User:AryamanA/Hindustani case markers and postpositions
Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language with a set of case markers (which are sometimes classified as postpositions) and postpositions that indicate semantic functions of nouns.[1] Hindustani is a lingua franca of Pakistan and Northern India, with two standardised registers: Hindi and Urdu. Grammatical differences between the two are limited, and indicated in this article wherever necessary.
On this page Hindustani is written in "standard orientalist" transcription as outlined in Masica (1991:xv). Being "primarily a system of transliteration from the Indian scripts, [and] based in turn upon Sanskrit" (cf. IAST), these are its salient features: subscript dots for retroflex consonants; macrons for etymologically, contrastively long vowels; h for aspirated plosives; and tildes for nasalised vowels.
Case markers[edit]
All case markers take a head noun in the oblique case. See Hindustani grammar § Nouns for information on how case is marked directly on nouns.
ne[edit]
The ergative case marker ne generally marks the subject of a transitive verb in the perfective aspect.[2] Hindi displays split ergative alignment; in non-perfective aspects, the subject is not marked by any case marker.
maiñ=ne
1.SG=ERG
us=ko
3.SG:OBL=ACC
dekhā
see:PRF:MASC:SG
'I saw him/her/it.'
Certain transitive verbs never take the ergative case for their subjects however. Among these, Koul (2008:38) lists lanā 'to bring', khelnā 'to play', bolnā 'to speak' (but not kahnā with the same meaning), bhūlnā 'to forget', and baknā 'to chatter'.
Additionally, "bodily-emission" verbs (such as cīkhnā 'to scream', mūtnā 'to urinate') can optionally take the ergative marking on their subjects, which is associated with greater volition on behalf of the subject. In some dialects of Hindustani, this volitionality alternation is also permitted on constructions where the subject desires to do an action:[3]
maiñ=ne
1.SG=ERG
jānā
go:INF
hai
COP:PRS:3.SG
'I want to go.'
mujh=e
1.SG.OBL=DAT
jānā
go:INF
hai
COP:PRS:3.SG
'I must go.' or 'I want to go.'
Finally, the aspectual light verb jānā, expressing completion of the verb it modifies, blocks the ergative marker.
ko[edit]
The dative–accusative marker ko obligatorily marks the indirect (dative) object in ditransitive verb constructions, and optionally marks the direct object in transitive verb constructions. This optional marking usually prefers specificity and/or animacy of the object.
us=ne
3.SG:OBL=ERG
mujh=ko
1.SG:OBL=ACC
mārā
hit:PRF:MASC:SG
'(S)he hit me.'
us=ne
3.SG:OBL=ERG
mujh=ko
1.SG:OBL=DAT
ek
one
tohfā
gift:MASC:SG:DIR
bhejā
send:PRF:MASC:SG
'(S)he sent me a gift.'
References[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
- Koul, Omkar N. (2008), Modern Hindi Grammar (PDF), Dunwoody Press, ISBN 978-1-931546-06-5
- Masica, Colin (1991), The Indo-Aryan Languages, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-29944-2
- de Hoop, Helen; Narasimhan, Bhuvana (2005), "Differential Case-Marking in Hindi", in M. Amberber; H. de Hoop (eds.), Competition and Variation in Natural Languages: The Case for Case, Elsevier