the ISFC39 Proceedings - International Systemic-Functional ...

to boldly proceed ...2 Ergativity in Classical TibetanClassical Tibetan is known as an ergative language due to its ergative case marking patterns.In traditional terms, the subject of a volitional verb takes a postpositional ergative particle,while the object of a volitional verb and the subject of a non-volitional verb are in theabsolutive case which is not morphologically marked. The ergative particle has fiveallomorphs: kyis (after final consonants d, b, or s), gis (after final consonants g or n), gyis(after final consonants n, m, l, or r), -s (after final vowels or replacing ’), and yis (equivalentto -s to serve the metrical purpose).The ergative model proposed by SFL which is initially intended to serve as acomplementary approach to the transitive model for English can be readily employed toaccount for the “transitivity” system of a generically ergative language like Classical Tibetan.The ergative pattern puts Process and Medium in the nucleus of a clause, possibly extendingto other participants such as Agent and Beneficiary, and circumstantial elements.The Agent, as suggested by Halliday & Matthiessen (2004: 295), has mixed features ofboth participants and circumstances. It is reflected in English that Agent may enter into aclause either as a nominal group or in a prepositional phrase headed by by. The presence orabsence of the preposition is not random, but determined by the textual or interpersonalfunction of that clause. In Classical Tibetan, however, the Agent is always explicitlyidentified by the ergative case particle. The postpositional phrase structure makes the Agentlook more like a circumstance than a participant, just as other circumstantial elements that aremarked by various postpositional particles, such as the inessive particle na used for Locationand the ablative particle las for Manner: comparison. The ergative particle, in addition tospecifying the performer of the process, is also used to indicate circumstances of Manner andCause, or signify causal enhancement in clause complexes.3 Ideational Functions of the Ergative Particle3.1 AgentThe most important usage of the ergative participle is to indicate the Agent by whichsomething happens.rgyal po de-sking that-ERGdgra bo rnamsenemy PLAgent Medium Process“The king conquered the enemies.”bcom moconquered FIN/DECbdag gisI ERGbla ma chen poLama greatAgent Medium Process“I saw the great Lama.”mthong ngosaw FIN/DECFigure 1: Examples of the ergative particle indicating Agent106