(81311524) chapter 4 case
TRANSCRIPT
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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 markingdependent nouns for the types of relationship they bear to their heads!"his definition is based on a number of assumptions about whi#helement 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$pla#e %erb that takesthree arguments: a giver (e&pressed by the sub'e#t in the nominati%e
#ase), a gift (e&pressed by the dire#t ob'e#t in the a##usati%e #ase) and arecipient (e&pressed by the indire#t ob'e#t in the dati%e #ase)! onsideras an illustration the following e&le:
(1)
ohn ga%e *ary a book!
+ %erb may ha%e other dependents e&pressing, for instan#e, time,lo#ation, freuen#y! +lthough su#h dependents are generally not li#ensed
by a parti#ular %erb, they are ne%ertheless modifiers of the %erb!"he term #ase is also used to denote the phenomenon of ha%ing a
#ase system! + language with a #ase system is referred to as a caselanguage!
+ distin#tion should be made between cases (nominati%e,geniti%e, dati%e, a##usati%e, et#!) and the case markers or case formsthrough whi#h the #ases are realised! + case marker is an affi& atta#hedto the stem, while a case form is a #omplete word! -n some languages(e!g! "urkish) the #ase affi&es #an be separated from the stem, while in
other languages it is not possible to isolate a #ase suffi&! -n the latter
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7owe%er, many e&les do not show these #hara#teristi#s, as shown in
(#)below:
(#)
The envelope #ontains the letter!$e owes you ten pounds!!ohn had a sho#k!
onseuently, in order to attain some generali;ation, the semanti##hara#teri;ation is supplemented with a des#ription in terms of syntacticfunctions of nouns phrases!
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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#tiondenoted by the %erb, while his father, i!e! the dire#t ob'e#t in the
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a##usati%e #ase, is the #ause of the fear and not the entity on whi#h thea#tion of the %erb is performed!
The dative case
-n present$day 6nglish dative case is marked by word order and theprepositions to andfor!
()
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 indirectob%ect!
-n *iddle 6nglish dati%e #ase infle#tion disappeared and it wasrepla#ed by the preposition to whi#h a#uired an abstra#t lo#ati%e sensealso asso#iated with a A#hange of possession meaning! ompare the twosenten#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!, thedestination point, while in (*b) the animate ob'e#t to his aunt designatesthe 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 theindire#t ob'e#t in%ert with the dire#t ob'e#t in a grammati#ally #orre#tsenten#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
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"he same applies to indire#t ob'e#ts with the preposition for! onsider the
senten#es in (-):
(a) -%e found a pla#e for the magnolia tree!-t #ant be in%ert with the @-?6" =B6"
be#ause is not animated(b) -%e found a pla#e for "r !ones!
+lthough the e&les in (-) seem to be eui%alent senten#es, only (-b)#an be transformed into a senten#e with indire#t ob'e#t, as shown in(1b):
(a) C-%e found the magnolia tree a pla#e!(b) -%e found *r ones a pla#e!
"his is be#ause the magnolia tree in (1a) does not ha%e the feature /0animate and does not in%ert with the dire#t ob'e#t in a well formedsenten#e!
@ati%e #ase is assigned to noun phrases alone or by the
prepositions to or for!
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(1#)
(a) "he waiter sele#ted a Fren#h winefor 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
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(2)
(a) @ont #ome too #lose $ - dont want you to gi%e me your #oldH
(b) C@ont #ome too #lose $ - dont want you to gi%e your #old to meH
"he e&les #onsidered so far show that dati%e #ase in *odern6nglish #an be a structural case (when it is prepositional) or a leicalcase (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
usually analy;ed as a clitic1
by linguists! "he 6nglish possessi%e ending,howe%er, does originate in a geniti%e #ase! -n =ld 6nglish, a #ommonsingular 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!onseuently, with regular nouns geniti%e #ase distin#tions areneutrali;ed in the plural!
(21)
The girl was playing! The girls were playing!The girl%s toys were new! The girls% toys were new!
Dith irregular nouns, where no su#h neutrali;ation #an o##ur, a fourfolddistin#tion always obtains:
THE IRREGULAR NOUNS like CHILD-CHILDREN c!"# $%e #$e &'e
!e(#)li*#i+! i! l()l, ec(&e #$e ii!c#i+! i& l/0& +#i!
