Applicative constructions in Australian Aboriginal languages

Applicative constructions are found in a number of the Indigenous languages spoken in Australia, though they do not exist in the majority of languages for which reliable morpho-syntactic data is available.1 Several typological patterns can be found, suggesting a basic division between comitative-locative constructions, and benefactivemalefactive constructions. These are encoded morphologically by prefixation in some languages, and by suffixation in others. In a large number of languages with applicatives, there is a relationship with causative constructions; in some a single affix serves as both applicative and causative depending on the semantic nature of the verb to which it is affixed. In some languages, applicatives only occur with intransitive base verbs. For languages where applicatives occur to transitive base verbs there are two types: (a) in those with ditransitive base verbs, applicative constructions show the applied element as a direct argument of the applied verb; (b) in those without ditransitive base verbs, antipassive constructions must be applied to the base verb before applicatives can be added, with an argument of the base transitive verb appearing in a non-argument role in the resulting applicative. Applicative lookalike constructions are found in a few languages

Affix · Argument (complex analysis) · Base (topology) · Causative · Linguistics · Natural language processing · Transitive relation · Verb · Artificial Intelligence · Australian Indigenous Culture and History · Computer Science · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Mathematics · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy

• Evolutionary pathways between applicative, causative, and middle

  Open Access•David A Peterson, David J Peterson et al.•Studies in Language•2026

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