'Olga Kagan's The Semantics of Case is a welcome addition to the literature on how case marking evokes meaning in human languages. Drawing on a wealth of insightful examples and displaying an impressive command of diverse theoretical approaches, the book provides a comprehensive survey of case semantics from both the structural/generative and functional/cognitive traditions in linguistics.' Michael B. Smith, Oakland University, Michigan

'The book succeeds in giving a manageable, but in-depth and critical overview of the discussion about case-assignment and its interrelations with meaning … excellent quality of this book.' Francesca Dell'Oro , LINGUIST List

The phenomenon of case has long been a central topic of study in linguistics. While the majority of the literature so far has been on the syntax of case, semantics also has a crucial role to play in how case operates. This book investigates the relationship between semantics and case-marking in the languages of the world, exploring a range of phenomena in which case-assignment is affected by (or affects) meaning. By bringing together data from a wide range of languages, representing different language families, a cross-linguistic picture emerges of the correlation between case and meaning. Different approaches to the phenomena are considered, including both syntactic and semantic analyses, and the question is raised as to whether case can be treated as meaningful, ultimately helping us shed light on the broader connections between grammar and meaning and, moreover, grammar and the human cognition.
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1. Introduction; 2. Dative case; 3. Spatial cases; 4. Case and aspect; 5. Differential object marking; 6. The genitive/accusative alternation in Balto-Slavic; 7. Predicate case; 8. Generalizations and conclusions.
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Based on data from a wide range of languages, the book discusses the ways in which case interacts with meaning.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781108416429
Publisert
2020-04-16
Utgiver
Vendor
Cambridge University Press
Vekt
470 gr
Høyde
223 mm
Bredde
142 mm
Dybde
20 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
304

Forfatter

Biografisk notat

Olga Kagan is based at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She is the author of the books Semantics of Genitive Objects in Russian (2012) and Scalarity in the Verbal Domain (2015).