Cover not available

In:Microparameters in the Grammar of Basque
Edited by Beatriz Fernández and Jon Ortiz de Urbina
[Language Faculty and Beyond 13] 2016
► pp. 67–92

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
authorization required

Datives in Basque bivalent unergatives

 | Deusto University
 | UPV | EHU
Published online: 9 September 2016
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lfab.13.04ort
Bivalent predicates which mark their sole object dative rather than absolutive/accusative are unexpected under the assumption that dative is associated with a ‘second complement’. Apparently first complements of morphologically transitive verbs are also found in Basque, in the main semantic classes already identified by Blume (1998). Morphologically, this sole object is indistinguishable from the indirect object of trivalent predicates of the give-type: both of them share dative case and trigger identical agreement marking on a ditransitive-like auxiliary form. In this chapter, we will focus on the syntactic behavior of these datives and, following McFadden (2004), we will show that similarities with indirect objects extends also to syntax, as attested in: (i) secondary predication, (ii) impersonal/passive clauses, (iii) adnominals, and (iv) causativization and relativization. These dative objects, then, differ from DOM dative complements in Basque (Fernández and Rezac, this volume) both in syntactic behavior and in distribution.
References (57)
References
Aissen, Judith. 2003. “Differential object marking: iconicity vs. economy.” Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 21:435-483. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Albizu, Pablo. 1998. “En torno a la inacusitividad sintáctica de las construcciones impersonales en euskera.” Interlingüística 8:13-18.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Arregi, Karlos and Molina-Azaola, Gainko. 2004. “Restructuring in Basque and the theory of agreement.” In Proceedings of the 23rd West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics , 43-56. Sommerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Blake, Barry. 2001. Case. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blume, Kerstin. 1998. “A contrastive analysis of interaction verbs with dative complements.” Linguistics 36.2: 253-280.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bobaljik, Jonathan D. 1993.”On ergativity and ergative unergatives.” In Papers on Case and Agreement II [MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 19], Colin Phillips (ed.), 45-88. Cambridge, Mas.: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bossong, Georg. 1991. “Differential Object Marking in Romance and beyond.” In New Analyses in Romance Linguistics, Douglas Kibbee and Dieter Wanner (eds.), 143-170. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1997. “Le marquage différentiel de l’objet dans les langues d’Europe.” In Actance et Valence dans les langues d’Europe, Jacques Feuillet (ed.), 193-258. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Comrie, Bernard, 2012. “Differential Object Marking revisited.” Plenary talk, Syntax of the World’s Languages V, Dubrovnik, October 1-4.
Deustuko Hizkuntzalaritza Mintegia. 1989. “Inkorporazioa perpaus kausatiboetan.” In Sintaxi teoria eta euskara, Pello Salaburu (ed.), 87-119. VII. Udako Ikastaroak. Donostia: UPVEHU.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Etxepare, Ricardo and Oyharçabal, Bernard. 2008a. “Dative structures in standard and north-eastern Basque.” Licensing conditions at the interface. International Encounter at the Summer Courses of the University of the Basque Country . XXVI. Donostia, June 23–24
Fernández-Ordóñez, Inés. 1999. “Leísmo, laísmo y loísmo.” In Gramática Descriptiva de la Lengua Española, Ignacio Bosque and Violeta Demonte (eds.), 1317-1397. Madrid: Espasa Calpe.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernández, Beatriz & Milan Rezac. 2010. “Datibo osagarri bitxiak eta Datiboaren Lekualdatzea: ari nai diyot eta kanta egin nazu bidegurutzean.” In Euskara eta euskarak: aldakortasun sintaktikoa aztergai, Beatriz Fernández, Pablo Albizu and Ricardo Etxepare (eds.), 113-149. Bilbo: UPV/EHU.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernández, Beatriz and Rezac Milan. This volume. “Differential object marking in Basque varieties.”
Fernández, Beatriz. 2008. “Quirky dative objects in Basque.” European Dialect Syntax Meeting III, Venice, September 18-21.
