Advances in Role and Reference Grammar

ATTRIBUTIVES AND IDENTIFICATIONALS 439

1.3 Dakota

In Dakota, intransitive predicates are divided into two classes, depending
on whether the single set of pronouns they take corresponds to the set of
pronouns identifying the more active or the less active core participant of a
transitive predicate.^5 In (10) and (11), the more active and less active pro­
noun sets of transitive clauses are illustrated, respectively. The more active
set is identified by the symbol A, and the less active set is identified by the
symbol U; these symbols correspond to the Role and Reference Grammar
macroroles actor and undergoer, to be explicated later in the discussion. In
(12) and (13), it is shown that the pronouns corresponding to the undergoer
set generally appear with attributive and identificational constructions.
Example (14) shows that objective predicates take the same set of pronouns
as the attributive constructions (i.e. those belonging to the undergoer set),
while subjective predicates take actor pronouns, as shown in (15).

(10) Ó-wa-kiye.

I-A help

"I helped him."

(11) Ó-ma-kiye

1-u help

"He helped me."

(12) Ma-wášte/*wa-wášte

1-u good

"I'm good."

(13) Da-má-kotal*da-wa-kota

1-u Dakota

"I'm a Dakota."

(14) Ma-t'é kte/*wa-t'e kte

1-u die FUT

"I will die."

(15) Wa-niwe/*ma-niwe

I-A swim

"I swam."

The attributive and identificational constructions in Dakota, then, gener­

ally behave as objectives rather than subjectives, counter to their behavior

in Russian and French.