Optional ergative case marking systems in a typological-semiotic perspective

Abstract

The term optional case marking (OCM) refers to the situation in which, in specifiable grammatical environments, a case marking morpheme may be either present or absent from an NP without affecting the grammatical role borne by that NP. This phenomenon is attested in many ergative languages of Australia, New Guinea, and the Himalayas, where the ergative marker is sometimes omitted from the subject of a transitive clause; a number of accusative languages show optional accusative marking of transitive object NPs. OCM has enjoyed little prominence in linguistic theory or typology; this is partly a consequence of the dearth of careful descriptive treatments of the phenomenon in particular languages. This paper represents an initial investigation of OCM in a cross-linguistic perspective, with focus on optional ergative marking. It provides some idea of its cross-linguistic extent, and attempts to situate it in relation to other types of asymmetries in case systems and case marking. It is suggested that use and non-use of case markers are never in totally free variation. Motivations are discussed and evaluated, and a general framework is put forward. It is further suggested that this framework permits an explanation for the origins and grammaticalisation of some split case marking systems.