Кодирование ядерных аргументов абсолютивного имени действия в чукотском языке

Сибирский филологический журнал. 2027. № 1.

Starchenko A.

The article provides a description and analysis of argument marking in Chukchi nominalizations. We briefly characterize the properties of nominalizations in Chukchi. Based on the elicitation data from Amguema Chukchi, we provide a detailed description of the available options of argument marking in nominalizations derived from intransitive and transitive verbs, which include possessive (for S and A), absolutive (for P), ergative/instrumental (for A) and incorporation (for patientive S and P). We also compare collected data with the examples from other Chukchi varieties and find dialectal variation. Multiple options of core argument marking produce a split system: accusative, active-stative, and tripartite alignments are possible. In contrast, finite clauses exhibit ergative and active-stative alignments. This asymmetry is rare in typological terms: commonly, either a reversed pattern is observed (accusative alignment in finite clauses and ergative alignment in nominalizations) or marking patterns coincide. We propose an explanation for the difference in alignment in Chukchi nominalizations and in finite clauses, which relies on the internal properties of Chukchi grammar. We provide evidence that Chukchi nominalizations exhibit a reduced set of verbal properties. On the one hand, they preserve the full argument structure of the corresponding verb stem, including the external argument. On the other hand, they cannot assign verbal structural case, which in Chukchi is associated with the finiteness for ergative and absolutive of S, or smaller extended verbal structure for the absolutive of P. The discovered patterns expand our knowledge of the grammar of the Chukchi language and extend the typology of the syntax of non-finite forms.

Keywords: инкорпорация, argument structure, ergativity, эргативность, Chukchi, nominalization, аргументная структура, incorporation, чукотско-камчатские языки, alignment, имя действия, чукотский язык, Chukotko-Kamchatkan, кодирование ядерных аргументов