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Transitivity (grammatical category)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Transitivity is a grammatical category in some languages.[1][2] For example, the verb which has an object (called a transitive verb) takes on another paradigm than the verb which has no object (called an intransitive verb). In some languages, this distinction may be more sophisticated, e.g. according to the definiteness of the object.
Contents |
A Hungarian example:
| Number + person | Transitivity | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Transitive | Intransitive | ||
| Singular | 1 | látom | látok |
| 2 | látod | látsz | |
| 3 | látja | lát | |
| Plural | 1 | látjuk | látunk |
| 2 | látjátok | láttok | |
| 3 | látják | látnak | |
The transitive column (“látom”…) means “I can see him/her/it”, or it can be used in contexts like “Látom a kutyát” (“I see the dog”).
The intransitive column can be used in various contexts, e.g.
- “Látok” (translated as “I can see” meaning I am not blind)
- “Látok egy kutyát” (“I see a dog”)
The following languages of the below language families (or hypothetical language families) have this feature:[3]
In the Uralic language family:
-
- Mordvinic languages
- the three Ugric languages
- Northern Samoyedic languages
In the Paleosiberian hypothetical language family:
- Languages of both branches of the Eskimo-Aleut family; for details from the Eskimo branch, see e.g. Sireniki, Kalaallisut
- Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages
- Yukaghir
- Ket language has a very sophisticated verbal inclination systems, referring (among others) also to the object in many ways, (see also polypersonal agreement).
- ^ E.g. the book Studies in Grammatical Categories lists transitivity as one of the grammatical categories of Lithuanian grammar.
- ^ Similar remarks hold for Potawatomi language, see Verbs and Verbal categories of Potawatomi Grammar.
- ^ Pusztay 1990: 86–92
- Pusztay, János (1990). Nyelvek bölcsőjénél, Kérdőjel (in Hungarian). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 963 05 5510 7. Translation of the title: At the cradle of languages.
- Valency (linguistics)
- Ergative-absolutive language
- Verb argument
- Transitive verb
- Intransitive verb
- Ambitransitive verb
- Impersonal verb
- Unaccusative verb