| Summary: | International audience The so-called "ergative", "absolutive" and "antipassive" constructions are here reexamined in the context of a detailed analysis of the noun and verb morphology of Tunumiisut (East Greenland dialect). It is well known that there is a similarity between the actancy markers of verb phrases in the principal moods and the possessive determiners of noun phrases. But one can also point to some elements in the subordinate moods which are akin to the noun markers of relative and translative cases and which relate to the semantico-referential level. At the same time, constituent analysis shows that agent-patient order, which is fixed for actancy markers, is also the normal order for specified noun actants. Furthermore, the choice of actancy constructions, which permits variation in the distribution of central and peripheral actants, obeys certain semantic constraints. We here analyse the role of active-inert, definite-indefinite and theme-rheme oppositions, and also the numerous means of changing orientation in the verb phrase which allow one to give greater prominence to directness of subject function (zero case). Reference is also made to ways in which these semantic constraints are shown in verb valency. Les constructions dites “ergative”, “absolutive” et “antipassive” des langues inuit (eskimo) sont réexaminées à partir d'une analyse détaillée de la morphologie nominale et verbale du tunumiisut, dialecte du Groenland oriental. La ressemblance entre les indices actanciels du syntagme verbal aux modes principaux et les déterminants possessifs du syntagme nominal est bien connue. Mais on peut également mettre au jour dans les modes subordonnés des éléments qui sont apparentés aux marques nominales du relatif et du translatif et qui renvoient au plan sémantico-référentiel. En même temps, l'analyse des constituants montre que l'ordre agent–patient, ordre strict dans les indices actanciels est également l'ordre normal des actants nominaux spécifiés. D'autre part, le choix des constructions ...
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