A secundative language is a language in which the recipients of
ditransitive verbs (which takes a subject and two objects: a ''theme'' and a ''recipient'') are treated like the
patients (targets) of
monotransitive verbs, and the themes get distinct marking. Secundative languages contrast with ''
indirective languages'', where the recipient is treated in a special way.
While English is mostly not a secundative language, there are some examples. The sentence ''John gave Mary the ball'' uses this construction, where ''the ball'' is the theme and ''Mary'' is the recipient.
The alternative wording ''John presented Mary with the ball'' is essentially analogous to the structure found in secundative languages; ''the ball'' is not the direct object here, but basically a secondary object marked by the preposition ''with''. In German, the prefix ''be-'' (which is sometimes likened to an
applicative voice) can be used to change the
valency of verbs in a similar way: In ''John schenkte Mary den Ball'', the theme ''Ball'' is the direct object and the recipient ''Mary'' the indirect object (in the dative case); in ''John beschenkte Mary mit dem Ball'', the recipient ''Mary'' is now the direct object and the theme ''Ball'' is now an
oblique argument (an
oblique dative) marked by the preposition ''mit''.
Terminology
This language type was called dechticaetiative in an article by Edward L. Blansitt, Jr. (from Greek ''dekh-'' 'take, receive' and ''aitiatikḗ'' 'accusative', intended to suggest "recipient-as-accusative"), but that term did not catch on. They have also been called anti-ergative languages and primary object languages.
Usage
Ditransitive verbs have two arguments other than the subject: a theme that undergoes the action and a recipient that receives the theme (see
thematic relation
In certain theories of linguistics, thematic relations, also known as semantic roles or thematic roles, are the various roles that a noun phrase may play with respect to the action or state described by a governing verb, commonly the sentence's m ...
). In a secundative language, the primary object which is the recipient of a ditransitive verb, equivalent to the
indirect object
In linguistics, an object is any of several types of arguments. In subject-prominent, nominative-accusative languages such as English, a transitive verb typically distinguishes between its subject and any of its objects, which can include but ...
, is treated in the same way as the single object of a monotransitive verb. The secondary object which is the theme of a ditransitive verb, is treated separately.
Secundative constructions are found in
West Greenlandic, where the direct object of a monotransitive verb appears in the
absolutive case:
In a ditransitive sentence, the recipient appears in absolutive case and the theme is marked with the
instrumental case
In grammar, the instrumental case ( abbreviated or ) is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the ''instrument'' or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action. The noun may be either a physical object or ...
:
Similarly, in
Lahu, both the patient of a monotransitive verb and the recipient of a ditransitive verb are marked with the postposition ''thàʔ'':
In secundative languages with
passive constructions, passivation promotes the primary object to subject. For example, in
Swahili:
[Vitale 1981:130, cited by Malchukov, et al. 2010.]
the recipient ''Fatuma'' is promoted to subject and not the theme ''zawadi'' 'gift'.
Use in English
Many languages show mixed indirective/secundative behavior.
English, which is primarily indirective, arguably contains secundative constructions, traditionally referred to as
dative shift, however English is not a true secundative language, as neither the theme nor recipient is primary, or either can be primary depending on context. For example, the passive of the sentence
:John gave Mary the ball.
is
:Mary was given the ball by John.
in which the recipient rather than the theme is promoted to subject. This is complicated by the fact that some dialects of English may promote either the recipient (''Mary'') or the theme (''the ball'') argument to subject status, and for these dialects '
:The ball was given Mary by John.
(meaning that the ball was given to Mary) is also well-formed. In addition, the argument structure of verbs like ''provide'' is essentially secundative: in
:The project provides young people with work.
the recipient argument is treated like a monotransitive direct object.
Notes
See also
*
Object (grammar)
In linguistics, an object is any of several types of arguments. In subject-prominent, nominative-accusative languages such as English, a transitive verb typically distinguishes between its subject and any of its objects, which can include bu ...
*
Dative case
In grammar, the dative case ( abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this examp ...
*
Ditransitive verb
*
Ergative–absolutive alignment
In linguistic typology, ergative–absolutive alignment is a type of morphosyntactic alignment in which the subject of an intransitive verb behaves like the object of a transitive verb, and differently from the subject of a transitive verb. Exa ...
*
Morphosyntactic alignment
In linguistics, morphosyntactic alignment is the grammatical relationship between arguments—specifically, between the two arguments (in English, subject and object) of transitive verbs like ''the dog chased the cat'', and the single argument of ...
References
* Blansitt, E.L. Jr. (1984). "Dechticaetiative and dative". In ''Objects,'' F. Plank (Ed.), 127–150. London: Academic Press.
* Comrie, Bernard (1975). "Antiergative." ''Papers from the 11th Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society'', R. E. Grossman, L. J. San, & T. J. Vance (eds.), 112-121.
* Dryer, Matthew S. (1986).
Primary objects, secondary objects, and antidative" ''Language'' 62:808-845.
* Haspelmath, Martin (2013). "Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb 'Give'." In: Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) ''The World Atlas of Language Structures Online.'' Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. (Available online a
Accessed on 2014-03-02.)
* LaPolla, Randy (1992). "Anti-ergative Marking in Tibeto-Burman.” ''Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area'' 15.1(1992):1-9.
* Malchukov, Andrej & Haspelmath, Martin & Comrie, Bernard (eds.) (2010). ''Studies in ditransitive constructions.'' Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
* Trask, R. L. (1993). ''A Dictionary of Grammatical Terms in Linguistics'' Routledge, {{ISBN, 0-415-08628-0
Linguistic typology