DIZIONARIO GENERALE PLURILINGUE
DEL LESSICO METALINGUISTICO



Lemmaergative language
Categoria grammaticaleN
Linguainglese
SiglaRomaine (1988)
TitoloPidgin and Creole Languages
Sinonimi 
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Languages possess many different ways of marking the distinction between causatives and non-causatives. Typically, it may be marked on the subject (as in so-called ergative languages) or on the verb.
- Romaine (1988), Pag. 262

In ergative languages the same lexical verb is generally used, but causative subjects are marked with a special ergative suffix and subjects of non-causatives are marked with the accusative, like the objects of causatives.
- Romaine (1988), Pag. 262