Fernández, Beatriz and Ortiz de Urbina, Jon. 2012. “Dative (first) complements in Basque.” Journal of Portuguese Linguistics, 11-1, 83-98. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernández, Beatriz, Ortiz de Urbina, Jon and Landa, Josu. 2009. “Komunztadurarik gabeko datiboen gakoez.” In Beñat Oihartzabali gorazarre, Ricardo Etxepare, Ricardo Gómez and Joseba A. Lakarra (eds.), 352-380. Bilbo: UPV/EHUGoogle Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernández, Beatriz and Ortiz de Urbina, Jon. 2010. Datiboa Hiztegian. Bilbo: UPV/EHU.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haider, Hubert. 1985. “The case of German.” In Studies in German Grammar, Jindřich Toman (ed.), 65-101. Dordrecht: Foris.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hale, Kenneth L. and Keyser, Samuel Jay. 1993. “On argument structure and the lexical expression of syntactic relations.” In The view from building 20: Essays in linguistics in honor of Sylvain Bromberger, Kenneth L. Hale & Samuel Jay Keyser (eds.), 53-109. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2002. Prolegomenon to a theory of argument structure. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kayne, Richard S. 1984. Connectedness and Binary Branching. Dordrecht: Foris. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keenan, Edward L. and Comrie, Bernard. 1977. “Noun Phrase Accessibility and Universal Grammar.” Linguistic Inquiry 8.1, 63-99.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Laka, Itziar. 1993. “Unergatives that assign ergative, unaccusatives that assign accusative.” In Papers on Case and Agreement I [MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 18], Jonathan D. Bobaljik and Colin Phillips (eds.), 149-172. Cambridge, Mass.: MITWPL.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Levin, Beth. 1983. On the nature of ergativity. Ph.D. dissertation, MIT.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lazard, Gilbert. 2001. “Le marquage différential de l'object.” In Language typology and language universals: An international handbook, Martin Haspelmath, Ekkehard Köning, Wulf Oesterreicher and Wolfgang Raible (eds.), 16-50. Delhi: Bahri Publications.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maling Joan. 2001. “Dative: The heterogeneity of the mapping among morphological case, grammatical functions, and thematic roles.” Lingua 111: 419-464. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McFadden Thomas. 2004. The position of morphological case in the derivation: a study on the syntax-morphology interface. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mendikoetxea, Amaya. 1999. “Construcciones con se: pasivas, medias e impersonales.” In Gramática Descriptiva de la Lengua Española, Ignacio Bosque and Violeta Demonte (eds.), 1631-1722. Madrid: Espasa Calpe.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Michelena, Luis. 1977. “Notas sobre compuestos verbales vascos”. Revista de Dialectología y Tradiciones Populares XXXIII, 245-271.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mounole, Celine. 2012. “Evolution of the transitive verbs in Basque and apparition of datively marked patients.” In Ergativity, Valency and Voice, Gilles Authier & Katharina Haude (eds.), 355-379. Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Müller, Stefan. 2008. “Depictive secondary predicates in German and English.” In Secondary Predicates in Eastern European Languages and Beyond, Christoph Schroeder, Gerd Hentschel & Winfried Boeder (eds.), 255-274. Oldenburg: Bis-Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Odria, Ane. 2014. “Differential Object Marking and the nature of dative case in Basque varieties.” Linguistic Variation, 14-2. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 289-317. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. In progress. Differential Object Marking in Basque syntax. A microcomparative survey. Ph.D. dissertation, UPV/EHU.
OEH. Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary]. 1987-2005. Luis Mitxelena and Ibon Sarasola. Bilbo: Euskaltzaindia, Desclée de Brower, Mensajero. [Available online at [URL]]Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ormazabal, Javier and Romero, Juan. 1998. “On the syntactic nature of the Me-lui and the Person Case Constraint.” ASJU 32(2), 415-433.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2001. “A brief description of some agreement restrictions.” In Kasu eta komunztaduraren gainean. On case and agreement, Beatriz Fernández and Pablo Albizu (eds.), 215-241. Bilbo: UPV/EHU Editorial Services.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007. “Object agreement restrictions.” Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 25. 315-347. