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Chapter 4 The category of case

1. Preliminary remarks
Following Blake (2001:1), we shall define case as a system of marking dependent nouns for the types of relationship they bear to their heads ! "his definition is based on a number of assumptions about whi#h element is the head, the modifier or the dependent! "he verb is taken to be the head of the #lause sin#e it generally determines what dependents #an o##ur in a #lause! For instan#e, give is a three$pla#e %erb that takes three arguments: a giver (e&pressed by the sub'e#t in the nominati%e #ase), a gift (e&pressed by the dire#t ob'e#t in the a##usati%e #ase) and a recipient (e&pressed by the indire#t ob'e#t in the dati%e #ase)! (onsider as an illustration the following e&ample: (1) )ohn ga%e *ary a book! + %erb may ha%e other dependents e&pressing, for instan#e, time, lo#ation, fre,uen#y! +lthough su#h dependents are generally not li#ensed by a parti#ular %erb, they are ne%ertheless modifiers of the %erb! "he term #ase is also used to denote the phenomenon of ha%ing a #ase system! + language with a #ase system is referred to as a case language! + distin#tion should be made between cases (nominati%e, geniti%e, dati%e, a##usati%e, et#!) and the case markers or case forms through whi#h the #ases are realised! + case marker is an affi& atta#hed to the stem, while a case form is a #omplete word! -n some languages (e!g! "urkish) the #ase affi&es #an be separated from the stem, while in other languages it is not possible to isolate a #ase suffi&! -n the latter

situation it is ne#essary to talk in terms of the %arious word forms that e&press the #ases of the stem! "hese are #ase forms (#f! .eidel 1/00:12)! *oreo%er, it is essential to draw a further distin#tion between the #ases and the case relations or grammatical relations they e&press! "hese terms refer to purely syntactic relations su#h as subject, direct object and indirect object, ea#h of whi#h en#ompasses more than one semanti# role! "hese terms also refer to semanti# roles su#h as source or location, where these are not subsumed by a synta#ti# relation and where they are separable a##ording to some formal #riteria! -n this #hapter the #on#ept grammatical relations will be adopted as the term for the set of widely a##epted relations that in#ludes sub'e#t, ob'e#t and indire#t ob'e#t, whereas the case relations will be #onfined to the parti#ular relations posited in su#h frameworks as 3o#alist (ase 4rammar (see +nderson 1/51,1/55, 1//5) and 3e&i#ase (see .tarosta 1/51, 1/00)!

2. The nglish cases in traditional grammars


-n old 6nglish there were four #ases distinguished by infle#tions: nominati%e, geniti%e, dati%e and a##usati%e! 7owe%er, in present day 6nglish infle#tions ha%e been #onsiderably redu#ed and their role as synta#ti# markers has to a large e&tent been taken o%er by word order and fun#tion words, su#h as preposition! "he only remaining #ase infle#tion for nouns is the geniti%e infle#tion!

The nominative case "raditional grammars tend to asso#iate #ase infle#tions with semantic values! "hus nominative case infle#tion (if any) is atta#hed the sense of designating the actor of an action and is also asso#iated with the feature 89 animate: of the sub'e#t: (2) !ohn is swimming! The dog is barking! "ary wrote a letter! Tom left!

7owe%er, many e&amples do not show these #hara#teristi#s, as shown in (#) below: (#) The envelope #ontains the letter! $e owes you ten pounds! !ohn had a sho#k! (onse,uently, in order to attain some generali;ation, the semanti# #hara#teri;ation is supplemented with a des#ription in terms of syntactic functions of nouns phrases! <ominati%e #ase infle#tion is #hara#teristi# of the sub%ect of a senten#e, of a predicative noun phrase, and of appositive noun phrases: (4) The country now fa#es an e#onomi# #risis! )ohn is a doctor! "his book is by +ustin, the philosopher of language! The accusative case &ccusative case inflection (if any) is traditionally des#ribed as designating the person or thing on whi#h the a#tion of the %erb is performed! "he noun in the a##usati%e #ase has the synta#ti# fun#tion of a direct ob%ect and o##urs after a transiti%e %erb: (') )ohn broke the (indo(! "om beats !ohn! "he dog is #hasing the cat!

"76 B=> F6+?. 7-. F+"76?! @ire#t =b'e#t, in +#usati%e(#ause of the fear) .ub'e#t in <ominati%e(is the entity affe#ted by the a#tion)
7owe%er, the semanti# #hara#teri;ation fails again to a#,uire

generality! -n a senten#e su#h as The boy fears his father, The boy, i!e! the sub'e#t in the nominati%e #ase, is the entity affe#ted by the a#tion denoted by the %erb, while his father, i!e! the dire#t ob'e#t in the

a##usati%e #ase, is the #ause of the fear and not the entity on whi#h the a#tion of the %erb is performed! The dative case -n present$day 6nglish dative case is marked by word order and the prepositions to and for! ()) )ohn ga%e flowers to "ary! )ohn ga%e "ary flowers! - bought a book for !ohn! - bought !ohn a book! "he synta#ti# fun#tion of nouns in the dati%e #ase is that of indirect ob%ect! -n *iddle 6nglish dati%e #ase infle#tion disappeared and it was repla#ed by the preposition to whi#h a#,uired an abstra#t lo#ati%e sense also asso#iated with a A#hange of possessionB meaning! (ompare the two senten#es below: (*) (a) )ohn sent a book par#el to +ondon! @esignate the lo#ation (b) )ohn sent a book par#el to his aunt! @esignates a person(re#ipient) -n (*a) the prepositional phrase to London designates location, i!e!, the destination point, while in (*b) the animate ob'e#t to his aunt designates the person who will #ome into possession of the par#el, i!e! the recipient! "his semanti# differen#e has a synta#ti# #orrelate: only in (*b) #an the indire#t ob'e#t in%ert with the dire#t ob'e#t in a grammati#ally #orre#t senten#e (see ,b) while in (*a) it #annot:
(a) *John sent London a book parcel. The INDIRECT OBJECT and THE DIRECT OBJECT can be n!ert corectll".

(b) )ohn sent his aunt a book par#el

"he same applies to indire#t ob'e#ts with the preposition for! (onsider the senten#es in (-): (a) -B%e found a pla#e for the magnolia tree! -t #anBt be in%ert with the @-?6(" =B)6(" be#ause is not animated (b) -B%e found a pla#e for "r !ones! +lthough the e&amples in (-) seem to be e,ui%alent senten#es, only (-b) #an be transformed into a senten#e with indire#t ob'e#t, as shown in (1.b): (a) C-B%e found the magnolia tree a pla#e! (b) -B%e found *r )ones a pla#e! "his is be#ause the magnolia tree in (1.a) does not ha%e the feature /0 animate1 and does not in%ert with the dire#t ob'e#t in a well formed senten#e! @ati%e #ase is assigned to noun phrases alone or by the prepositions to or for! <ot all %erbs that assign dati%e #ase #an o##ur in both #onstru#tions (i!e! one in whi#h dati%e #ase is marked by word order and another one in whi#h the preposition is used)! .ome %erbs o##ur only in prepositional dati%e #onstru#tions while others a##ept only prepositionless dati%e #onstru#tions! For instan#e, %erbs su#h as donate, transfer, select, mention, describe, explain, propose o##ur in dati%e #onstru#tions, as e&amples from (11) to (14) show: (11) (a) De donated E 100 to UNIC !! (b) C De donated F<-(6F E 100! THE TRANSFORMATION IS NOT POSSIBLE IN ANY CASE. (a) De transferred some money to "ary! (b) C De transferred *ary some money!

