science

Secundative language

Secundative language is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Secundative language rather than just read about it. In short: A secundative language is a language in which the recipients of ditransitive verbs (which takes a subject and two objects: a theme and a recipient) are treated like the patients (targets) of monotransitive verbs, and the themes get distinct marking. Secundative languages contrast with indirective languages, where the recipient is treated in a special way.

Key takeaways

Secundative language belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Secundative language to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Secundative language from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A secundative language is a language in which the recipients of ditransitive verbs (which takes a subject and two objects: a theme and a recipient) are treated like the patients (targets) of monotransitive verbs, and the themes get distinct marking. Secundative languages contrast with indirective languages, where the recipient is treated in a special way. While English is mostly not a secundative language, there are some examples. The sentence John gave Mary the ball uses this construction, where the ball is the theme and Mary is the recipient. The alternative wording John presented Mary with the ball is essentially analogous to the structure found in secundative languages; the ball is not the direct object here, but basically a secondary object marked by the preposition with. In German, the prefix be- (which is sometimes likened to an applicative voice) can be used to change the valency of verbs in a similar way: In John schenkte Mary den Ball, the theme Ball is the direct object and the recipient Mary the indirect object (in the dative case); in John beschenkte Mary mit dem Ball, the recipient Mary is now the direct object and the theme Ball is now an oblique argument (an oblique dative) marked by the preposition mit.

Terminology This language type was called dechticaetiative in an article by Edward L. Blansitt, Jr. (from Greek dekh- 'take, receive' and aitiatikḗ 'accusative', intended to suggest "recipient-as-accusative"), but that term did not catch on. They have also been called anti-ergative languages and primary object languages.

Usage Ditransitive verbs have two arguments other than the subject: a theme that undergoes the action and a recipient that receives the theme (see thematic relation). In a secundative language, the primary object which is the recipient of a ditransitive verb, equivalent to the indirect object, is treated in the same way as the single object of a monotransitive verb. The secondary object which is the theme of a ditransitive verb, is treated separately. Secundative constructions are found in West Greenlandic, where the direct object of a monotransitive verb appears in the absolutive case:

In a ditransitive sentence, the recipient appears in absolutive case and the theme is marked with the instrumental case:

Similarly, in Lahu, both the patient of a monotransitive verb and the recipient of a ditransitive verb are marked with the postposition thàʔ:

In secundative languages with passive constructions, passivation promotes the primary object to subject. For example, in Swahili:

the recipient Fatuma is promoted to subject and not the theme zawadi 'gift'.

Use in English Many languages show mixed indirective/secundative behavior. English, which is primarily indirective, arguably contains secundative constructions, traditionally referred to as dative shift, however English is not a true secundative language, as neither the theme nor recipient is primary, or either can be primary depending on context. For example, the passive of the sentence

John gave Mary the ball. is

Mary was given the ball by John. in which the recipient rather than the theme is promoted to subject. This is complicated by the fact that some dialects of English may promote either the recipient (Mary) or the theme (the ball) argument to subject status, and for these dialects '

The ball was given Mary by John. (meaning that the ball was given to Mary) is also well-formed. In addition, the argument structure of verbs like provide is essentially secundative: in

The project provides young people with work. the recipient argument is treated like a monotransitive direct object.

Notes

See also Object (grammar) Dative case Ditransitive verb Ergative–absolutive alignment Morphosyntactic alignment

References Blansitt, E.L. Jr. (1984). "Dechticaetiative and dative". In Objects, F. Plank (Ed.), 127–150. London: Academic Press. Comrie, Bernard (1975). "Antiergative." Papers from the 11th Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society, R. E. Grossman, L. J. San, & T. J. Vance (eds.), 112-121. Dryer, Matthew S. (1986). "Primary objects, secondary objects, and antidative." Language 62:808-845. Haspelmath, Martin (2013). "Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb 'Give'." In: Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. (Available online at [1], Accessed on 2014-03-02.) LaPolla, Randy (1992). "Anti-ergative Marking in Tibeto-Burman.” Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 15.1(1992):1-9. Malchukov, Andrej & Haspelmath, Martin & Comrie, Bernard (eds.) (2010). Studies in ditransitive constructions. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. Trask, R. L. (1993). A Dictionary of Grammatical Terms in Linguistics Routledge, ISBN 0-415-08628-0

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Secundative language

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Secundative language claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Secundative language before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Secundative language ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Secundative language

In research: Secundative language appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Secundative language in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Secundative language is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Linguistic typology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Secundative language outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Secundative language in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Secundative language means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Secundative language out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Secundative language in simple terms?

Why does Secundative language matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Secundative language?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Secundative language.