The child was wat#hing! The children were wat#hing!The child%s toys were new! The children%s toys were new!
1+ clitic is a grammati#ally independent and phonologi#ally dependent word! -t is
pronoun#ed like an affi&, but works at the phrase le%el! -n the phrase the girl next
door%s cat, &%s is phonologi#ally atta#hed to the pre#eding word door while
grammati#ally it #ombines with the phrase the girl next door, the possessor! liti#s may
belong to any grammati#al #ategory, though they are #ommonly pronouns, determiners,
or adpositions!
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=rthographi#ally a fourfold distin#tion always obtains, sin#e the geniti%einfle#tion is always spelled with an apostrophe: before the infle#tion ifthe noun is in the singular, after it if the noun is in the plural!
"he geniti%e #ase is generallyparaphrased as meaning Abelonging to, Arelated to, asso#iated with!"he geniti%e #ase in 6nglish is reali;ed as inflectional genitive orsynthetic genitive %s! 7owe%er, we freuently find a #hoi#e betweenusing the infle#tional geniti%e or a postmodifying prepositional phrasewith of! "he similarity in meaning and fun#tion has #aused the latter to
be #alled by some the prepositional genitive or the periphrasticgenitive. ompare the e&les in (2#):
(a) "here were strong ob'e#tions from the island3sinhabitants!
(b) "here were strong ob'e#tions from the inhabitants of theisland!
But although both %ersions in this instan#e are eually a##eptablein (2#), with a #hoi#e determined largely by preferred fo#us, for the most
part either infle#tional geniti%e or the of$#onstru#tion2
should besele#ted, as shown in (24):
(24)
(a) "hese are fathers trousers!C"hese are the trousers of father!
(b) 3ets go to the front of the house!C3ets go to the houses 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 ofthem is a##eptable! .ele#tion of the inflectional genitive #an best bedes#ribed in relation to the gender #lasses proposed by Iuirk et al#(1/J)! "he infle#tional geniti%e is fa%oured by the #lasses that arehighest on the gender s#ale! onseuently, it tends to be asso#iated withthose #lasses of animate gender, espe#ially with those ha%ing personalreferen#e!
#
+lthough the preposition of has be#ome #on%entionali;ed as the #hief preposition ofthe so$#alled periphrasti# geniti%e, other prepositions #an be used with a similarfun#tion: the secretary of the 'mbassadorK the secretary to the 'mbassadorK the door
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of his dressing&roomK the door to his dressing&room!
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"he following four noun #lasses of animate nouns normally takethe geniti%e infle#tion, but the #onstru#tion with the preposition of is also
possible in most #ases:
(a) Personal names: (eorge )ashington%s statue
(b) Personal nouns: my sister%s pencil
(c) Collective nouns: the 'dministration%s policy, the majority%splatform, the party%s elder leader, the company%s wor$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 ofindi%iduals, the infle#ted geniti%e is not #ommon! ompare the family%sonly concern with the great men of the family!
(d) $igher animals: the horse%s nec$, the farm dog%s bar$, the lion%stail#
emark
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*arylands @emo#rati# .enator*innesotas immigrants7ollywoods studios
?adio ity *usi# 7all is one of orks most famous theatres!
(b +ocative nouns)
"hese nouns denote regions, hea%enly bodies, institutions! "hey take thegeniti%e infle#tion when they are used with rele%an#e to humana#ti%ities:
(2)
the hotels o##upants rather than the hotels furniturethe towns ta&payersthe hotels entran#ethe #ountrys populationthe #lubs pianist7ar%ards 3inguisti#s @epartment
(c) Temporal nouns
6&pressions of measurement (parti#ularly of time) generally take theinfle#tional geniti%e #onstru#tion:
(2*)
an hours work in two years timea moments thought a moments regreta weeks holiday a three days triptwo or three minutes hunting a pounds weight
two shillings of apples a fi%e miles distan#e
"he same applies to ad%erbial denotations of time used substanti%ally:
(2,)
the de#ades e%ents this years salesthe days work todays businessne&t years diffi#ulties todays traffi# problemlast nights fall of snow this months edition
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"here is often a differen#e in meaning between these geniti%e#onstru#tions and the #orresponding of$#onstru#tions! ompare (2-a)with (2-b):
(2-)
(a) yesterdays newspaper
vs#
(b) an in%ention of yesterday (i!e! Aa re#ent in%ention)
(d) 6ouns of 7special interest to human activity3
(#)
the brains total solid weightthe minds general de%elopmentthe games historythe #on#ertos final mo%ementthe bodys needsmy lifes aims#ien#es influen#e on our so#ietyin freedoms namethe strikes endthe treatys ratifi#ationthe no%els stru#turethe wines #hara#ter
emark
Dith nouns e&pressing part&whole relationships, infle#tional geniti%e isthe usual unmarked form:*ohn%s arm,"ary%s green eyes, et#!
