Tabla Nor-nork Access

said Iñaki. I will carve the stone. (Nik = nork case. It is the agent, the doer. Harria = nor case. It is the object receiving the action.)

the master concluded. The stone needs to be carved by someone. (In this passive-like construction: Harriak – still absolutive/nor as the subject of ‘izan’; nork – the agent, the necessary carver.) tabla nor-nork

The Apprentice and the Master

For hours, Iñaki struck the stone. harria zizelkatzen zuen. ( He (that man, the master) chiseled the stone.) Again: Nork? Hark. Who did it? The master (ergative). What did he chisel? Harria (absolutive). said Iñaki

One morning, Iñaki placed a rough, unshaped block of limestone on the workbench. It is the agent, the doer

Mikel looked at it. he agreed. The stone is big. (Again, harria is nor . It is the topic, the thing being described.)