The Even Yearbook 16 (2024)
#123
volume 16 (2024)
pages 74-85
author Mark Newson
title ‘What do you get if you cross ergative with accusative?’ The Hungarian Causative
DOI http://doi.org/10.57133/evenyrbk.24ne
keywords causative construction, dependent case theory, unmarked case, delayed case assignment
abstract The Hungarian causative construction is remarkably similar to that of Sakha in that the base subject shows a distinct ‘ergative’ style of case marking where a special case is assigned to the transitive subject (dative in Sakha and instrumental in Hungarian). However, unlike the real ergative system, the subject of the intransitive and the object show up in accusative, which is a dependent case in both languages. Baker’s (2015) analysis of Sakha can handle this on the assumption that the accusative elements move out of the VP into the same domain as the causer subject. This analysis is not available for Hungarian as is shows no sign of such a movement. The paper argues that a better analysis can be given under the assumption that unmarked case assignment is delayed in the VP until the evaluation of the clause. This enables the dependent case to be assigned to the VP internal DP as this will remain active into the clause domain.The Hungarian causative construction is remarkably similar to that of Sakha in that the base subject shows a distinct ‘ergative’ style of case marking where a special case is assigned to the transitive subject (dative in Sakha and instrumental in Hungarian). However, unlike the real ergative system, the subject of the intransitive and the object show up in accusative, which is a dependent case in both languages. Baker’s (2015) analysis of Sakha can handle this on the assumption that the accusative elements move out of the VP into the same domain as the causer subject. This analysis is not available for Hungarian as is shows no sign of such a movement. The paper argues that a better analysis can be given under the assumption that unmarked case assignment is delayed in the VP until the evaluation of the clause. This enables the dependent case to be assigned to the VP internal DP as this will remain active into the clause domain.
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