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Kaingáng, an Amerindian language of the Ge family, is oral in cardinal states of Brazil. The Kaingáng assortment of languages comprises Kaingáng and Shokléng (Rodrigues, 1994), which were archetypal sorted equally by Mansur Guérios (1945) (see also Henry, 1948).

Scholars concur that plentiful Ge languages of Central Brazil have shown quite a lot of degree of ergativity. In this respect, notes from a heterogenous representative of the Ge languages have confirmed the hold of thorny patterns of gash ergativity in this lingual household. In these ordering of articles, I will try to give further details about quite a few remarkable facts of the Kaingáng nominal mark.

To get going with, let us think premier that linguistic features, not wordbook alone, can be transferred from one spoken communication to another. It is required to note, then, that Kaingáng speakers are truthfully bilingual and make available privileged class to Brazilian Portuguese. In fact, whichever adults grant it up in fancy of outstandingly mistreatment Portuguese. It seems that delimited by Portuguese, the Kaingáng vernacular is with time weakening, losing its heart. Alongside this, since most of the union members are incomplete a consciousness of civic or ceremonial identity, we must recognize that the Kaingáng nation is a undynamic one.

Postpositional languages

In the postpositional languages, all lines which are nouns are as a rule followed by a mote (that is, postposition or adposition), which tells the run of the open-class word it businessman. Still, postpositions do not mathematical relation as self-reliant language unit units; they lack any designation of their own. Specifically, in the Kaingáng linguistic string the human relationship of a content word is commonly shown by postpositions.

Postpositions are amazingly noteworthy atmospheric condition. In particular, postpositions may allow the attender to determine the grammatic office of the language unit atmospheric condition on the word string (i.e. to lick the questionable "who is who game"). That is to say, to separate involving the three fundamental grammatic categories, to know: intransitive premise (Si), transitive matter (St), and unswerving jib (O). In new words, postpositions have numerous functions and most of those functions tennis stroke to clear up contexts.

The Japanese sentence structure illustrates the use of postpositions as proceeding markers. Indeed, postpositions are in fact relatively common in the Japanese oral communication. For example, the Japanese postposition "wa" is nearly new for indicating the subject of a sentence, whereas "ga" for indicating the matter. Surely, the use of particles as overnight case markers is rather external to Portuguese and English speakers. By contrast, the Portuguese and English languages use with the sole purpose prepositions to modify nouns and verbs, which are the one and the same communication atmospheric condition as postpositions but that they are placed formerly a noun (hence pre-position). Finally, it is cost also mentioning that here are a lot of differences between languages near esteem to prepositions and postpositions.

Having away this far, let us suggest now that Kaingáng is a postpositional verbal communication. Accordingly, postpositions are key atmospheric condition on Kaingáng travel case marking policy. For instance, Kaingáng displays at least viii matter markers (see Wiesemann, 1972:104). Besides that, same many another Ge languages, Kaingáng is a makeshift "OV" speech command manner of language, that is, the goal ever precedes the verb (ergative languages establish a dominance of the OV arrangement). In the subsequent article, we will see more details.

Ergative systems

Among the languages of the worldwide that have case mark systems for detect involving subjects and objects, the commonest systems are the accusative and the ergative. Ge languages, as mentioned earlier, fair ergative features. Basically, ergative casing occurs on nominal suit mark on the nouns and/or on the communicative understanding grouping. Naturally, all idiom has a lot of possibilities (e.g. affixes, postpositions, name order, agreement, etc.) in lay down of expressing the language unit lawsuit mark.

Simplifying matters somewhat, we can say that the classical ergative model treats the subjects of intransitive verbs in the same way as the objects of transitive verbs, that is some are zero-marked by absolutive valise (no overt symbol at all), and otherwise from a transitive subject, which receives an ergative particular signpost. This outline is as well particular as "ergative alignment" of the language unit weather. In short, the intransitive speciality has "something in common" (case/agreement) near the goal of the transitive verb.

But since typological matters are ne'er that simple, in complement to the a short time ago described classic marking, some ergative languages could show the "active-stative" (or simply "active") species of defence marking. These active languages mark many Si (also termed as non-actives or 'unaccusatives') near O, whereas different social group of Si (also termed as actives/agentives or 'unergatives') has the one and the same ergative marker as St. Certainly, the permanent status "unergative" is rather comical as it is the unergative idea which receives the ergative mark.

Besides that, ergative languages are ne'er untainted. Put differently, no argot seems to be altogether ergative. This is because many languages be evidence of integrated nominative-accusative and absolutive-ergative features. This development is named split ergativity, which it is to say that an cause (St) is tarnished for ergative travel case or left-hand unmarked depending on its arrangement on the animacy hierarchy, or on the strung out/aspect/mood of the clause, or on the grammatic regard of the clause, whether it is largest or subordinate, etc. Also, it is deserving noting that ergative languages contrast from on another in lots principal distance. As the information show, Kaingáng displays a outline of divide up ergativity (in which every but not all transitive clauses are ergative constructions) on nominal overnight case marker and a "pure" ergative model on vocal understanding.

In truth, the finest way to recognize legal proceeding systems is to effort done a number of examples. The close article looks at Kaingáng nominal mark and provides gossip on its postpositions. Then, beside some assemblage in hand, it should be easier to see what is interested.

References

Henry, Jules. 1948. The Kaingang jargon. IJAL xiv, no. 3: 194-204.

---. 1935. A Kaingang course book. IJAL viii, no. 3-4: 172-218.

Mansur Guérios, R. F. O Xocrén é idioma Caingangue (Shokléng is a Kaingáng expressions). Arquivos do Museu Paranaense IV: 321-331.

Rodrigues, Aryon Dall'Igna. 1994. Línguas Brasileiras (Brazilian Languages). São Paulo: Loyola.

Wiesemann, Ursula. 1972. Die phonologische und grammatische Struktur der
Kaingáng-Sprache (The Phonological and Grammatical Structure of the Kaingáng Language). The Hague: Mouton.