Ergativity

Abstract Unlike other case systems in Africa, the number of African languages with ergative systems is severely limited. Ergativity as a grammaticalized case system is not only limited in number; its occurrence is also areally and genetically restricted: It is largely confined to the Northern Lwoo languages of West Nilotic (Nilo-Saharan), spoken in the region of South-West Ethiopia/South-East Sudan (see section 3.1). The only other language with a restricted ergative system is Tima, presumably a Kordofanian language spoken in the Nuba Hills of West Sudan; the split ergative system of this language will be discussed in section 3.2.