Typology of case-marking in Brajbhāshā

Abstract

This study analyses case marking patterns in the Jādobāti variety of Brajbhāshā, an Indo-Aryan language. Ergative marking in Jādobāti depends on perfective aspect and subject prominence. Transitive subjects in perfective aspect take ergative case, while intransitive subjects do so when prominent. Light verb transitivity also affects ergativity. Non-nominative subjects appear with experiencer interpretations, taking dative, instrumental, genitive, or locative case. Differential object marking is driven by animacy, definiteness, specificity, and prominence. In non-perfective aspects, human objects are marked obligatorily if definite, while animate objects are marked optionally. In perfective contexts, object marking reflects prominence. Topic-positioned objects may be marked for economy and interpretation. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.