inversiiviga

Inversiiviga is a linguistic term used to describe constructions that encode an inverse relation between arguments, typically by means of an inversive marker or through a rearrangement of participants in a clause. The notion is most commonly discussed in typological and descriptive linguistics, and its exact meaning varies among researchers. Inverse in this sense is related to, but distinct from, passive voice or antipassive constructions.

In languages with inversiiviga, the marker signals that the alignment between agent and patient is inverted relative to a baseline or that the patient’s role is foregrounded in information structure. This can affect which argument triggers subject agreement on the verb or which argument is promoted in discourse. The result is that the canonical subject–verb–object order may be altered, and the verb often bears a dedicated inversive marker. The phenomenon is often analyzed as a type of inverse voice or as a morphosyntactic strategy for signaling participant hierarchy and discourse focus.

Morphology and syntax: The inversive marker can appear as a suffix on the verb, a clitic, or as a separate word, and it may co-occur with person-number agreement, tense, or mood markers. The exact realization varies across languages, and the inversive system is frequently examined together with topic marking and alignment phenomena. Interpretation often depends on discourse context, animacy, and speech-act conditions.

Cross-linguistic presence is limited and debated; the concept is mainly used in comparative studies of languages with flexible or split alignment systems. Some analysts view inversiiviga as a subtype of inverse voice, while others treat it as a set of strategies for encoding information structure within clause syntax.