(1#) (a) "he waiter sele#ted a Fren#h wine for us# (b) C"he waiter sele#ted us a Fren#h wine! (a) De mentioned the se#ret to "ary! (b) CDe mentioned *ary the se#ret! =n the other hand, give, send, or choose a##ept both #onstru#tions: VERBS LIKE :GAVE , SENT, CHOSE, ACCEPT THE TRANSFORMATION . (a) De ga%e E 100 to UNIC !! (b) De ga%e F<-(6F E 100! (a) De sent some money to "ary! (b) De sent *ary some money! (a) "he waiter #hose a Fren#h wine for us# (b) "he waiter #hose us a Fren#h wine! Furthermore, when %erbs su#h as give or allow o##ur in e&pressions su#h as allow somebody a pee$, give someone a punch in the nose, give someone a pain in the nec$, give somebody a cold, give somebody a $iss, et#, they do not take prepositional indire#t ob'e#t! (onsider the e&amples below: (1,) (a) *ary allowed his brother a peek! (b) C*ary allowed a pi#k to his brother! (1-) (a) Bill ga%e .ue a kissGa little pin#h! (b) CBill ga%e a kissGlittle pin#h to .ue!

(2.) (a) @onBt #ome too #lose $ - donBt want you to gi%e me your #oldH (b) C@onBt #ome too #lose $ - donBt want you to gi%e your #old to meH "he e&amples #onsidered so far show that dati%e #ase in *odern 6nglish #an be a structural case (when it is prepositional) or a le2ical case (when it is assigned by %arious le&i#al %erbs)! The genitive case Dhile traditional grammar #onsiders s to be a case inflection, it is 1 usually analy;ed as a clitic by linguists! "he 6nglish possessi%e ending, howe%er, does originate in a geniti%e #ase! -n =ld 6nglish, a #ommon singular geniti%e ending was -es! "he apostrophe in the modern possessi%e marker is in fa#t an indi#ator of the -e- that is missing! Dhat is referred to in traditional grammars as the genitive inflection is phonologi#ally identi#al with the regular plural infle#tion! (onse,uently, with regular nouns geniti%e #ase distin#tions are neutrali;ed in the plural! (21) The girl was playing! The girl%s toys were new! The girls were playing! The girls% toys were new!

Dith irregular nouns, where no su#h neutrali;ation #an o##ur, a fourfold distin#tion always obtains: THE IRREGULAR NOUNS like CHILD-CHILDREN c !"# $ %e #$e & 'e !e(#) li* #i+! i! ,l() l, -ec (&e #$e .i&#i!c#i+! i& l/ 0& +-# i! The child was wat#hing! The child%s toys were new! The children were wat#hing! The children%s toys were new!

+ clitic is a grammati#ally independent and phonologi#ally dependent word! -t is pronoun#ed like an affi&, but works at the phrase le%el! -n the phrase the girl next door%s cat, &%s is phonologi#ally atta#hed to the pre#eding word door while grammati#ally it #ombines with the phrase the girl next door, the possessor! (liti#s may belong to any grammati#al #ategory, though they are #ommonly pronouns, determiners, or adpositions!

=rthographi#ally a fourfold distin#tion always obtains, sin#e the geniti%e infle#tion is always spelled with an apostrophe: before the infle#tion if the noun is in the singular, after it if the noun is in the plural! "he geniti%e #ase is generally paraphrased as meaning Abelonging toB, Arelated toB, asso#iated withB! "he geniti%e #ase in 6nglish is reali;ed as inflectional genitive or synthetic genitive %s! 7owe%er, we fre,uently find a #hoi#e between using the infle#tional geniti%e or a postmodifying prepositional phrase with of! "he similarity in meaning and fun#tion has #aused the latter to be #alled by some the prepositional genitive or the periphrastic genitive. (ompare the e&amples in (2#): (a) "here were strong ob'e#tions from the island3s inhabitants! (b) "here were strong ob'e#tions from the inhabitants of the island! But although both %ersions in this instan#e are e,ually a##eptable in (2#), with a #hoi#e determined largely by preferred fo#us, for the most 2 part either infle#tional geniti%e or the of$#onstru#tion should be sele#ted, as shown in (24): (24) (a) "hese are fatherBs trousers! C"hese are the trousers of father! (b) 3etBs go to the front of the house! C3etBs go to the houseBs front! "hus, what is of parti#ular interest to us is under what #onditions one of the two forms is preferred and the #ases in whi#h only one of them is a##eptable! .ele#tion of the inflectional genitive #an best be des#ribed in relation to the gender #lasses proposed by Iuirk et al# (1/0J)! "he infle#tional geniti%e is fa%oured by the #lasses that are highest on the gender s#ale! (onse,uently, it tends to be asso#iated with those #lasses of animate gender, espe#ially with those ha%ing personal referen#e!
#

+lthough the preposition of has be#ome #on%entionali;ed as the #hief preposition of the so$#alled periphrasti# geniti%e, other prepositions #an be used with a similar fun#tion: the secretary of the 'mbassadorK the secretary to the 'mbassadorK the door

of his dressing&roomK the door to his dressing&room!

"he following four noun #lasses of animate nouns normally take the geniti%e infle#tion, but the #onstru#tion with the preposition of is also possible in most #ases: (a) Personal names: (eorge )ashington%s statue (b) Personal nouns: my sister%s pencil (c) Collective nouns: the 'dministration%s policy, the majority%s platform, the party%s elder leader, the company%s wor$ing capital, the (overnment%s delaying tactics! "hese nouns take the geniti%e infle#tion parti#ularly when the idea of the persons in ,uestions is to the fore! =n the other hand, if these nouns are used without this #onnotation of indi%iduals, the infle#ted geniti%e is not #ommon! (ompare the family%s only concern with the great men of the family! (d) $igher animals: the horse%s nec$, the farm dog%s bar$, the lion%s tail# 4emark <ouns denoting lo(er animals generally take the of$#onstru#tion: a cocoon of a sil$worm, the egg of a sparrow, the wings of a butterfly, et# (#f! the use of he and she as opposed to it)! "he infle#ted geniti%e is also used with #ertain kinds of inanimate nouns: (a) 5eographical names <ouns denoting geographi#al regions su#h as #ontinents, #ountries, states, #ities, towns, et#! take the geniti%e infle#tion espe#ially when they are used to imply human #olle#ti%ity: (2') -talyBs poli#y (rather than Italy%s rivers) 6uropeBs future (hinaBs de%elopment the Fnited .tatesB attitude

*arylandBs @emo#rati# .enator *innesotaBs immigrants 7ollywoodBs studios ?adio (ity *usi# 7all is one of <ew >orkBs most famous theatres! (b +ocative nouns) "hese nouns denote regions, hea%enly bodies, institutions! "hey take the geniti%e infle#tion when they are used with rele%an#e to human a#ti%ities: (2)) the hotelBs o##upants rather than the hotelBs furniture the townBs ta&payers the hotelBs entran#e the #ountryBs population the #lubBs pianist 7ar%ardBs 3inguisti#s @epartment (c) Temporal nouns 6&pressions of measurement (parti#ularly of time) generally take the infle#tional geniti%e #onstru#tion: (2*) an hourBs work a momentBs thought a weekBs holiday two or three minutesB hunting two shillingsB of apples in two yearsB time a momentBs regret a three daysB trip a poundBs weight a fi%e milesB distan#e

"he same applies to ad%erbial denotations of time used substanti%ally: (2,) the de#adeBs e%ents the dayBs work ne&t yearBs diffi#ulties last nightBs fall of snow this yearBs sales todayBs business todayBs traffi# problem this monthBs edition

"here is often a differen#e in meaning between these geniti%e #onstru#tions and the #orresponding of$#onstru#tions! (ompare (2-a) with (2-b): (2-) (a) yesterdayBs newspaper vs# (b) an in%ention of yesterday (i!e! Aa re#ent in%entionB) (d) 6ouns of 7special interest to human activity3 (#.) the brainBs total solid weight the mindBs general de%elopment the gameBs history the #on#ertoBs final mo%ement the bodyBs needs my lifeBs aim s#ien#eBs influen#e on our so#iety in freedomBs name the strikeBs end the treatyBs ratifi#ation the no%elBs stru#ture the wineBs #hara#ter 4emark Dith nouns e&pressing part&whole relationships, infle#tional geniti%e is the usual unmarked form: *ohn%s arm, "ary%s green eyes, et#! "he following idiomatic constructions #an also take the geniti%e infle#tion, though some of them allow the of$#onstru#tion as well:

(#1) (a) edge: the waterBs edge L the edge of the water the ri%erBs edge end: at his 'ourneyBs end L at the end of his 'ourney surface: the waterBs surfa#e for8sake: for her #ountryBs sake L for the sake of her #ountry for 4odBs sake $ Cfor the sake of the 4od HAVE BECOME IDIOMS AN DO NOT PERMIT THE OF CONSTRUCTION. length: at armBs length reach: within armBs rea#h thro(: at a stoneBs throw (orth: their moneyBs worth "he preposition 9:, is used with nouns denoting +9; 4 &6<"&+=, and with <6&6<"&T 69>6=! <6&6<"&T 69>6=? regulary take the 9: #onstru#tion, but many of them, take the 46<-"-M6 -<F36("-=< 7= when tose are #onsidered, & =P C<&+ <6T 4 =T T9 $>"&6 &CT<@<TA, when is denoting P&4T= 9: B9CAD C>+T>4&+ &CT<@<T< = 94 " &6= 9: T4&6=P94T. The ofEconstruction "he of$#onstru#tion, and not the infle#ted geniti%e, is used in the following situations: ;ith abstract nouns and (ith nouns denoting inanimate entities? (#2) -B%e been studying the philosophy of language! De set up our base #amp at the bottom of the mountain!

Dhen the noun is followed by a %erb phrase or #lause whi#h defines it: (##) "he players ignored the 'eers of the women standing in the front row! "he players ignored the 'eers of the women who were standing in the front row! Dhen we refer to a spe#ifi# date: (#4) "he #athedral was destroyed in the fire of 1222 Dith long and #omple& phrases, e%en when the possessi%e stru#ture refers to people: (#') + man was senten#ed to death for the murder of an 6nglish tourist, *oni#a (antwell Dhen proper names are #oordinated or the noun phrase is #omple& the of$#onstru#tion is the rule: (#)) the reign of )ames the se#ond the (olle#ted Dorks of Dilliam .hakespeare (#ompare with +e too$ down a copy of )ordsworth,s collected poems) Nersonal ad'e#ti%al heads #annot be used in the infle#tional geniti%e! "hus, they o##ur in of$#onstru#tions: the spiritual welfare of the poor, the language of the deaf&and&dumb# Fn#ountable nouns with generi# referen#e do not normally take the geniti%e infle#tion: the humidity of air! 7owe%er, in #ombination with for ...... sake infle#tional geniti%e is also found in su#h #ases: for honesty%s sa$e, for decency%s sa$e!

Dhen the noun phrase is pre#eded by the indefinite arti#le the only possibility is the of-#onstru#tion: -he is a great admirer of +enry *ames! (#*) .he is a great admirer of 7enry )ames! (ertain fi&ed e&pressions and titles take the of$#onstru#tion, e%en though referen#e is made to people: (#,) 7eBs the Nresident of Fnited .tates! "he Nrin#e of Dales is to %isit -#eland! 4emarks Dhen the noun phrase is pre#eded by the definite arti#le both #onstru#tions are possible, but the of$#onstru#tion is per#ei%ed as more emphati#! (ontrast (#-a) with (#-b): (#-) (a) -llness pre%ented him from attending his un#leBs funeral! (b) "he death of his un#le was a sho#k to him! "he 9: C96=T4>CT<96 is #ommon: $"he meaning =F the sub$#ommittee of the <on$-nter%ention (ommittee! "he <6:+ CT<96&+ 5 6<T<@ #ausin3= wife3= first husband! forms are rarely used: my

.ometimes those two types #an be mi&ture in the formal 6nglish: +n important handful 9: the 4o%ernmentB= supporters!

The group genitive "his is the name gi%en to a #onstru#tion where the geniti%e infle#tion 3s is added to the last element of a noun phrase #onsisting of a postmodified or #oordinated noun head: (4.) in a month or twoBs time the *useum of *odern +rtBs @ire#tor the @uke of >orkBs eldest son -n formal 6nglish the group geniti%e o##urs mainly in established phrases su#h as those in (4.)! Dith #oordinated <Ns, a distin#tion is made between coordinated genitives (e!g! *ohn%s and "ary%s boo$s L Asome books are )ohnBs and some are *aryBsB) and the group genitive (e!g! *ohn and "ary%s boo$s L Aall books are 'ointly ownedB)! <ouns in apposition take the group geniti%e when the #omplement of the geniti%e is stated as in: (41) at .mith, the booksellerBs offi#e 7owe%er, if the #omplement is omitted, the geniti%e suffi& may also be atta#hed to the first element or to both: (42) at .mithBs, the bookseller G at .mithBs, the booksellerBs G at .mith, the booksellerBs The elliptic genitive (the independent genitive) -t is #ommon to ellipt the noun following the geniti%e if the referen#e is #lear from the #onte&t?

(4#) "hat isnBt my handwriting! -tBs "ary3s (i!e! *aryBs handwriting) !ennifer3s is the only fa#e - re#ogni;e here (i!e! )enniferBs fa#e) 7e has a de%otion to work like his father3s (i!e! his fatherBs de%otion to work) Dith the of$#onstru#tion, the demonstrati%es that or those usually repla#e the #orresponding item: (44) "he wines of Fran#e are more e&pensi%e than those of (alifornia (i!e! the wines of (alifornia) The local genitive "he #onstru#tion referred to as the local genitive is a spe#ial #ase of the ellipti#Gindependent geniti%e! -t o##urs when the une&pressed item refers to homes or shops, #ompanies and, in general, pla#es that pro%ide a ser%i#e! "he lo#al geniti%e is used in the following three #ases: (&) to refer to somebodyBs residen#e (4') Dhen - arri%ed at FredBs, - found -Bd #ome on the wrong day! DeBll be at my auntBs soon! (B) with names of institutions su#h as publi# buildings (where the geniti%e is usually a saintBs name): -t .aul%s (i!e! .t NaulBs (athedral), .t )amesBs (.t )amesBs Nala#e), et#! (C) with names of shops, #ompanies and peopleGpla#es where business is #ondu#ted su#h as the butcher%s, the grocer%s, the chemist%s, the dentist%s, the optician%s, et#! -t is used for pla#es, stores, bussines or peoplesGpla#es that the name of

the 'ob and the pla#e ha%e the same name: B>TC$ 4EB>TC$ 43=

(4)) *y gro#erBs stays open late on Fridays (i!e! the gro#erBs shop) Das anything ni#e at the but#herBs this morningO (i!e!, the but#herBs shop) -Bm getting my (hristmas shopping at *a#yBs (i!e! *a#yBs department store) The implicit genitive
THE IMPLICITE GENITIVE: are the $ENITI%E Constr&ct ons ' tho&t a d st nct !e GENITIVE INFLECTION. Beca&se o( these IMPLICITE GENITIVE) *an" no&ns dropped the r +en t !e end n+s. THE IMPLICITE GENITIVE constr&ct ons (a!o&red the de!elop*ent o( no&n phrases) 'h ch the +en t !e n(lect on s deleted to+heter ' th the no&ns s&ch as SHOP, STORE, TO1N.

<ouns su#h as Lady Chapel, student hostel, doctor degree, afternoon tea are e&amples of an implicit genitive construction (i!e! geniti%e #onstru#tions without a distin#ti%e geniti%e infle#tion)! By analogy with su#h impli#it geniti%es, many nouns dropped their geniti%e ending! "he impli#it geniti%e #onstru#tions fa%oured the de%elopment of noun phrases in whi#h the geniti%e infle#tion is deleted together with nouns su#h as shop, store and town! For instan#e, +arrods, Longmans, Coo$s, -t# 'lbans, -t# Ives are deri%ed from +arrod%s shop, Longman%s shop, Coo$%s shop, -t# 'lban%s town, -t# Ive%s town! (4*) 7arrodBs is a %ast store L lo#al geniti%e 7arrods are offering great bargains this season L impli#it geniti%e

T$e .+(-le 2e!i#i%e 3PERIPHRASTIC GRNITIVE4


"he double geniti%e #onsists of the #ombined infle#ted geniti%e and the of$#onstru#tion (i!e! the so #alled Aperiphrasti# geniti%eB), usually with a partiti%e meaning! "he postmodifier must be definite and personal: a wor$ of "ilton%s (i!e! one of *iltonBs works), a friend of his father%s (one of his fatherBs friends), several students of mine (i!e! se%eral of my students)!

(4,) +ny friend of )ohnBs is a friend of mine! a pi#ture of the kingPs (i!e!, a pi#ture owned by the king, as distinguished from a pi#ture of the king, one in whi#h the king is portrayed) The appositive genitive "he appositive genitive is rarely used! "he following lines taken from the popular song *olly *alone (whi#h has be#ome the unoffi#ial anthem of @ublin (ity) in#lude an illustration of this stru#ture: (4-) -n Dublins fair city, where girls are so pretty - first set my eyes on sweet *olly *alone "he more usual usage is the fair city of /ublin

#. "odern approaches to case


+t the beginning of this #hapter, #ase was defined as a system for marking dependent nouns for the type of relationship they bear to their heads! .o far, we ha%e pointed out that the term #ase traditionally refers to infle#tional marking, but #an also be e&tended to #o%er prepositions and postpositions! =ther means of signalling the type of relationship dependent nouns bear with their heads, su#h as word order, are generally referred to as A#ompeting me#hanismsB (Blake 200Q)! ?e#ent theories proposed the %iew that all these me#hanisms #an be used to signal #ase, that #ase is abstract and universal and it e&ists independently of the means of e&pression (see se#tion 1!1)! Dhile the fo#us of attention has been what #onstitutes the e&pression side of #ase, e%en more attention has been paid to the relations that #ases e&press! -t has been proposed that there are a small number of uni%ersal semantic roles su#h as agent, experiencer, patient and instrument (see se#tion 1!2)! Furthermore, another prominent issue

of the re#ent literature has been the notion of the hierarchy! (ase markings, #ases, semanti# roles and grammati#al relations #an all be arranged hierar#hi#ally (see se#tion 1!1)!

#.1 &bstract case? structural case


6%en in languages with infle#tional #ase systems, #ase is generally abstract to the e&tent to whi#h it is not always realised by a distin#ti%e infle#tional form or marker! -n 6nglish, for instan#e, the infle#tional #ase system is #onfined to personal pronouns (I0me0mine, he0him0his, they0them0their1s2, et#) and relati%e pronouns (who0whom0whose)! =ne #an argue that all nominals in 6nglish take #ase, but 6nglish #ase is realised morphologi#ally only on personal pronouns and to a limited e&tent on relati%e pronouns! Fnder this %iew, the abstra#t nature of #ase be#omes apparent be#ause only a sub#lass of nominals shows any marking! (onse,uently, all the other means of indi#ating the relationship of dependent nouns to their heads (e!g! prepositions, word order) #an be taken as potential markers of #ase! +bstra#t #ase is found in a number of re#ent theories, the most influential of whi#h is (homskyBs 4o%ernment and Binding model #ase theory! -n this theory a distin#tion is drawn between structural case and inherent #ase! .tru#tural #ase (#on%entionally written as (ase L i!e! with #apital () is assigned to noun phrases a##ording to their position in a stru#tural #onfiguration! -f, initially, the basi# #lause stru#ture of the senten#e (.) #onsists of noun phrase (<N) fun#tioning as sub'e#t and a %erb phrase (MN) fun#tioning as predi#ate, in the 4o%ernment and Binding model ((homsky 1/01) the stru#ture of a #lause is #onsiderably more elaborated! +n <nflectional Phrase is introdu#ed! "he head of this phrase hosts tense and modality! "he %erb phrase is its complement or inner modifier and the sub'e#t its specifier or outer modifier! "his is illustrated in :igure 1 with the senten#e They will eat apples! <ote that (-nfl) and its #omplement (MN) form a #onstituent labelled -P within an -N (-nfl N)! -n a senten#e su#h as They will eat apples the au&iliary will o##upies the -nfl position!

-N

"hey

-P

(will)

MN

eat

apples

:igure 1 (lause stru#ture in 4o%ernment and Binding "heory "he %erb assigns a##usati%e #ase to the <N it go%erns, i!e! the ob'e#t <N! "his assignment of stru#tural #ase #an be manifest in morphologi#al a##usati%e marking in some languages but not all languages! -nfl, if finite, assigns stru#tural nominati%e #ase to the sub'e#t <N! -n most languages the sub'e#t will be unmarked or bear the nominati%e morphologi#al #ase! Merbs and adpositions generally assign #ase, but rarely re#ei%e 1 it ! +d'e#ti%es and nouns regularly re#ei%e #ase, but do not assign it in all languages! "he following hierar#hy of #ase assigners has been proposed: %erb R preposition R ad'e#ti%es R nouns -t has been argued that #ase assigners lower on the hierar#hy are more likely to assign a #ase nearer to the obli,ue end of the hierar#hy of #ases! Dhen ad'e#ti%es and nouns assign #ase, it is typi#ally the dati%e or geniti%e rather than the a##usati%e (Man ?iemsdi'k 1/01:2Q/)!

"his is in line with the case resistance principle proposed by .towell (1/01) a##ording to whi#h word #lasses that assign #ase #annot re#ei%e it!

<ouns and ad'e#ti%es are generally not #onsidered to be stru#tural #ase assigners! "he senten#e in ('.) is ungrammati#al be#ause the noun phrase *ohn has not been assigned #ase: ('.) C@ad is proud )ohn +ll noun phrases must be assigned #ase! "he ill$formed senten#e in ('.) #an be sa%ed by the insertion of of to yield: ('1) @ad is proud of )ohn

Of is regarded as a meaningless case marker for the abstra#t geniti%e


#ase! 7owe%er, the preposition of, like all other prepositions in 6nglish, go%erns the a##usati%e morphologi#al #ase as shown in ('2) below: ('2) @ad is proud of him (and not C/ad is proud of his) "he geniti%e #ase in 6nglish is inherent rather than stru#tural! (onsider the e&ample in ('#): ('#) C@ad is proud 8)ohn to be the winner: "he e&ample in ('#) #annot be turned into a well$formed 6nglish senten#e through the insertion of the marker of! -f of is inserted in the e&ample in ('#), what is obtained is still grammati#ally in#orre#t: ('4) C@ad is proud of )ohn to be the winner -ntuiti%ely the reason is apparent! /ad is not said to be proud of *ohn, but of the #ontent of the proposition 8)ohn to be the winner:! -n 6nglish, the ad'e#ti%e is an inherent case assigner rather than a stru#tural #ase assigner! + stru#tural #ase assigner is sensiti%e only to stru#ture, whereas

an inherent #ase assigner is sensiti%e to semantic roles (#alled theta roles in 4o%ernment and Binding "heory) as well! +n inherent #ase assigner #an assign #ase only when it assigns a semanti# role! -n ('#) the role for the #omplement of proud applies to #lause en#losed within bra#kets, not 'ust to the noun phrase *ohn! -n 4o%ernment and Binding "heory, an infiniti%e is unable to assign #ase to its sub'e#t! "hus, a senten#e su#h as (''a) is ungrammati#al sin#e the infiniti%e have #annot assign #ase to her! (''a) #an be turned into a grammati#ally #orre#t senten#e if a preposition is inserted, as in (''b) where the preposition for assigns a##usati%e #ase to her: ('') (a) C887er to ha%e to ha%e to #arry the hea%y bu#ket: was too mu#h: (b) 88For her to ha%e to ha%e to #arry the hea%y bu#ket: was too mu#h: Dhen an infiniti%al #lause fun#tions as a #omplement, a noun phrase like him in (')) is analy;able as the sub'e#t of the infiniti%e and as being Q assigned its a##usati%e #ase from the finite go%erning %erb ! (')) "hey belie%ed 8him to be the burglar: "he senten#es in (''b) and (')) are e&amples of e&#eptional #ase marking to the e&tent to whi#h #ase is assigned outside the normal s#ope of go%ernment! -n other words, #ase is assigned a#ross what is normally taken to be a boundary, in these instan#es the boundary of an infiniti%al #lause signalled by bra#keting in (''a), (''b) and ('))!

<oun phrases like him #an also be analy;ed as ha%ing been raised into the higher #lause and as being the dire#t ob'e#t of the higher #lause!

#.2 Case as a conceptual notion? case grammar #.2.1 5eneral remarks on semantic roles
.in#e the late 1/20s, a number of theories ha%e been ad%an#ed #laiming that the semanti# relationships borne by nominal dependents on their go%ernors make up a small, uni%ersal set! "hese theories in#lude FillmoreBs proposal for #ase grammar (A"he (ase for (aseB L 1/20K A"he (ase for (ase ?eopenedB $ 1/55), +ndersonBs 3o#alist (ase 4rammar (1/51, 1/55, 1//5), @ikBs Fun#tional 4rammar (1/50), among others! @espite a great deal of %ariation between languages as to the number of #ases and adpositions, and despite the #onfusing %ariation in J the terminology , all these modern theories allow for some kind of semanti# relations that are not always refle#ted dire#tly in the morphosynta&! -t has been pointed out that case grammar, as one the earlier %ersion was #alled, is a model of understanding , i!e! a theory about the way language users #ategori;e e&perien#e and #omprehend dis#ourses (#f! (arlson and "annenhouse 1/00)! Dhat is going on around us in the physi#al world is #ategori;ed as e%entsGstatesGpro#esses with a #ertain parti#ipant stru#ture! For instan#e, the same physi#al o##urren#e (i!e! the same e%ent, state or pro#ess) #an be reported by using either of the senten#es in ('*) or (',): ('*) (a) )ohn borrowed some money from the girl! (b) "he girl lent some money to )ohn! (',) (a) - pushed against the table! (b) - pushed the table!

-nitially Fillmore posited a uni%ersal set of relations with traditional #ase$labels su#h as agentiveD instrumentalD dativeD factitiveD ob%ective (1/20:2Q$J), but later swit#hed to agentD e2perienceD instrumentD ob%ectD sourceD goalD place and time, whi#h are more semanti#ally transparent!

"hus, the physi#al o##urren#e in ('*) abo%e is understood and #ategori;ed as an a#t borrowing or lending depending on the #hoi#e of a parti#ular %erb! (hoosing the %erb is the ma'or ingredient in putting an e%ent in perspe#ti%e (Fillmore 1/55)! +nother ma'or fa#tor in the interpretation of an e%ent is the #hoi#e of #ertain parti#ipants as fillers of the ma'or grammati#al fun#tions: sub'e#t, ob'e#t! "his is illustrated in (',)! (',a) is a two$parti#ipant s#ene with a one$pla#e perspe#ti%e ((orniles#u 2002:11Q), whi#h makes the +gentBs a#tion the #entral one, whereas in (',b) both parti#ipants L the +gent and the lo#ati%e phrase, a 4oal L are in perspe#ti%e! "hus, the lo#ati%e #onstituent is salient enough to be#ome dire#t ob'e#t and, unlike (',a), (',b) implies mo%ement of the 4oal! 2 Fillmore #alled these synta#ti#$semanti# relations cases and his #on#eption of grammar #ame to be referred to as case grammar (1/20:1/)! =%er the last de#ades, Fillmorean$type #ases ha%e been #alled deep cases, whereas traditional grammar #ases ha%e been referred to as surface cases (Blake 200Q)! "he most widespread terms for purely semanti# relations are semantic roles, case roles, thematic roles (3e&i#al$Fun#tional 4rammar) and theta roles (in 4o%ernment and Binding)! "hese semanti# roles should be distinguished from grammati#al relations! 4rammati#al relations #an be isolated on the basis of formal distin#tions made in #ase, agreement, word order, adposition and the like! .ome of these relations are purely synta#ti#: sub'e#t, ob'e#t, indire#t ob'e#t, ergati%e and absoluti%e, ea#h of whi#h subsuming a number of semanti# roles! =ther relations are semanti#ally homogeneous! For instan#e, in some languages lo#ati%e and instrumental are demar#ated by #ase! -n this situation, grammati#al relation and semanti# role #oin#ide! "he theory of semanti#Gthemati# relations is rele%ant to the following areas of morpho$synta#ti# in%estigation: a) the prin#iples of sub'e#t or ob'e#t sele#tion, i!e! the prin#iples that determine the #hoi#e of parti#ular role as sub'e#t or as dire#t ob'e#t espe#ially when se%eral synta#ti# #onstru#tion are a%ailable to a parti#ular predi#ate (e!g! !our people can sleep in my tent %s! "y tent sleeps four people)! *ore generally, of parti#ular rele%an#e are the ways in whi#h #ase frames are pinned on sub#ategori;ation frames K a related issue is the identifi#ation of role$assigning #ategories in a language and
2

"he notion of a set of synta#ti# L semanti# relations that ha%e some independen#e from noun$phrase marking is not entirely new! ?elations of this type are found in the an#ient -ndian grammarian Nanini!

the dire#tion of role$assignment as well as the distin#tion that #an be drawn between synta#ti# positions that #an be assigned roles (argument positions) and non$argument positions ((orniles#u 2002:11Q)! b) the regularities (e!g! regularities in the use of prepositions) that go beyond synta& #an only be a##ounted for in terms of #ase #on#epts ((orniles#u 2002:11Q)!

#.2.2 :illmore3s Case 5rammar


-t is Fillmore who deser%es #redit for bringing to the fore the notion that there is a set of uni%ersal semanti# roles! -n his seminal paper A"he (ase for (aseB, published in 1/20, he proposed a set of si& A#asesB, whi#h he later re%ised and e&tended to eight! "hese #ases were deep$stru#ture #ases whi#h he des#ribed as being underlying synta#ti#$semanti# relationships ! 7e distinguished them from #ase forms whi#h #omprise the means of e&pressing #ases: suffi&es, suppletion, adpositions, et#! (Fillmore 1/20:21ff)! "o establish a uni%ersal set of semanti# roles is not an easy task! +lthough some roles are demar#ated by #ase or by adpositions in some languages, on many o##asions they ha%e to be isolated by semanti# tests! "here are no agreed #riteria and there is no #onsensus on the uni%ersal in%entory! "o a #ertain e&tent establishing roles and as#ribing parti#ular arguments to roles in%ol%es an e&tra$linguisti# #lassifi#ation of relationships holding between entities in the physi#al world! "here tends to be agreement on su#h roles as agent, patient, instrument and source, whi#h are %iewed as salient manifestations! 7owe%er, problems arise with the #lassifi#ation of relationships that fall between the salient ones! "he following list of semanti# roles is offered as a #he#klist of roles that ha%e been identified in the literature and ha%e been found to be rele%ant in %erb #lassifi#ation! &gent "he +gent is typi#ally the animate parti#ipant who initiates or performs the a#tion! "he +gent must be #apable of %olition (desire) or deliberate a#tion and is generally responsible for the a#tion! "he role of +gent may #orrespond to the synta#ti# fun#tion (i!e! grammati#al relation) of sub'e#t!

('-) (a) !ohn hit "om! (b) + falling ro#k hit 6mily! (#) "ary a##identally broke the glass! (d) Dithout meaning, 5eorge insulted his friend! (e) $e deliberately walked out before the end of the seminar! (f) The cro(d applauded! )ohn is an +gent in ('-a), a falling ro#k, whi#h is inanimate, is not an +gent! +n +gent does not ne#essarily ha%e to intend to perform the a#tion, as shown in ('-c and '-d)! +n +gent role re,uires the #apa#ity of %olition, intention, responsibility, as in ('-a and '-cEf). +d%erbs su#h as willingly, deliberately, intentionally #ount as typi#al identifiers of +gents! 2periencer "he role of an animate being e&perien#ing an emotion or per#eption (e!g! the sub'e#t of love, hate, the dire#t ob'e#t of surprise, aware, frighten, et#!)! ().) (a) They lo%e musi#! (b) -t seems to me that you are twisting my words! (#) 7e surprised me with his theory! (d) (omputers used to frighten me!

T$ A(+46<") +9@ (e&perien#er) musi#!


Perceiver .ome linguists distinguish the perceiver or cogniser of %erbs like see, hear or $now from the e&perien#er of %erbs like love or hate! They see e%erything T$ AFagent = Fperceiver Patient

+lmost all in%entories of semanti# relations in#lude a role that #o%ers the following:

i!

an entity %iewed as e&isting in a state or undergoing #hange: (a) The sky is blue! (b) The flame grew bright! (#) The door opened!

ii!

an entity %iewed as lo#ated or mo%ing: (a) The lion is in the #a%e! (b) 7e mo%ed the stone! (#) The stone mo%ed!

iii!

+n entity %iewed as affe#ted (i!e! it suffers the a#tion denoted by the %erb) or effe#ted by another entity: (a) "he bird ate the (orm! (b) "he bird sang a song! (#) "he president fired the treasurer! (d) "he arrow hit the apple!

Fillmore #alled this role ob%ect and later he swit#hed to ob%ective, whereas 4ruber (1/2J) #alled it themeK others ha%e #alled it patient! "he labels Aob'e#tB and Aob'e#ti%eB are unsatisfa#tory sin#e they #an be easily #onfused with a #ase label or a label for a grammati#al relation respe#ti%ely! .imilarly, the label AthemeB #an be #onfused with the term established in Nrague .#hool linguisti#s for a dis#ourse$pragmati# fun#tion! <e%ertheless, the term is used by some linguists as a default semanti# role, the label being gi%en when no other label seems appropriate ((orniles#u 2002)! "he label patient is the most widely used of the %arious alternati%es that ha%e been proposed! 7owe%er, it is not always appropriate for all the e&amples to whi#h it applies (#onsider, for instan#e, the senten#es in (i) and (ii aEb))! (onse,uently, some linguists draw a distin#tion between theme and patient, using theme for (i) and (ii) and patient for (iii)! =thers #ombine the two roles under the label patientGtheme! .till, others distinguish between affected patient, effected patient and neutral patient!

Percept "his term has been used by some linguists to designate the entity whi#h is per#ei%ed or e&perien#ed: ()2) *ary saw the monster! -t seemed to )ohn that there (ould not be enough food! The stories frightened the #hildren! <nstrument "his #on#ept is #learer: it designates the means by whi#h an a#ti%ity or #hange of state is #arried out! ()#) (a) 7e #ut the meat (ith a knife. (b) - was impressed by his speech! (#) This key will open the door! (d) The avalanche destroyed se%eral houses! (e) .he s,uashed the spider (ith a slipper! +ocation "his role designates the pla#e where the entity is positioned or the pla#e where something takes pla#e: ()4) (a) "he %ase is onGunderGnear the table! (b) 7e was lying on the grass! (#) .he sat in the armchair! (d) The kitchen reeked of toba##o! (e) The path was swarming with ants! .ome linguists take the %iew that the lo#ati%e role refers to lo#ation in time as well (Blake 200Q)!

()') +ustralia @ay fell on a Tuesday! =ource "his role denotes the point from whi#h an entity mo%es or deri%es: ())) "hey got news from home! =ince &ugust the situation has impro%ed! Path "his role denotes the tra'e#tory that an entity follows: ()*) (a) 7e walked along the streets! (b) "he dog #hased the #at along the path and then through the conservatory! (#) "hey managed to sur%i%e through the drought! (d) 7e rolled the ball do(n the hill! 5oal -t denotes the point to or towards whi#h an entity mo%es or is oriented: (),) (a) 7e turned to the altar and walked to(ards it! (b) "he plane flies to +ondon in an hour! (#) 7e remo%ed the book from the shelf. (d) .he slept till da(n! "he terms direction and destination are alternati%es! "he meaning of the former, howe%er, is less transparent! 4ecipient -t denotes a sentient destination:

()-) .he ga%e her spare #hange to the collectors! Purpose "his semanti# role denotes the purpose of an a#ti%ity: (*.) 7e went to the ?ed ?ooster for some takeEa(ay! BeneficiaryGBenefactive "his role denotes the animate entity on whose behalf an a#ti%ity is #arried out: 7e did the shopping for his mother! - #ooked him dinner! - #ooked dinner for him. "anner "his role designates the way in whi#h an a#ti%ity is done or the way in whi#h a #hange of state takes pla#e! (*1) 7e did it (ith great skill! 2tent "he role denotes the distan#e, area or time o%er whi#h an a#ti%ity is #arried out or o%er whi#h a state holds: (*2) -t lasted the (inter! 7e ran (for) three miles!

Possessor "his semanti# role denotes the entity that possesses another entity: (*#) - saw !ohn3s new #ar! .ome linguists refer to the possessed item as the ApossessumB! -t #an be e,uated with the neutral patient (theme)! +lthough there is no #onsensus on the uni%ersal in%entory of semanti# roles or terminology, linguists tend to adhere to a #ommon set of pra#ti#es in as#ribing roles: a) b) #) d) the in%entory is kept small a semanti# role #an be assigned only on#e in a #lause no dependent #an bear more than one semanti# role semanti# roles remain #onstant under paraphrase

Heeping the inventory small +ll the in%entories of semanti# roles that ha%e been proposed are fairly small, usually appro&imating the number of #ases found in a language, i!e! between si& and ten or so! "he #ombination of roles with a gi%en predi#ate is #alled the role&structure or the argument structure of the predi#ate! "he %erb hit implies a AhitterB and a AhitteeB, the %erb scrape implies a As#raperB and a As#rapeB, and so on! 7owe%er, AhitterB and As#raperB are not treated as separate roles, but rather the notion of agent is abstra#ted from the relationship holding between the meaning of the %erb and the role of its arguments! "he same is true of AhiteeB and As#rapeeB: no one suggests taking them to be separate rolesK one abstra#ts the notion of patient! "he problem that arises is to determine how broad the roles #an be! (onsider the %erb watch in the following senten#e: (*4) "he #at wat#hed the bird!

The cat #an be des#ribed as an agent, but the bird is not a patient in the sense of an Aentity that is affe#ted by an a#ti%ityB (#ontrast with the mouse in The cat ate the mouse or the apple in The arrow hit the apple)! "hus, some would des#ribe it as bearing the role of theme! 7owe%er, the affe#ted patient of %erbs su#h as hit or eat and the unaffe#ted or neutral patient of watch do not #ontrast syntagmati#ally nor are they opposed paradigmati#ally! (onse,uently, they #an be treated as sharing the same role, i!e! patient! -f an e&ploration of synta#ti# relations raises ,uestions of how many distin#tions are needed, an e&amination of adpositions (i!e! prepositions and postpositions) raises the opposite issue of how few are re,uired! -n many languages the number of adpositions amounts to forty or so! *ost of these forms are lo#al, e&pressing su#h notions as Aabo%eB, AbelowB, AnearB, AonB, et#! -f these were analy;ed as e&pressing separate semanti# roles, the in%entory would be signifi#antly larger than it typi#ally is! "hus, all these lo#al forms #annot be taken to represent separate roles, if we want to maintain the notion of atomi# roles! "hese lo#al forms are generally analy;ed in terms of the notions of source, location, path and destination (Blake 200Q)! 9nce per clause 4enerally, one semanti# role #an be assigned only on#e per #lause! 7owe%er, this spe#ifi#ation should be interpreted as allowing #o$ ordination (as in *'a) and multiple spe#ifi#ation of a parti#ular lo#ation (see *'b) (Blake 200Q)! (*') (a) )ohn and *ary went up the hill! (b) -t is on the desk, to the left, behind the pi#ture frame! Dhen nominals stand in apposition they are #o$referent, so only one referent is understood as bearing the assigned role!

6o dependent bears more than one role "he prin#iple that ea#h dependent bears only one role to its go%ernor is generally agreed! 7owe%er, %erbs su#h as buy and sell ha%e been dis#ussed as pro%iding a #hallenge! (onsider the following assignment of roles: (*)) Fred
&5 6T

bought

the book

P&T< 6T

from )ohn!
=9>4C

(**) )ohn
&5 6T

sold

the book
P&T< 6T

to Fred
C =T<6&T<9 6

-n (*)) !red is an agent in that he initiates or is responsible for an a#ti%ityK the boo$ is a patient in that it is affe#ted by the a#ti%ity denoted by the %erb, thereby passing from the possession of )ohn to FredK *ohn is marked as the source from whom the book passes! -n (**) *ohn is an agent sin#e he initiates an a#ti%ity, the boo$ is a patient, and !red is marked as a destination! 7owe%er, it has been pointed out that !red is a destination in (*)) in be#ause he re#ei%es the book, and *ohn is a source in (**) be#ause the book passes from him! *oreo%er, if one takes this %iew, one would ha%e to #onsider the passage of money in the opposite dire#tion! =n the other hand, e&tra#ting su#h roles whi#h are entailed in the meanings of the two %erbs would only #onfuse the issue! "he as#ription of the role of agent to the sub'e#t and patient to the ob'e#t links buy and sell to the large #lass of a#ti%ity %erbs! 3inguists working within the framework of ?ole and ?eferen#e 4rammar proposed two ma#ro$roles, &ctor and >ndergoer (Foley and Man Malin 1/0Q, Man Malin 1//1)! +#tor and Fndergoer are held to be suffi#ient to des#ribe the orientation of predi#ate: (*,) 7e
&CT94

misses

you
>6C 459 4

%ery mu#h

*ore spe#ifi# roles su#h as agent, e&perien#e, patient, et# are predi#table from the semanti#s of the %erb! 4oles constant under paraphrase -n the generally a##epted tradition, semanti# roles #an be identified a#ross paraphrases and a#ross translational e,ui%alents, whi#h makes roles independent of e&pression (#f! +gud 1/00:QJ2)! (onsider the senten#es below: (*-) )ohn
&5 6T 69"

opened

the door
P&C< 6T &CC

with the key!


<6=T4>" 6 T &CC

"he door
P&C< 6T 69"

was opened

by )ohn
&5 6T &CC

with a key!
<6=T4>" 6 T &CC

"he key
<6=T4>" 6T 69"

opened

the door!
P&C< 6 T &CC

(,.) *ary
&5 6T 69"

ga%e

a book
P&C< 6T &CC

to *artha!
4 C<P< 6 T &CC

*ary
&5 6T 69"

ga%e

*artha
4 C<P< 6T &CC

a book!
P&C< 6T &CC

"hus e&amples (*-) and (,.) show that on#e semanti# roles are assigned to arguments by the %erb they are preser%ed irrespe#ti%e of the synta#ti# #onfiguration in whi#h arguments o##ur!

7owe%er, there is a range of e&amples whi#h is beset with problems! =ne type, re#ognised by Fillmore as problemati# (1/20:Q0$/), in%ol%es alternati%es with different #hoi#es of ob'e#t! 4i%en a situation in whi#h an ()ohn) mo%es an ob'e#t (a smoking pipe) and #auses it to #ome into light #onta#t with another ob'e#t (a wall), this #an be #on%eyed in 6nglish by either (,1a) or (,1b): (,1) (a) )ohn tapped the wall with his pipe! (b) )ohn tapped his pipe on the wall! -n (ase grammar deep #ases (i!e! semanti# roles) remain #onstant under paraphrase! 6ither we #onsider that the wall in (,1a) is a patient and the pipe an instrument and transfer these roles to (,1b), or we take the pipe in (,1b) to be the patient and the wall to be locative and transfer these roles to (,1a)! =b%iously, we #annot do both and maintain that roles remain #onstant under paraphrase! + solution to this problem would be to analy;e (,1a) and (,1b) as representing different en#odings of the same physi#al e%ent! (,1a) is likely to be #hosen if )ohn is seen Ato be tapping the wall with his pipe to see if the wall is hollowB! "hus, Athe wallB is seen as a patient and Ahis pipeB an instrument! (,1b) is likely to be #hosen if )ohn is seen Ato be tapping his pipe on the wall to dislodge some wet toba##o from the pipeB! Fnder this latter interpretation, Ahis pipeB is seen as a patient and Athe wallB as a lo#ation!

#.# $ierarchies
-t has been shown that grammati#al relations #an be ordered hierar#hi#ally! "he %arious types of #ase markings (e!g! adpositions, affi&es) #an be ordered in terms of their formal properties! "hese formal properties %ary with the hierar#hi#al ordering of #ases and grammati#al relations (Blake 200Q:02)! *oreo%er, as Blake (200Q) points out, semanti# roles #an be ordered hierar#hi#ally with respe#t to grammati#al relations! +s we shall see in what follows, this order #an be shown to be rele%ant to the a##eptability of su#h #onstru#tions as refle&i%es and passi%es!

#.#.1 5rammatical relations


?elational 4rammar, a theory de%eloped by Nerlmuter and Nostal in the early 1/50s, is of parti#ular rele%an#e to the study of #ase sin#e it #on#erns itself almost e&#lusi%ely with grammati#al relations! Dithin this theoreti#al framework, grammati#al relations are taken as undefined primiti%es! + distin#tion is drawn between the grammatical relations (e!g! sub'e#t, dire#t ob'e#t, indire#t ob'e#t), whi#h are #olle#ti%ely known as terms, and the obliIues (e! g! lo#ati%e, benefa#ti%e, instrumental)! "he terms are pure synta#ti# relation whereas the obli,ues are semanti#! "he grammati#al relations form the following hierar#hy, as shown in (,2): (,2) 1! sub'e#t 2! dire#t ob'e#t 1! indire#t ob'e#t Q! obli,ues (lo#ati%e, instrumental, et#!) "he hierar#hy manifests itself in %arious ways! -n some languages the unmarked word order follows the hierar#hy! "his applies to 6nglish and Fren#h (#liti# pronouns apart), for instan#e! "he hierar#hy manifests itself in issues of relati%isation! 6nglish #an relati%ise sub'e#ts (the man who left), ob'e#ts (the man I saw) and obli,ue relations (the gun with which he shot the burglar)! 7owe%er, some languages #an relati%ise only sub'e#ts, some only sub'e#ts and dire#t ob'e#ts, some only sub'e#ts, dire#t ob'e#ts and indire#t ob'e#ts (#f! Seenan and (omrie 1/55)! *ost languages allow for some %erbal deri%ations that #hange the %alen#y of the %erb! "he passi%e is a #ase in point! -f we take into a##ount the hierar#hy of grammati#al relations gi%en in (,2), su#h %erbal deri%ations ha%e been analy;ed in terms of the advancement (or promotion) and demotion! "hus, the passi%e in%ol%es the ad%an#ement of the dire#t ob'e#t to sub'e#t position and the demotion of the sub'e#t to a peripheral relation! Blake (200Q:0/) points out that regardless of the organisation of the #ore grammar the ad%an#ement displa#es the patientGtheme argument!

#.#.2 Case
-nfle#tional #ase systems ha%e been shown to built up in a parti#ular order, gi%ing thus rise to the hierar#hy in (,#) (Blake 200Q:1JJ): (,#) nom a##Gerg gen dat lo# ablGinst others

"his hierar#hy should be interpreted as follows! -f a language has a #ase in#luded in the hierar#hy, it will generally ha%e at least one #ase from ea#h slot listed to the left! For instan#e, if a language has a dati%e #ase, it will ha%e a geniti%e, an a##usati%e or ergati%e (or both), and a nominati%e! -n a system that in#ludes a small number of #ases (between two and fi%e #ases), the lowest ranked #ase will usually ha%e a large range of fun#tions, i!e! it will fun#tion as a kind of Aelsewhere #aseB! "his hierar#hy of grammati#al relations is an elaboration of the ?elational 4rammar hierar#hy gi%en in (,2)! Ninkster (1/0J:125) has demonstrated that #ases #an be arranged hierar#hi#ally, the highest raked #ases are more likely to en#ode arguments of a predi#ate rather than ad'un#ts! -n 3atin, for instan#e, the hierar#hy is as follows (Ninkster 1/0J:125): (,4) nom R a## R dat R abl R gen

#.#.#. "arking
.e%eral generali;ations #an be made about the distribution of morphologi#ally unmarked forms, about syntheti# and analyti# marking and about head %ersus dependent marking! -f a language has an unmarked #ase, and it usually has, this #ase 5 is normally nominati%e en#oding .+ (sub'e#t) in a##usati%e languages and .N (absoluti%e) in ergati%e languages!
/

"here a few languages, su#h as Dappo (Nenutian), in whi#h the a##usati%e rather than the nominati%e is the unmarked #ase for all nominals (3i and "hompson 1/01)!

+ #lear #orrelation #an be established between the type of marking employed for a grammati#al relation and the position of that relation in the hierar#hy! +nalyti# #ase markers (adpositions) are more likely for the non#ore peripheral relations, espe#ially the obli,ues (e!g! lo#ati%e, benefa#ti%e, instrumental, et#!) whi#h are semanti# relations! (on%ersely, syntheti# markers (infle#tions) are more likely for the purely grammati#al relations, espe#ially the #ore ones (e!g! sub'e#t, dire#t ob'e#t)! 6nglish illustrates this #orrelation to the e&tent to whi#h it has suppleti%e a##usati%e infle#tion with pronouns and a geniti%e marker s with nouns, but prepositions for most other fun#tions! "he status of the geniti%e s is unusual in that its s#ope is phrasal: the man over there%s dog or the /u$e of 3or$%s son! 7ead marking (atta#hing markers to the head of a #onstru#tion rather than to the dependents) is #onfined to the purely grammati#al relations! -n some languages there is no marking for #ore fun#tions, either on the noun phrase or on the %erb, though there is marking for peripheral fun#tions! -n su#h language the sub'e#tGob'e#t distin#tion is made %ia word order, usually subject4verb4object order!

#.#.4 =emantic roles


Fillmore (1/20:11) has not only ad%an#ed the notion of semanti# roles independent of the morpho$synta&, but he also proposed the idea of a sub%ectEchoice hierarchy! *ost modern theories in#orporate su#h a hierar#hy, some e%en adding an ob%ectEchoice hierarchy! "he following e&ample is taken from @ikBs (1/50: 5Qf) Fun#tional 4rammar (with ApatientB substituted for AgoalB for the sake of #onsisten#y with the des#ription and labelling of semanti# roles in se#tion 1!2!2): (,') agent R patient R re#ipient R benefi#iary R instrument R lo#ation R temporal "he e&ample in (,') represents a hierar#hy of a##essibility to sub'e#t! +gent is the most a##essible semanti# role to be assigned to a sub'e#t, patient ne&t most a##essible and so on! (,)) represents a hierar#hy of a##essibility to dire#t ob'e#t: (,))

patient R re#ipient R benefi#iary R instrument R lo#ation R temporal +##ording to @ik (1/50), a #ontinuous segment of the hierar#hy has a##ess to sub'e#t and another #ontinuous segment has a##essibility to dire#t ob'e#t! +ssignments of lower roles to sub'e#t and ob'e#t are less! .u#h lower roles are generally sub'e#t to le&i#al #onstraints and they typi#ally in%ol%e marked #onstru#tions! For instan#e, in 6nglish, agent is the first #hoi#e for sub'e#t in unmarked #onstru#tions (e!g! a#ti%e %oi#e), patient is the ne&t #hoi#e, as in (,*a) and (,*b) respe#ti%ely: (,*) (a) 7e shouted! (b) *ary fell! 7owe%er, a marked #onstru#tion (the passi%e) should be used if an agent argument is to be displa#ed: (,,) 7e got shot by the burglar! + re#ipient of the %erb give may displa#e a patient in the #hoi#e for dire#t ob'e#t! (ontrast the senten#es in (,-): (,-) (a) &5 6T

ga%e

the book
P&C< 6T

to him!
4 C<P< 6 T

(b) &5 6T

ga%e

him
4 C<P< 6T

the
P&T< book! 6T

"he double$ob'e#t #onstru#tion (,-b) is #onsidered marked with respe#t to the #onstru#tion with a prepositional phrase (,-a) whi#h is generally more #ommon a#ross 6nglish %erbs! "he re#ipient #an be promoted to sub'e#t through passi%i;ation! -t should be pointed out, on the other hand, that the ad%an#ement of a re#ipient to dire#t ob'e#t position is not possible with all three$pla#e %erbs! (onsider the following e&amples:

(-.) 7e donated E1,000 to #an#er resear#h! C7e donated #an#er resear#h E1,000! "he ad%an#ement of a benefi#iary dire#t ob'e#t is possible with some %erbs (e!g! build), but not with others (e!g! construct)! (ompare the senten#es in (-1) with those in (-2)? (-1) 7e built a house for me! 7e built me a house! (-2) 7e #onstru#ted a house for me! C7e #onstru#ted me a house! -t is diffi#ult to find a##eptable e&amples of passi%es with benefi#iaries as sub'e#t! 6nglish is unusual in allowing roles ranked lower on the hierar#hy to be en#oded as sub'e#t, at least with some %erbs! "he senten#es in (-#) illustrate the assignment of the lo#ati%e to the sub'e#t: (-#) The first chapter in#ludes the definitions! The kitchen reeked of toba##o! The path was swarming with aunts!

"he same applies to AtemporalB sub'e#ts: (-4) The (ar years saw a redu#tion in the #rime rate! Tomorro( is a holiday!

-t should be pointed out that @ik (1/50) does not re#ognise an e&perien#er role! -f we take into a##ount this role (i!e! e&perien#e), it would probably outrank the patient, sin#e it is more often e&pressed as sub'e#t than the neutral patient is (I li$e0hate0fear him)! -n a number of role hierar#hies not only is the e&perien#er pla#ed abo%e the patient, but se%eral other roles are as well (#f! )a#kendoff 1/52, Foley and Man Malin 1/0Q)! )a#kendoff introdu#es the hierar#hy in (-') and uses it as a basis for the "hemati# 7ierar#hy (ondition on passi%es and refle&i%es! +##ording to )a#kendoff (1/52: Q1, 1Q0), in a passi%e #onstru#tion the agent is supposed to be higher than the deri%ed sub'e#t and in refle&i%es the refle&i%ised argument may not be higher than its ante#edent! (-') 1! +gent 2! 3o#ation, .our#e, 4oal 1! "heme "he "hemati# 7ierar#hy (ondition #ould be in%oked to show why the senten#es in (-)) do not ha%e passi%es! -n both, the sub'e#t is a neutral patient or theme and the other argument is an e&perien#er whi#h )a#kendoff analy;es as an abstra#t goal! (-)) "hat girl matters to me! "he reason es#apes me!

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