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Case variation: Viruses and star wars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2013

Halldór Ármann Sigurðsson
Halldór Ármann Sigurðsson*
Affiliation:
SOL, Centre for Language and Literature, Box 201, 221 00 Lund, Sweden. [email protected]
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Abstract

This article discusses morphological case variation, arguing that individual cases are not syntactic objects or features but PF interpretations of a range of different underlying syntactic relations. Nevertheless, it turns out that case variation can, to a large extent, be analyzed in terms of only two atomic ‘ingredients’: event licensing of NPs and PF marking of the licensing relation (where marking is analyzed in terms of Chomskyan case stars). Ergative is a Voice/ag*-case, whereas accusative is a v*-case, licensed under c-command by Voice/ag (ergative and accusative marking thus being two sides of the same coin). Individual cases in case-expanding morphological/PF case systems, it is argued, behave like viruses, striving to expand beyond their original ‘reasonable’ domain.

Keywords

casecase expansioncase growthcase star augmentationcase star deletioncase variationexternalizationinternal vs. external language
Type
Research Article
Information
Nordic Journal of Linguistics , Volume 35 , Special Issue 3: Case Variation and Change in the Nordic Languages , December 2012 , pp. 313 - 342
Copyright
Copyright © Nordic Association of Linguistics 2013

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