# Hattic is an active language with an ergative base: an- marks the agent of a transitive verb, zero marks the patient…

> Still possible: Hattic is an active language with an ergative base: an- marks the agent of a transitive verb, zero marks the patient, and intransitive…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hattic-kassite-lost-languages/answers/ANS0DEDZAC8MVBC/hattic-is-an-active-language-with-an-ergative-base-an-marks  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Hattic, Kassite and the half-read languages of the cuneiform archives](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hattic-kassite-lost-languages)[Is the Hattic verb aligned actively, ergatively or accusatively, and what does each verbal prefix mark?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hattic-kassite-lost-languages/questions/QST0DEDX2TX7CR0/is-the-hattic-verb-aligned-actively-ergatively-or)Answer

Answer · Hattic, Kassite and the half-read languages of the cuneiform archives

# Hattic is an active language with an ergative base: an- marks the agent of a transitive verb, zero marks the patient…

Hattic is an active language with an ergative base: an- marks the agent of a transitive verb, zero marks the patient, and intransitive subjects take either according to whether they act.

**Still possible** Answers **1** question0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** One piece of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- In every bilingual, a Hattic verb with an- will correspond to a Hittite transitive with an agent subject or to an intransitive whose subject acts deliberately.
- Zero-marked intransitive subjects will correspond to Hittite non-agentive subjects.

## What would rule it out

- A tabulation of all verb forms in the bilinguals against their Hittite translations shows an- with non-agentive intransitive subjects, or zero with clearly agentive ones, beyond what scribal variation can explain.

## Evidence 1 for · 1 against

[In the bilinguals both an- and zero occur with intransitive verbs, and Goedegebuure ties the choice to whether the…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hattic-kassite-lost-languages/evidence/EVD0DEEB8JANVD5/in-the-bilinguals-both-an-and-zero-occur-with-intransitive)

Suggestive

FOR

[Schrijver's 2018 analysis of the same prefix chain and Simon's 2012 grammar reach different accounts of the Hattic verb.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hattic-kassite-lost-languages/evidence/EVD0DEEB9462HQP/schrijvers-2018-analysis-of-the-same-prefix-chain-and-simons)

Suggestive

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[Is the Hattic verb aligned actively, ergatively or accusatively, and what does each verbal prefix mark?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hattic-kassite-lost-languages/questions/QST0DEDX2TX7CR0/is-the-hattic-verb-aligned-actively-ergatively-or)

Part of [What language family, if any, does Hattic belong to?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hattic-kassite-lost-languages/questions/QST0DEDWJQ8EC4K/what-language-family-if-any-does-hattic-belong-to)

Open2 answers, none ahead

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Hattic is an active language with an ergative base: an- marks the agent of a transitive verb, zero marks the patient… [Answer ANS0DEDZAC8MVBC]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DEDZAC8MVBC
```

Key

**ANS** 0DEDZAC8MVBC

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Version

1

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