5 r. a b a S i a (Tbilisi) bgeraTSesatyvisobis erTi rigisaTvis qarTvelur ...

li’ kategoriebi funqcionireben ‘Zvel’ kategoriebTan TanakveTis
Sedegad, romlebic kategoriaTa ierarqiulad organizebul
sistemaSi ufro maRal safexurze dganan.
R. A s a t i a n i (Tbilisi)
Typology of Morphosyntactic Variations of Ergative
Constructions in the Bats and Georgian Languages
Georgian, according to the one general typology, is defined as a mixed
language, more precisely, a role-deixis-oriented language, but the same qualification
would apply to Bats (or Tsova-Tushian, the designation now preferably
used by native speakers). According to the suggested theoretical approach for a
comprehensive description of languages, it is not enough to define languages as
merely mixed systems, but also state of which hierarchies they make use. The
hierarchies are defined according to the priority given to marked categories during
linguistic realizations: They reflect dynamic synchronic and/or diachronic
processes of linguistic structuring.
Although Tsova-Tushian is similar to Georgian in one respect (both can
be qualified as role-deixis-oriented languages), it also differs from it in a significant
way: It seems that due to the contacts with the Georgian language Tsova-
Tush distinguishes the I/II versus III dichotomy, although formalization of it takes
place only after grammaticalization of class category which is the basic for the
prototypical ergative constructions. That is, it keeps original category as more
strong and puts it on a higher position in hierarchy.
We suppose, that hierarchies can give us new understandings about the
nature of linguistic changes in situation of language interferences: When new
categories or structures rise in languages because of contacts (or because of language
internally motivated variations), the old ones doesn’t disappear and take a
high position in a hieratically organized linguistic system.
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