Ergativity and Other Alignment Types in Neo-Aramaic: Investigating Morphosyntactic Microvariation

The alignment splits in the Neo-Aramaic languages display a considerable degree of diversity, especially in terms of agreement. While earlier studies have generally oversimplified the actual state of affairs, Paul M. Noorlander offers a meticulous and clear account of nearly all microvariation documented so far, addressing all relevant morphosyntactic phenomena. By means of fully glossed and translated examples, the author shows that this vast variation in morphological alignment, including ergativity, is unexpected from a functional typological perspective. He argues the alignment splits are rather the outcome of several construction-specific processes such as internal system harmonization and grammaticalization, as well as language contact.

Paul M. Noorlander, Ph.D. (2018) is currently a Rubicon Fellow at Leiden University seconded to the University of Cambridge. He is involved in Neo-Aramaic documentation and has published on various topics in Semitic languages and linguistics and contact with Indo-European.