LINGUIST List 5.1175

Tue 25 Oct 1994

Qs: Germanic, Ergative origin

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1. , German linguist
2. Cathy Ball, Help with Germanic null subjects
3. , Query: Ergative <- Passive ?

I would like to get in touch with a German linguist regarding a project for
which I need phonetically balanced sentences in German and some other stuff.
Please contact ingevpro.com or call USA (617) 494-0100.

I'm currently trying to wrap up a study of 'as for' with null subject
in 15th and 16th century English, e.g.:
(1) 1465 M. Paston, Paston Letters 180.58: And as for the replevyn
 for the cc shype ys not yet servyd.
 'And as for the writ of replevyn for the 200 sheep [it] has
 not yet been served.'
(2) 1525 Lord Berners tr. Froissart II.ccxlvi 756: As for these townes
 wyll neuer tourne frenche ...
 'As for these towns [they] will never turn French ...'

Before I get too far along with an argument for a late borrowing from
French through the wool trade, I need to be sure this is not a
Germanic phenomenon. For example, what Burridge (1993) calls
'topic-controlled deletion' is found in conjuncts in OE, Middle
English, and Middle Dutch, e.g. (from Late Middle English):
(3) Gower CA: I rede a tale, and tellith this: ...
 'I read a tale, and [it] says this: ...'

If anaphoric null subjects in conjuncts were simply extended to the
newer 'as for' construction in the 15th century, then one might expect
the same to have happened in other West Germanic languages. But my
reference grammars (for Middle Dutch) either state vaguely that the
subject could be omitted if the referent is clear from the context, or
else mention only the case with conjunctions. I would be very grateful
for any information/references re: other null subject constructions in
Middle Dutch or Middle Flemish, especially involving the equivalent of
sentences beginning with 'as for'. Even references to any 15th c. letter
collections (since this construction is frequent in letters) for other
Germanic languages would be useful.

 -- Cathy Ball (cballguvax.georgetown.edu)

It is often suggested that some ergative systems came from
passives. But does anybody know a clear example?