Animacy hierarchy: Difference between revisions
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The '''Nominal Hierarchy''' is a scale of [[Wikipedia:Noun phrase|noun phrase]]s' relative [[Wikipedia:Animacy|animacy]] or capability to function as [[Wikipedia:Agent (grammar)|agent]] of a sentence. Categories higher in the hierarchy are more animate/agental and categories lower in the hierarchy are less animate/agental: | The '''Animacy Hierarchy''' or '''Nominal Hierarchy''' is a scale of [[Wikipedia:Noun phrase|noun phrase]]s' relative [[Wikipedia:Animacy|animacy]] or capability to function as [[Wikipedia:Agent (grammar)|agent]] of a sentence. Categories higher in the hierarchy are more animate/agental and categories lower in the hierarchy are less animate/agental: | ||
: first person, second person | : first person, second person | ||
Revision as of 07:16, 11 August 2007
The Animacy Hierarchy or Nominal Hierarchy is a scale of noun phrases' relative animacy or capability to function as agent of a sentence. Categories higher in the hierarchy are more animate/agental and categories lower in the hierarchy are less animate/agental:
- first person, second person
- third person
- personal name/kin term
- human
- animate
- inanimate
In languages with split ergativity categories towards the top of the hierarchy are most likely to have nominative- accusative case marking while items towards the bottom are most likely to have ergative-absolutive case marking. Again there are no known languages that violate the hierarchy, i.e. having ergative-absolutive marking on first/secondperson pronouns and nominative- accusative marking on inanimates. Languages differ with regard to where in the hierarchy they draw the border, but they do not violate the hierarchy.
