Absolutief

Absolutief, in linguistic terminology, refers to the absolutive case or the absolutive alignment found in certain languages. It is a grammatical form used to mark the subject of intransitive verbs and the direct object of transitive verbs. In languages with ergative–absolutive alignment, the absolutive serves these two distinct syntactic roles, while a separate ergative case marks the agent, or the subject of transitive verbs.

The concept contrasts with nominative–accusative alignment, where the subjects of intransitive and transitive clauses typically share a single case (the nominative), and the object receives a different case (the accusative). In languages with absolutive marking, the distinction between agent and patient is encoded through this additional case system, rather than solely through word order or verb agreement.

Marking of the absolutive varies across languages. Some languages use explicit morphological case endings, others rely on zero-marking with syntactic or pragmatic cues, and still others combine affixes with pronominal strategies. The distribution and realization of absolutive marking can be highly complex, sometimes interacting with tense, aspect, mood, or transitivity.

Languages exhibiting absolutive alignment include Basque and several indigenous languages of the Americas, Australia, and the Arctic. These systems illustrate the typological diversity of case marking and demonstrate how languages can encode grammatical relations differently from the more widespread nominative–accusative pattern found in many Indo-European languages.

Etymology: absolutief is the Dutch term for absolutive, derived from Latin absolutus and Greek absolutos, reflecting its role as a grammatical case marker rather than a semantic “absolute.”