"he following idiomatic constructions #an also take the geniti%einfle#tion, though some of them allow the of$#onstru#tion as well:
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(#1)
(a)
edge: the waters edge L the edge of the waterthe ri%ers edge
end: at his 'ourneys end L at the end of his 'ourneysurface: the waters surfa#efor8sake: for her #ountrys sake L for the sake of her #ountryfor 4ods sake $ Cfor the sake of the 4od
HAVE BECOME IDIOMS AN DO NOT PERMIT THE OF CONSTRUCTION.
length: at arms lengthreach: within arms rea#hthro: at a stones throworth: their moneys worth
"he preposition 9:, is used with nouns denoting +9; &66=!
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Dhen the noun is followed by a %erb phrase or #lause whi#hdefines it:
(##)
"he players ignored the'eers of the women standing in the frontrow!"he players ignored the'eers of the women who were standing inthe front row!
Dhen we refer to a spe#ifi# date:
(#4)
"he #athedral was destroyed in the fire of 1
Dith long and #omple& phrases, e%en when the possessi%estru#ture refers to people:
(#')
+ man was senten#ed to death for the murder of an 6nglishtourist, *oni#a antwell
Dhen proper names are #oordinated or the noun phrase is#omple& the of$#onstru#tion is the rule:
(#)
the reign of ames the se#ondthe olle#ted Dorks of Dilliam .hakespeare (#ompare with +e
too$ down a copy of )ordsworths collected poems)
Nersonal ad'e#ti%al heads #annot be used in the infle#tionalgeniti%e! "hus, they o##ur in of$#onstru#tions: the spiritualwelfare of the poor, the language of the deaf&and&dumb#
n#ountable nouns with generi# referen#e do not normally takethe geniti%e infle#tion: the humidity of air! 7owe%er, in
#ombination with for ...... sake infle#tional geniti%e is also
found in su#h #ases:for honesty%s sa$e,for decency%s sa$e!
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Dhen the noun phrase is pre#eded by the indefinite arti#le theonly possibility is the of-#onstru#tion: -he is a great admirer of
+enry *ames!
(#*)
.he is a great admirer of 7enry ames!
ertain fi&ed e&pressions and titles take the of$#onstru#tion, e%enthough referen#e is made to people:
(#,)
7es the Nresident of nited .tates!"he Nrin#e of Dales is to %isit -#eland!
emarks
Dhen the noun phrase is pre#eded by the definite arti#le both#onstru#tions are possible, but the of$#onstru#tion is per#ei%ed asmore emphati#! ontrast (#-a) with (#-b):
(#-)
(a) -llness pre%ented him from attending his un#les funeral!(b) "he death of his un#le was a sho#k to him!
"he 9: C96=T>CT
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The group genitive
"his is the name gi%en to a #onstru#tion where the geniti%e infle#tion 3sis added to the last element of a noun phrase #onsisting of a
postmodified or #oordinated noun head:
(4)
in a month or twos timethe *useum of *odern +rts @ire#torthe @uke of >orks eldest son
-n formal 6nglish the group geniti%e o##urs mainly in establishedphrases su#h as those in (4)!
