Ergative Case Acquisition in Georgian Children

Abstract

Case system acquisition, an important part of overall language acquisition, plays a major role in morphologically complex languages.  In Georgian, the acquisition of the ergative case is especially interesting due to the split ergativity system of the language. This article examines the acquisition of the ergative case in Georgian children (48-84 months). Based on sentence repetition task data, we analyze the functional use of argument cases, case omission, and the mistakes made by children. The study considers all three argument cases, while the article focuses on ergative case acquisition. We conclude that, at the age of 48-84 months, children generally use the ergative case functionally and correctly. However, errors persist, indicating that acquisition is not fully completed by this age.