Khamti Shan anti-ergative construction

What is it about?

It is unusual that a Tai language expresses an anti-ergative (anti-agentive) construction. Because Khamti (Shan) or (Tai) Khamti evidences a primary AOV, as well as a more typical Tai-like AVO, word order, the preverbal O takes a semantic/pragmatic marker. As it turns out, this same marker also signals many other non-agentive roles, including the Goal in ditransitives, strongly suggesting a Tibeto-Burman-like anti-ergative construction.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

It seems worth considering language contact with Tibeto-Burman languages as a source for the development of an anti-ergative construction in a Tai language.