Dith #oordinated
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(4#)
"hat isnt my handwriting! -ts "ary3s (i!e! *arys handwriting)
!ennifer3s is the only fa#e - re#ogni;e here (i!e! ennifers fa#e)7e has a de%otion to work like his father3s (i!e! his fathers de%otion towork)
Dith the of$#onstru#tion, the demonstrati%es that or those usuallyrepla#e the #orresponding item:
(44)
"he wines of Fran#e are more e&pensi%e than those of alifornia (i!e! thewines of alifornia)
The local genitive
"he #onstru#tion referred to as the local genitive is a spe#ial #ase of theellipti#Gindependent geniti%e! -t o##urs when the une&pressed item refersto homes or shops, #ompanies and, in general, pla#es that pro%ide aser%i#e! "he lo#al geniti%e is used in the following three #ases:
(&) to refer to somebodys residen#e
(4')
Dhen - arri%ed at Freds, - found -d #ome on the wrong day!Dell be at my aunts soon!
(B) with names of institutions su#h as publi# buildings (where thegeniti%e is usually a saints name): -t .aul%s (i!e! .t Nauls athedral), .tamess (.t amess 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, thedentist%s, the optician%s, et#!-t is used for pla#es, stores, bussines or peoplesGpla#es that the name of
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the 'ob and the pla#e ha%e the same name: B>TC$EB>TC$3=
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(4)
*y gro#ers stays open late on Fridays (i!e! the gro#ers shop)
Das anything ni#e at the but#hers this morningO (i!e!, the but#hersshop)-m getting my hristmas shopping at *a#ys (i!e! *a#ys departmentstore)
The implicit genitive
THE IMPLICITE GENITIVE:are the $ENITI%E Constr&ctons 'tho&t a
dstnct!e GENITIVE INFLECTION. Beca&se o these IMPLICITE
GENITIVE an" no&ns dropped ther +ent!e endn+s.
THE IMPLICITE GENITIVEconstr&ctons a!o&red the de!elopent o no&n phrases
'hch the +ent!e nlecton s deleted to+heter 'th the no&ns s&ch as SHOP,
STORE, TO1N.
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(4,)
+ny friend of ohns is a friend of mine!
a pi#ture of the kingPs (i!e!, a pi#ture owned by the king, as distinguishedfrom 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 fromthe 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-)
-nDublins 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 formarking dependent nouns for the type of relationship they bear to theirheads! .o far, we ha%e pointed out that the term #ase traditionally refersto infle#tional marking, but #an also be e&tended to #o%er prepositionsand postpositions! =ther means of signalling the type of relationshipdependent nouns bear with their heads, su#h as word order, are generallyreferred to as A#ompeting me#hanisms (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 themeans of e&pression (see se#tion !1)!
Dhile the fo#us of attention has been what #onstitutes thee&pression side of #ase, e%en more attention has been paid to therelations that #ases e&press! -t has been proposed that there are a smallnumber of uni%ersal semantic roles su#h as agent, experiencer, patient
and instrument (see se#tion !2)! Furthermore, another prominent issue
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of the re#ent literature has been the notion of the hierarchy! asemarkings, #ases, semanti# roles and grammati#al relations #an all bearranged hierar#hi#ally (see se#tion !)!
#.1 &bstract case? structural case
6%en in languages with infle#tional #ase systems, #ase is generallyabstract to the e&tent to whi#h it is not always realised by a distin#ti%einfle#tional form or marker! -n 6nglish, for instan#e, the infle#tional #asesystem 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 isrealised morphologi#ally only on personal pronouns and to a limitede&tent on relati%e pronouns! nder this %iew, the abstra#t nature of #ase
be#omes apparent be#ause only a sub#lass of nominals shows anymarking! onseuently, all the other means of indi#ating the relationshipof dependent nouns to their heads (e!g! prepositions, word order) #an betaken as potential markers of #ase!
+bstra#t #ase is found in a number of re#ent theories, the most
influential of whi#h is homskys 4o%ernment and Binding model #asetheory! -n this theory a distin#tion is drawn between structural case andinherent #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 astru#tural #onfiguration! -f, initially, the basi# #lause stru#ture of thesenten#e (.) #onsists of noun phrase (
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-N
"hey -P
- MN(will)
eat apples
:igure 1 lause stru#ture in 4o%ernment and Binding "heory
"he %erb assigns a##usati%e #ase to the
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an inherent #ase assigner is sensiti%e to semantic roles (#alled thetaroles in 4o%ernment and Binding "heory) as well! +n inherent #aseassigner #an assign #ase only when it assigns a semanti# role! -n ('#) the
role for the #omplement of proud applies to #lause en#losed withinbra#kets, not 'ust to the noun phrase*ohn!
