Case

by Barry J. Blake

• ISBN13: 9780521014915
• ISBN10: 0521014913
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-10-08
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Case is an accessible introduction for students of linguistics to the ways relations between words in sentences are marked in languages. Case is fundamental to the whole system of language. One of its most interesting features is the recurrence of apparently idiosyncratic patterns and devices in otherwise unrelated languages. This book picks out these recurring strategies and explores their significance. It provides the background against which the case-marking of particular languages can be best understood. In this revised edition, Blake refines and expands on his discussions of the most important concepts in the study of case, taking into account recent developments in the field. It incorporates significant additions to the data and includes a thoroughly revised section on abstract case in the Chomskyan paradigm.

Table of Contents

List of figures	ix
List of tables	x
Preface to the Second Edition	xiii
Preface to the First Edition	xv
List of abbreviations	xviii
Overview	1	(17)
Inflectional case	1	(6)
Other manifestations	7	(5)
Competing mechanisms	12	(6)
Problems in describing case systems	18	(29)
The traditional analysis	18	(1)
Distinguishing cases	19	(10)
Meanings and functions	29	(18)
Modern approaches to case	47	(46)
Introduction	47	(1)
Grammatical relations	48	(9)
Abstract case	57	(5)
Semantic roles and grammatical relations	62	(24)
Hierarchies	86	(7)
Distribution of case marking	93	(25)
Introduction	93	(1)
Within the clause	93	(3)
Within the noun phrase	96	(8)
Within the word	104	(5)
Within the subordinate clause	109	(9)
Survey of case marking	118	(43)
Introduction	118	(1)
Organisation of the core	118	(24)
Dative	142	(7)
Genitive	149	(2)
Partitive	151	(1)
Local cases	151	(3)
Other cases	154	(1)
Inflectional case hierarchy	155	(6)
Life cycle of case systems	161	(23)
Origin	161	(6)
Developments within case systems	167	(8)
Loss of case marking	175	(5)
Derived functions of case marking	180	(3)
Finale	183	(1)
Notes	184	(11)
Guide to terminology	195	(12)
Guide to further reading	207	(1)
References	208	(11)
Author index	219	(3)
Language index	222	(3)
Subject index	225