Pegative case
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, the pegative case (abbreviated ) is a noun
case
that marks the agent
of an action with a dative-like undergoer argument; that is, it marks the agent of a transitive verb that has only a partial or low-intensity effect on the undergoer argument.
The case has been posited by Danish linguist Søren Wichmann
for the Azoyú variety of the Tlapanec language
, which seems to be the only natural language
to use such a case. Wichmann writes that he has
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, the pegative case (abbreviated ) is a noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
that marks the agent
Agent (grammar)
In linguistics, a grammatical agent is the cause or initiator of an event. Agent is the name of the thematic role...
of an action with a dative-like undergoer argument; that is, it marks the agent of a transitive verb that has only a partial or low-intensity effect on the undergoer argument.
The case has been posited by Danish linguist Søren Wichmann
Søren Wichmann
Søren Wichmann , is a Danish linguist specializing in Mesoamerican languages and epigraphy. He has written extensively about Mayan, Oto-Manguean and Mixe–Zoquean languages. He has done fieldwork on Mixe, Texistepec Popoluca and Tlapanec...
for the Azoyú variety of the Tlapanec language
Tlapanec language
Tlapanec is an indigenous Mexican language spoken by more than 98,000 Tlapanec people in the state of Guerrero. Like other Oto-Manguean languages, it is tonal and has complex inflectional morphology...
, which seems to be the only natural language
Natural language
In the philosophy of language, a natural language is any language which arises in an unpremeditated fashion as the result of the innate facility for language possessed by the human intellect. A natural language is typically used for communication, and may be spoken, signed, or written...
to use such a case. Wichmann writes that he has
[…] based ‘Pegative’ on the Greek πηγή, which means ‘origin, source, emanation, etc.’ to provide a name for a case that proto-typically refers to a giver as opposed to a recipient".