Split Ergativity in The Central Dialect of Talishi

The present research accounts for the characteristic pattern of split ergativity in the central dialect of Talishi language as one of the most important modern endangered North-Western Iranian languages. The present research is focused on the central dialect to present a scientific analysis of the split ergative data within the domain of active simple transitive sentences. The analysis demonstrates the split ergative pattern according to Butt's criteria of NP-split and Tense/Aspect in the central dialect of Talishi. Accordingly, ergative constructions occur in sentences including verbs of past tense and perfective aspect while accusative constructions appear in other tenses. Moreover according to NPsplit in ergative sentences first and second person singular together with second person plural pronouns appear in the absolutive case and not in the ergative when they function as subject (A).