The South Caucasian Chalk Circle: Philology Meets Linguistics, Paris, 22-24 September 2016

The Georgian perfect tense series and

the Western European BE/HAVE auxiliary split short version
Steve Hewitt stevehewitt49@gmail.com

a b g d e v z t i l m n o r s u p k q c c c x h
benefactive; D dative case array; DAT dative; DIR direct (subject) person markers; E ergative case array; ERG
ergative; inv. inverse orientation, person-marking; LC link consonant; LV link vowel; N nominative case array; NOM
nominative; OBL oblique (object) person markers; PP past/passive participle; PV perfective preverb; reg. regular
orientation, person-marking; THS thematic stem
BEN

Why do class 1 and 3 verbs in Georgian have inverse case-array and person-marking (subject: dative, oblique personmarkers) in the perfect tense series? But class 2 verbs regular case-array and person-marking (subject: nominative,
direct person-markers)? All authors treat the inverse case-array and person-marking in the perfect tense series of
agentive verbs as idiosyncratic, and provide no functional explanation for it.

Georgian perfect and person-marking

Class 1 transitive (agentive)
da- mi- xa- av- s
PV OBL.1SG BEN paint THS DIR.3SG
I have [apparently] painted it

liwed
m-eus
painted.PP I.have [OBL.1SG-be.EXIST]
I have painted it

Class 3 unergative intransitive (agentive)

mi- mu- av- (n-) i- a
OBL.1SG BEN work THS LC LV DIR.3SG
I have [apparently] worked

laboured
m-eus
worked.PP
I.have [OBL.1SG-be.EXIST]
I have worked

Class 2 unaccusative intransitive (patientive)

mi- vs- ul- v-ar
PV DIR.1SG go PP I.am [DIR.1SG-be]
I have [apparently] gone

aed on
gone I.am
I have gone

Class 2 passive (patientive)

da- vxa- ul- v-ar
PV DIR.1SG paint PP I.am [DIR.1SG-be]
I have [apparently] been painted

liwed
on (bed)
painted.PP I.am (been.PP)
I have been painted

Breton perfect and person-marking

anea
it.M.OBJ

Schematic characterization of Georgian verb system:

o
o

regular / inverse orientation <> direct / oblique person-marking on subject

three case-array and person-marking patterns:

regular orientation N: NOM-DIRS (DAT-OBLDO)

(DAT-OBLIO)

regular orientation E: ERG-DIRS

(NOM-OBLDO)

(DAT-OBLIO) (ERG, NOM person-markers)

inverse orientation D: DAT-OBLS (NOMDO)-DIR

(-tvisIO) (always DIR marker even if no DO)

three thematic types:

patientive (class 2)

agentive (classes 1, 3) case-shifting tense series I: reg-N / II: reg-E / III: inv-D

affective (class 4)

Reg. person-marking on verb

Case-arrays of arguments
Inverse person marking on verb
Case-array of arguments

case-stable reg-N case-array in all tense series

case-stable inv-D in all tense series

DIRS subject
NOM-DIR

ERG-DIR

OBLIS inverse subject

DAT-OBL

(OBLDO direct object)

(DAT-OBL)
(NOM-OBL)
(DIRIDO inverse direct object)
(NOM)-DIR

(OBLIO indirect object)

(DAT-OBL)
(DAT-OBL)
[demoted ind. obj.]
(-tvisIO for).

Steve HEWITT, The Georgian perfect tense series and the Western European be/have auxiliary split short version 2

Verb
Class Thematic type
2
patientive
1, 3
agentive
4
affective

Orientation and person-marking (regular/inverse) and case-arrays (N/E/D)

according to verb class/type and tense series
Tense series
I Present/Future
II Aorist
III Perfect
Orient. Case-arrays
regularN
regularN
regularN
reg-N (stable)
regularN
regularE
inverseD
reg-NE/inv-D (shifting)
inverseD
inverseD
inverseD
inv-D (stable)

Split in agentive verbs between negative aorist (+control/volition) and negative perfect (-control/volition):

Aorist: tamarma ar dacera cerili TamarERG did not [intentionally] write the letterNOM:

Perfect: tamars ar dauceria cerili TamarDAT has not written / failed to write the letterNOM: -control/volitionS

Perfect: tamari ar misula tbilisi TamarNOM has not gone to Tbilisi:

+control/volitionS

control/volitionS

Harris, Georgian Syntax: A relational grammar, 1981, p.246

Standard and substandard case-arrays with agentive and patientive intranstives in the aorist:
Standard:

Agentive (class 3) verb: macivridan cqalma icveta from the fridge waterERG dripped

Patientive (class 2) verb: aci cavida the manNOM went off

Substandard:

macivridan cqali icveta from the fridge waterNOM dripped

control/volitionS

acma cavida the manERG went off

+control/volitionS

Italian BE/HAVE auxiliaries and Georgian reg.-N / inv.-D orientation/case-array in perfect tenses
Better than 90% correspondence for intransitives:
Thematic type
Agentive
Patientive

Class
Transitive
Unergative intransitive
Unaccusative intransitive
Reflexive
Passive

Italian

Georgian

HAVE (avere) perfect auxiliary

inv.-D in perfect series

BE (essere) perfect auxiliary

reg.-N in perfect series

Conclusions
The control/volition parameter in Georgian is more basic and decisive than the transitive/intransitive distinction,
which is almost incidental (class 1 verbs [mostly transitive] may also be intransitive; class 2 verbs [often intransitive] may
also be transitive, doubly transitive; class 3 verbs [medial intransitive] may also be transitive); class 4 verbs [inverse,
affective] may be either transitive or intransitive)

Georgian ergative case implies assertion of control/volition

Georgian dative case implies denial of control/volition
Georgian nominative case implies no particular salience of control/volition

Georgian reg.-N orientation/case-array in perfect series corresponds closely to Italian BE auxiliary with perfect
Georgian inv.-D orientation/case-array in perfect series corresponds closely to Italian HAVE auxiliary with perfect

These observations all serve to underscore the importance of Georgian for theoretical work not only on the
unaccusative/unergative distinction, but also, by morphological analogy at least, on split auxiliarity.