Ergative-absolutive language facts for kids

Ergative-absolutive languages are a special type of language. In these languages, words are grouped differently than in English. They treat the "doer" of a simple action (like she in She walked) the same way they treat the "thing acted upon" in a more complex action (like dog in She walked the dog). Both of these are treated differently from the "doer" of the complex action (like she in She walked the dog).

In languages like English, which are called nominative languages, the person or thing doing an action is usually called the subject. Whether the action is simple (like She walked) or involves something else (like She walked the dog), the subject is treated the same way. The thing being acted upon is called the object and is treated differently.

But in an ergative-absolutive language, it's a bit different. The "doer" of an action that affects something else (like she in She walked the dog) is put into a special group called the ergative case. The "doer" of a simple action (like she in She walked) and the "thing acted upon" (like dog in She walked the dog) are both put into another group called the absolutive case.

Some examples of ergative-absolutive languages include Basque, Georgian, Mayan, and Tibetan.

How Languages Group Words

Languages have different ways of showing how words relate to each other in a sentence. This is often done using something called "case." Case is like a label on a word that tells you its job in the sentence – whether it's the one doing the action, the one receiving the action, or something else.

There are two main ways languages group these "jobs" for words:

• Nominative-accusative (like English)
• Ergative-absolutive (a different system)

English: A Nominative Language

Let's look at how English works. Imagine these sentences:

• She walked. (She is the doer of a simple action.)
• She walked the dog. (She is the doer of an action that affects something else, and the dog is the thing being affected.)

In English, the word she is treated the same in both sentences. It's always the "doer" or subject. The word dog is the "thing acted upon" or object, and it's treated differently. This system is called nominative-accusative.

Ergative Languages: A Different Way

Now, let's imagine how those sentences might work in a hypothetical ergative language. It would group words like this:

• The "doer" of a simple action (like she in She walked) would be grouped with the "thing acted upon" (like dog in She walked the dog). Both would be in the absolutive case.
• The "doer" of an action that affects something else (like she in She walked the dog) would be in a separate group, the ergative case.

So, if English were an ergative language, it might look like this:

• She (ergative) found him (absolutive). (She is the doer, him is the thing acted upon.)
• He (absolutive) traveled. (He is the doer of a simple action.)

Notice how him (the thing acted upon) and he (the doer of a simple action) are treated the same (absolutive). But she (the doer of an action affecting something else) is treated differently (ergative).

See also

• In Spanish: Lengua ergativa para niños