Transitive alignment¶
In linguistic typology, transitive alignment is a type of morphosyntactic alignment used in a small number of languages in which a single grammatical case is used to mark both arguments of a transitive verb, but not with the single argument of an intransitive verb.
Core Idea¶
Transitive alignment is treated here as the recurring morphosyntactic alignment identity summarized by this source-grounded definition: In linguistic typology, transitive alignment is a type of morphosyntactic alignment used in a small number of languages in which a single grammatical case is used to mark both arguments of a transitive verb, but not with the single argument of an intransitive verb. In linguistic typology, transitive alignment is a type of morphosyntactic alignment used in a small number of languages in which a single grammatical case is used to mark both arguments of a transitive verb, but.
Scope of Application¶
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Documented setting. In linguistic typology, transitive alignment is a type of morphosyntactic alignment used in a small number of languages in which a single grammatical case is used to mark both arguments of.
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Documented setting. Such a situation, which is quite rare among the world's languages, has also been called a double-oblique clause structure.
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Documented setting. That is, in the past tense (or perhaps perfective aspect), the agent and object of a transitive verb are marked with the same case ending, while the subject of an intransitive.
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Documented setting. In the present tense, the object of the transitive verb is marked, the other two roles are not – that is, a typical nominative–accusative alignment.
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Documented setting. According to Payne, it's clear what happened here: Rushani once had a split-ergative alignment, as is common in the area, where the object was marked (oblique) in the present tense, but.
Clarity¶
A clear use of Transitive alignment names the carrier, the operative relation, and the conditions under which the source treats the identity as present. The minimal definition is In linguistic typology, transitive alignment is a type of morphosyntactic alignment used in a small number of languages in which a single grammatical case is used to mark both arguments of a transitive verb, but not with the single argument of an.
Manages Complexity¶
Transitive alignment compresses multiple morphosyntactic alignment details into a stable diagnostic relation. The source shows both the central mechanism—that is, in the past tense (or perhaps perfective aspect), the agent and object of a transitive verb are marked with the same case ending, while the subject of an intransitive verb is not marked.—and the practical consequence—however, this resulted in a complication, the typologically unusual situation where the.
Abstract Reasoning¶
- Type the carrier. Identify the morphosyntactic alignment entities to which the claim applies.
- State the relation. Use the source-grounded identity: In linguistic typology, transitive alignment is a type of morphosyntactic alignment used in a small number of languages in which a single grammatical case is used to mark both arguments of a transitive verb, but not with the single argument of an intransitive verb.
- Check operation and conditions.
Knowledge Transfer¶
Within the home domain. Knowledge about Transitive alignment transfers literally when a new case preserves the same carrier type, relation, and recognition test. In linguistic typology, transitive alignment is a type of morphosyntactic alignment used in a small number of languages in which a single grammatical case is used to mark both arguments of a transitive verb, but not with the single argument of an intransitive verb. Such a situation.
Relationships to Other Abstractions¶
Current abstraction Transitive alignment Domain-specific
Parents (1) — more general patterns this builds on
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Transitive alignment presupposes Grammatical case Domain-specific
The reviewed transitive alignment is constituted by using one grammatical case to mark both transitive arguments while excluding the intransitive argument.
Hierarchy path (1) — routes to 1 parentless root
- Transitive alignment → Grammatical case → Grammar → System → Composition → Gestalt Principles → Holism
Neighborhood in Abstraction Space¶
Transitive alignment sits in a sparse region of the domain-specific corpus (70th percentile for distinctiveness): few abstractions share its structure, so a faithful description tends to retrieve it precisely.
Family — Syntactic Alignment & Reference Marking (6 abstractions)
Nearest neighbors
- Double-Marking Language — 0.88
- Conjunctive grammar — 0.83
- Complementizer — 0.83
- Referring expression — 0.83
- Categorial Grammar — 0.83
Computed from structural-signature embeddings · 2026-10-08