Ergative-absolutive language
Okay kiddo, have you ever heard of different types of languages? One type of language is called an ergative-absolutive language.
When we talk about this type of language, we're talking about how the language shows who is doing the action (the subject) and who is having the action done to them (the object).
In English, we show this by using different types of words like "I", "you", "she", "he", and "it". In an ergative-absolutive language, they do things a bit differently.
In these languages, when the subject of the sentence is doing something on their own, like "I ran", the word for "I" will look different from the word for "me, him, or her" when they are the object of the sentence.
But when someone else is doing something to the subject, like "the ball hit me", the word for "me" will look the same as the word for "I" when I'm doing something on my own.
This is because the language is focusing on who has control over the action. In an ergative-absolutive language, the subject has control over their own actions, so their word looks different. But when someone else has control over an action being done to the subject, the word for the subject and the object look the same.
Overall, ergative-absolutive languages are just a different way of showing who is doing the action and who it is being done to. It may seem a bit confusing at first, but if you study the language, it becomes easier to understand.
When we talk about this type of language, we're talking about how the language shows who is doing the action (the subject) and who is having the action done to them (the object).
In English, we show this by using different types of words like "I", "you", "she", "he", and "it". In an ergative-absolutive language, they do things a bit differently.
In these languages, when the subject of the sentence is doing something on their own, like "I ran", the word for "I" will look different from the word for "me, him, or her" when they are the object of the sentence.
But when someone else is doing something to the subject, like "the ball hit me", the word for "me" will look the same as the word for "I" when I'm doing something on my own.
This is because the language is focusing on who has control over the action. In an ergative-absolutive language, the subject has control over their own actions, so their word looks different. But when someone else has control over an action being done to the subject, the word for the subject and the object look the same.
Overall, ergative-absolutive languages are just a different way of showing who is doing the action and who it is being done to. It may seem a bit confusing at first, but if you study the language, it becomes easier to understand.
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