Cognitive Approach: Typology of A Dative Subject and Georgian Data

Rusudan Asatiani, Marine Ivanishvili and Ether Soselia
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

Abstract

Based on a cross-linguistic study of the constructions with dative subject some conclusions are formulated: Such constructions are characteristic for affective verbs. A subject of affective verbs does not “act” according to its ‘will’. Semantically it can be qualified as an experiencer, which is far from a prototypical active subject inasmuch as it does not control its own “action” – feelings, emotions, physical or mental states. In the majority of languages such deviation from the prototype is represented by the marked, ‘non-canonical’ linguistic structures, where S is represented in marked, mostly Dative case. In Georgian due to this universal tendency S of the affective verbs stands in the marked, Dative case as well, and respectively triggers Dative argument’s (M-type) person markers in a verb form. The paper offers some cognitive interpretation of the universal tendencies of markedness of such ‘non-canonical’ constructions and reanalyses the Georgian data.

Presentation