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Johnson 2004 - CDLI - UCLA

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All the texts in which dethematization (-ße 3 immediately preceding *bi-√ prefix verbs)<br />

occurs date to the Isin-Larsa period: The Nippur Lament examples dating to perhaps a<br />

century before the Rim-Sin B examples (for other exceptional uses of the terminative<br />

postposition in the Isin-Larsa period, see Brisch 2003, 138-139; Thomsen 2001 [1984],<br />

103). If they can be corroborated by earlier examples, they may provide evidence of the<br />

demotion of the underlying theme (dethematization) so as to allow for underlying subject<br />

to appear in the absolutive/nominative case in progressive/imperfective achievements.<br />

The appearance of the “agent” in the nominative case in the progressive/imperfective<br />

(marû) aspect is to be expected regardless of lexical aspectual class, so the only real<br />

evidence for dethematization is the demotion of the patient from absolutive to allative<br />

case with a progressive/imperfective achievement verb.<br />

157

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