On the Rise of Ergative Structures in Africa

Africa has long been seen as a continent without any ergative languages, that is languages with a grammaticalized ergative case system (see e.g. Creissels, 2000). In the last 15 years this view has been revised. There is an area stretching from the southern Sudan to south western Ethiopia where four genetically closely related West Nilotic languages (Nilo-Saharan), namely Anywa, Päri, Jur-Luwo and Shilluk (all Northern Lwoo) show ergative features to a different degree. Shilluk is the only pure ergative language with a full fledged ergative case system, the remaining languages are split ergative languages with either showing an ergative or a marked nominative system. The latter, a peculiarity outside of Africa, is the most widespread case type within Africa. Marked nominative languages (also called extended ergative) are a mixture of ergative and nominative-accusative languages. All African ergative languages are areally and genetically surrounded by pure marked nominative case languages. In the literature there is a hot debate on whether these languages have acquired their ergative features out of a former marked nominative system, or th