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This paper presents a cross-linguistic survey of case systems with several non-phonologically distributed markers of ergative case, based on a convenience sample of more than 70 languages from all over the world. It is shown that in most languages the distribution of different ergative markers splits along the lines predicted by the referential hierarchy (local pronouns > non-local pronouns > proper names > kinship terms > humans > nonhumans > inanimates), thus complementing the much better known ergativity splits. Other types of conditioning of "multiple ergatives" include gender, such nominal morphosyntactic features as number and (in)definiteness, as well as clausal morphosyntactic features like tense/aspect, polarity and person of co-arguments. "Fluid" systems where the choice of ergative marker is based on semantic or pragmatic factors are attested as well. The article also discusses the implications of ergative allomorphy and ergative alternations for the typology of ergativity and case marking in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a unified treatment of two important types of morpho-semantic correlations involving Lithuanian verbs forming their present stem with nasal infix or suffix -st. the causative/inchoative correlation of the type kilti 'rise' (intransitive) vs. kelti 'raise' (transitive) and the purely aspectual (actional) correlation of the type verki 'weep' (atelic process) vs. pravirkti 'start weeping' (telic achievement), involving mostly intransitive verbs differing as process/state vs. event and not affecting their argument structure. It is argued that the latter correlation, despite having been largely neglected in the literature, is even more widespread in Lithuanian than the former. It is argued that the aspectual correlation has undergone extension in the more recent history of Lithuanian, and a diachronic scenario is outlined accounting for the semantic and morphological links between the older transitivity alternation and the newer actional alternation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the three stems traditionally postulated in the description of Lithuanian verbal inflection, viz. the Present stem, the Past stem and the Infinitive stem. These stems play a major role in the subgrouping of verbs into inflectional classes. The status of each of the stems as 'morphomic' or 'inflectional' is assessed in the light of data from both inflectional and derivational morphology. It is argued on the basis of intricate prosodic and morphophonological data that the Infinitive stem is indeed necessary for an adequate description of the Lithuanian verbal system, and also that a separate Past Passive Participle stem relevant for deverbal derivation can be postulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the previously barely described restrictive use of the prefix te- in Lithuanian. This prefix, whose meaning is similar to that of the particle tik 'only', is peculiar in that it can take scope over almost any kind of phrases, including constituents of non-finite embedded clauses. In this paper, morphosyntactic properties and scope of the restrictive re- are analysed on the basis of both elicited and corpus data. Besides that, it is shown that from a cross-linguistic point of view, a restrictive affix displaying both rigid verb-adjacency and scope flexibility is quite rare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]