The syntax of ergativity: Collective versus individual feature checking

Syntactically ergative languages like Dyirbal challenge generative syntactic theories. They treat the direct object as the highest argument in the clause, instead of the (transitive) subject. Previously formulated theories overestimate (Marantz 1984, Murasugi 1992) or deny (Bobaljik 1993) the phenomenon. I will show that a theory on feature checking, taken from Koster (1999, 2000), predicts two different types of syntactic ergativity when extended to ergative case patterns. Apart from Dyirbal, syntactically ergative constructions in languages like Balinese can now be accounted for. Finally, the proposal makes an interesting prediction on the status of morphologically ergative languages.