Abstract
The Georgian verb system is complex, and in many cases the function and meaning of certain morphemes is not entirely clear. One such morpheme, the stem formant, appears in both non-perfect verbs and nominal structures. Although they are usually associated with aspect in the verb, I propose that there are several advantages to treating stem formants as nominal heads bearing the feature [+collective]. If stem formants are nominalizers, then several facts about their distribution can be explained, including their historical origin, their presence in abstract and verbal nouns, and their absence from verbs which assign ergative case to their subjects. Doing so also makes it possible to bring Georgian split ergativity closer in line with other analyses of ergative splits in Basque (Laka, 2006) and Chol (Coon, 2013)
Highlights
Georgian verb structure is complex, and much of its morphology is still subject to active debate
Most finite verbs take stem formants, as do non-finite verbal nouns and participles, but they are restricted in that they never co-occur with verb screeves1 that assign ergative case to their subjects, and it is a safe hypothesis that stem formants are the locus of split ergativity in Georgian
Linear or permansive aspect expressed an incomplete action of continuous duration, directly perceived by the viewer as occuring in the present and continuing into the future. This form was used to indicate both stativity and actions occurring at the time of utterance, but strictly present tense forms did not enter into Common-Georgian-Zan until until stem formants were added to the verb stem
Summary
Georgian verb structure is complex, and much of its morphology is still subject to active debate. Taken together, (Nash, 2017) and (McGinnis, 2016) suggest that there are at least two points where the stem formant may enter the derivation for a verb; one which is close enough to the root to be sensitive to allomorphy, and one higher in the structure which may be outside of Voice This predicts that it is possible for two stem formants to co-occur in the same verb, a prediction which is borne out in causatives:. The structure is treated as though it were a verb root, and may take another stem formant This means that causatives are the one verb form which may contain a stem formant, but still assign ergative case. The presence of a nominalization corresponds to the ergativity split
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