregon |
| author_facet | University of Oregon Saxena, Anju |
| author_sort | Saxena, Anju |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Classical Tibetans has been reported to be an aspectually split ergative language (Regamey, 1954; Dixon, 1979). although this is true only of some texts. DeLancey (1984) shows that case marking in modern Lhasa Tibetan has an active-stative pattern. The data given in Saxena (1988) suggest that there is a shift, in at least one modern dialect of modern Lhasa Tibetan, away from the active-stative pattern, and that the original ergative marker seems to function now as some sort of topic/emphasis marker2. In view of these various case marking patterns found in Tibetan, it will be interesting to see the case marking system in a text which is not so modern. The aim of this paper is to examine the 'ergative'3 pattern in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam Char 'the biography of Milarepa', an early vernacular Tibetan text. It will be shown that the Tibetan of the Mi=la=ras=pa has an active-stative case marking pattern. One of the limitations of working with a text is the nonavailability of all types of constructions that one would like in order to verify the claims; thus the suggestions made here should be taken as tentative. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:42:38Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/179191 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T03:42:38Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1791912024-07-24T05:05:52Z Ergative in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam thar Saxena, Anju University of Oregon Arts and Humanities Classical Tibetans has been reported to be an aspectually split ergative language (Regamey, 1954; Dixon, 1979). although this is true only of some texts. DeLancey (1984) shows that case marking in modern Lhasa Tibetan has an active-stative pattern. The data given in Saxena (1988) suggest that there is a shift, in at least one modern dialect of modern Lhasa Tibetan, away from the active-stative pattern, and that the original ergative marker seems to function now as some sort of topic/emphasis marker2. In view of these various case marking patterns found in Tibetan, it will be interesting to see the case marking system in a text which is not so modern. The aim of this paper is to examine the 'ergative'3 pattern in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam Char 'the biography of Milarepa', an early vernacular Tibetan text. It will be shown that the Tibetan of the Mi=la=ras=pa has an active-stative case marking pattern. One of the limitations of working with a text is the nonavailability of all types of constructions that one would like in order to verify the claims; thus the suggestions made here should be taken as tentative. Published version 2024-07-24T05:05:52Z 2024-07-24T05:05:52Z 1989 Journal Article Saxena, A. (1989). Ergative in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam thar. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 12(2), 35-39. https://dx.doi.org/10.32655/LTBA.12.2.05 0731-3500 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179191 10.32655/LTBA.12.2.05 2 12 35 39 en Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area © 1989 The Editor(s). All rights reserved. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Arts and Humanities Saxena, Anju Ergative in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam thar |
| title | Ergative in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam thar |
| title_full | Ergative in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam thar |
| title_fullStr | Ergative in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam thar |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ergative in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam thar |
| title_short | Ergative in Mi=la=ras=pa'i rnam thar |
| title_sort | ergative in mi la ras pa i rnam thar |
| topic | Arts and Humanities |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179191 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT saxenaanju ergativeinmilaraspairnamthar |