Transitivity and Split Argument Coding In Yaqui

Abstract

This article revisits transitivity and case marking of non-actor arguments in Yaqui. Yaqui has been defined as a transitive-prominent language because two-place predicates taking accusative arguments marked by -ta are extremely common, while predicates taking indirect/dative arguments marked by -u ‘to’ are uncommon. In addition to -u, there are several other predicates that take arguments marked by -t ‘at’. Two-place predicates with non-accusative arguments have been treated marginally in Yaqui grammar. This article examines coding and behavioral properties of accusative and non-accusative non-actor arguments in Yaqui. Evidence is given to support the claim that Yaqui does not have dative case but instead uses two oblique markers, -u and -t. This article also argues that Yaqui shows two types of split argument coding: verbs taking oblique arguments only and verbs with alternative coding (accusative and oblique).