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to boldly proceed ...3.3 CauseThe circumstantial element of Cause: reason explaining why the process takes place isdenoted in Classical Tibetan by the ergative particle.las dge ba rnams kyisdeed virtuous PL ERGbyang chunenlightenmentCause: reason Medium Processthob boattained FIN/DEC“Because of (his) virtuous deeds, (he) attained enlightenment.”Figure 4: Example of the ergative particle indicating Reason3.4 Causal Enhancement in Clause ComplexesAs an extension of the above use for the circumstance of Cause, the ergative particle can alsoserve as a hypotactic enhancing linker with reference to reason in a clause complex.ba lang legs par ma bsrungs pa-sox properly NEG guarded-ERG×β α“Because the ox was not properly guarded, it got lost.”stor tolost FIN/DECFigure 5: Example of the ergative particle as causal enhancement linker4 Clause Nucleus and PeripheryHalliday & Matthiessen (2004: 295) hold that the ergative model is a nuclear interpretation ofthe transitivity system. In Classical Tibetan, the ergativity system can be thus represented(Figure 6): the Process alone constitutes the nucleus, which has an optional inner ring of theMedium, which is in turn surrounded by an outer ring of circumstantial and quasicircumstantialelements including the Agent, Range, and so on.MannerBeneficiaryAgentProcessRangeCauseMediumLocationAccompanimentFigure 6: Clause nucleus and periphery108