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2010. “The derivation of dative alternations.” In Argument Structure and Syntactic Relations: A cross-linguistic perspective, Maia Duguine, Susana Huidobro & Nerea Madariaga (eds.), 202-232. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2013a. “Differential object marking, case and agreement.” Borealis . An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics 2(2): 221–239. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2013b. “Non accusative objects.” Catalan Journal of Linguistics 12: 155–173.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ortiz de Urbina, Jon. 1987. “Interferentzia sintaktiko berezi batez [On a special type of syntactic interference]”. 2nd World Basque Conference. San Sebastian, July 31, 1987.
. 2003a. “Impersonal clauses.” In A Grammar of Basque, Jose Ignacio Hualde and Jon Ortiz de Urbina (eds.), 572-590. Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2003b. “Causatives.” In A Grammar of Basque, Jose Ignacio Hualde and Jon Ortiz de Urbina (eds.), 592-607. Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oyharçabal, Bernard. 1987. Etude descriptive de constructions complexes en basque: propositions relatives, temporelles, conditionnelles et concessives. Ph.D. dissertation, Université de Paris VII.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2003. “Relative clauses.” In A grammar of Basque, Jose Ignacio Hualde and Jon Ortiz de Urbina (eds.), 762-823. Berlin / New York: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2010. “Basque Ditransitives.” In Argument Structure and Syntactic Relations: A Cross-linguistic Perspective, Maia Duguine, Susana Huidobro and Herea Madariaga (eds.), 233-260. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Plank, Frans. 1985. “Prädikativ und Koprädikativ.” Zeitschrift für Germanistische Linguistik 13:154-185. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Preminger, Omer. 2012. “The absence of an implicit object in unergatives: new and old evidence from Basque.” Lingua 122(3): 278–288. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pylkkänen, Liina. 2008. Introducing Arguments. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rijk, Rudolf de. 1972. Studies in Basque Syntax: Relative Clauses. Ph.D. dissertation, MIT.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sáez, Luis. 2009. “Applicative phrases hosting accusative clitics.” In Little Words: Their History, Phonology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, and Acquisition, Ronald P. Leow, Hector Campos and Donna Lardiere (eds.), 61-75. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schultze-Berndt, Eva and Himmelmann, Nikolaus. 2004. “Depictive secondary predicates in cross-linguistic perspective.” Linguistic Typology 8:59-131. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sigurðsson, Halldór Ármann. 2004. “Icelandic non-nominative subjects: facts and implications.” In Non-nominative Subjects, vol. 2, Peri Bhaskararao and Karumuri Venkata Subbarao (eds.), 137-159. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Simpson, Jane. 2005. “Depictives in English and Warlpiri.” In Secondary Predication and Adverbial Modification. The Typology of Depictives, Nikolaus P. Himmelmann and Eva Schultze-Berndt (eds.), 69-106. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Torrego, Esther. 2010. “Variability in the case patterns of causative formation in Romance and its implications.” Linguistic Inquiry, 41:3, 445-470. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zabala, Igone. 1993. Predikazioaren teoriak gramatika sortzailean [Predication Theories in Generative Grammar], Ph.D. dissertation, UPV/EHU.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (6)

Cited by six other publications

Berro, Ane, Ane Odria & Beatriz Fernández
2022. Person matters in impersonality. Syntax 25:2 ► pp. 147 ff. DOI logo
Fernández, Beatriz & Ane Berro
2022. Basque impersonals in comparison. Linguistics 60:4 ► pp. 1039 ff. DOI logo
Odria, Ane, Ane Berro & Beatriz Fernández
2022. Pertsona murriztapenak ditu egitura inpertsonalak: euskararen kasua. Fontes Linguae Vasconum :133 ► pp. 191 ff. DOI logo
Fernández, Beatriz, Fernando Zúñiga & Ane Berro
2020. Datives with psych nouns and adjectives in Basque. Folia Linguistica 54:3 ► pp. 647 ff. DOI logo
Fernández, Beatriz, Fernando Zúñiga & Ane Berro
2020. Datives with psych nouns and adjectives in Basque. Folia Linguistica 54:3 ► pp. 647 ff. DOI logo
Berro, Ane & Beatriz Fernández
2019. Applicatives without verbs. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 37:4 ► pp. 1273 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 25 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue