Case: The realization and interpretation of a relational feature.

Abstract

This thesis examines the cross-linguistic realization of three Case types identified on the basis of the information they encode. Grammatical Case encodes information about grammatical roles, lexical Case encodes a fixed semantic interpretation which is lexically linked to a specific morphological Case, and semantic Case encodes contextually determined referential information. Inflectional features are identified as inherent, specified in the citation form of lexical items, or derived, requiring specification only in the syntax. The proposed Case type classification and feature distinction are used to examine a variety of Case-related phenomena including quirky subjects and existential constructions. The study of quirky subjects reveals that they are locative predicate modifiers of stage-level predicates. Although marked with oblique lexical Case, their syntactic properties indicate that they are in the structural position associated with the grammatical Case of the subject. The Case patterns observed in this context demonstrate the possibility of an overt grammatical-lexical Case combination, and of the morphological realization of grammatical Case on an NP which is not in a grammatical Case position. The study of English existentials reveals similarities to the quirky subject construction particularly with respect to a locative interpretation of the expletive subject, and the possibility of a grammatically Case-marked postverbal NP. The postverbal NP in this construction exhibits a grammatical-semantic Case combination. Cross-linguistically, the sematic Case feature of the NP in existential constructions interacts with other morphosyntactic factors, and exhibits varied morphological realization, surfacing as a Case marker and/or an article. The examination of these and other Case-related phenomena reveals confusion about interpretation based solely on a particular Case-marking, and highlights the importance of examining the information encoded, especially when transferring morphological-based assumptions from one language to another.