For the Western Iranian languages the transition from the Old Iranian to the
Middle-Iranian period is characterised by – among other things – the loss of
word-final syllables. This loss had a far-reaching impact on the nominal and
verbal systems since it caused the loss of categories which had been expressed
by suffixes. The consequences include the emergence of the so-called ergative
system.
Although descriptions of the ergative construction in Balochi do exist، there
is no treatment yet which takes into account the material of the different
dialects. Furthermore، the ergative construction in Balochi has been compared
with data from Old Iranian، but not with data from Middle Iranian languages،
and the development from the Middle Iranian stage to the different types found
in present-day Balochi has also not yet been studied. The aim of this paper is
therefore to present the data from the Balochi dialects as far as they are known
today and to update، complete (and in some points، correct) previous
descriptions of the matter.
