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Article published In: Studies in Language
Vol. 49:3 (2025) ► pp.682–711

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Discourse ergativity and human reference in Basque

ORCiD logo with link | University of Zurich | University of Zurich
ORCiD logo with link | Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)Barcelona | Pompeu Fabra UniversityBarcelona
ORCiD logo with link | University of Zurich | University of Zurich
ORCiD logo with link | University of Zurich
ORCiD logo with link | University of Zurich
Published online: 31 July 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.23005.egu
Abstract
One possible usage-based motivation for ergative alignment in grammars is the reference-establishing function shared by the sole argument of intransitives and the patient argument of transitives. Here we test this hypothesis, known as Preferred Argument Structure, against discourse data from Basque, a language with ergative case marking. While we do find a discourse-ergative distribution of lexical forms of reference, our results suggest animacy in addition to role to be a central driver of this distribution. Thus, syntactic position does not appear to reflect referential status directly. This opens new avenues for exploring the specific effects of reference management on grammar. In drawing on production data from a language with ergative case, we also complement previous studies into discourse ergativity that were based primarily on languages with accusative alignment in their grammatical relations.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Ergativity in discourse and grammar
    • 2.1The discourse functions of grammatical relations
    • 2.2Accommodating discourse referents
    • 2.3Challenges for the theory of discourse ergativity
  • 3.Grammatical relations in Basque
  • 4.Materials and methods
    • 4.1The Basque Pear Film tellings
    • 4.2Statistical analysis
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1Modeling the impact of A, P, S
    • 5.2Modeling the impact of A, P, S interacting with animacy
    • 5.3Dynamic distribution of lexical NPs
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Data availability
  • Note
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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