-n 4o%ernment and Binding "heory, an infiniti%e is unable toassign #ase to its sub'e#t! "hus, a senten#e su#h as (''a) isungrammati#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 isinserted, as in (''b) where the preposition for assigns a##usati%e #ase toher:
('')
(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 likehim in (') is analy;able as the sub'e#t of the infiniti%e and as beingassigned its a##usati%e #ase from the finite go%erning %erb
Q!
(')
"hey belie%ed 8him to be the burglar
"he senten#es in (''b) and (') are e&les of eeptional #asemarking to the e&tent to whi#h #ase is assigned outside the normal s#opeof go%ernment! -n other words, #ase is assigned a#ross what is normallytaken to be a boundary, in these instan#es the boundary of an infiniti%al#lause signalled by bra#keting in (''a), (''b) and (')!
-
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#.2 Case as a conceptual notion? case grammar
#.2.1 5eneral remarks on semantic roles
.in#e the late 1/0s, a number of theories ha%e been ad%an#ed #laimingthat the semanti# relationships borne by nominal dependents on theirgo%ernors make up a small, uni%ersal set! "hese theories in#ludeFillmores proposal for #ase grammar (A"he ase for ase L 1/KA"he ase for ase ?eopened $ 1/55), +ndersons 3o#alist ase4rammar (1/51, 1/55, 1//5), @iks Fun#tional 4rammar (1/5), amongothers!
@espite a great deal of %ariation between languages as to thenumber of #ases and adpositions, and despite the #onfusing %ariation inthe terminology
J, all these modern theories allow for some kind of
semanti# relations that are not always refle#ted dire#tly in themorphosynta&! -t has been pointed out that case grammar, as one theearlier %ersion was #alled, is a model of understanding, i!e! a theoryabout the way language users #ategori;e e&perien#e and #omprehenddis#ourses (#f! arlson and "annenhouse 1/)! Dhat is going on
around us in the physi#al world is #ategori;ed as e%entsGstatesGpro#esseswith a #ertain parti#ipant stru#ture! For instan#e, the same physi#alo##urren#e (i!e! the same e%ent, state or pro#ess) #an be reported byusing 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$labels su#h
as agentiveD instrumentalD dativeD factitiveD ob%ective (1/:2Q$J), but later swit#hed
to agentD eperienceD instrumentD ob%ectD sourceD goalD place and time, whi#h aremore semanti#ally transparent!
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"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$parti#ipant s#ene with aone$pla#e perspe#ti%e (orniles#u 200:1Q), whi#h makes the +gentsa#tion the #entral one, whereas in (',b) both parti#ipants L the +gentand 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!
Fillmore #alled these synta#ti#$semanti# relations
cases and his#on#eption of grammar #ame to be referred to as case grammar(1/:1/)! =%er the last de#ades, Fillmorean$type #ases ha%e been #alleddeep cases, whereas traditional grammar #ases ha%e been referred to assurface cases (Blake 200Q)! "he most widespread terms for purelysemanti# relations are semantic roles, case roles, thematic roles(3e&i#al$Fun#tional 4rammar) and theta roles (in 4o%ernment andBinding)!
"hese semanti# roles should be distinguished from grammati#alrelations! 4rammati#al relations #an be isolated on the basis of formaldistin#tions made in #ase, agreement, word order, adposition and thelike! .ome of these relations are purely synta#ti#: sub'e#t, ob'e#t, indire#tob'e#t, ergati%e and absoluti%e, ea#h of whi#h subsuming a number ofsemanti# roles! =ther relations are semanti#ally homogeneous! Forinstan#e, in some languages lo#ati%e and instrumental are demar#ated by#ase! -n this situation, grammati#al relation and semanti# role #oin#ide!
"he theory of semanti#Gthemati# relations is rele%ant to thefollowing areas of morpho$synta#ti# in%estigation:
a) the prin#iples of sub'e#t or ob'e#t sele#tion, i!e! the prin#iples thatdetermine the #hoi#e of parti#ular role as sub'e#t or as dire#t ob'e#tespe#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 tentsleeps four people)! *ore generally, of parti#ular rele%an#e are the waysin whi#h #ase frames are pinned on sub#ategori;ation framesK a relatedissue is the identifi#ation of role$assigning #ategories in a language and
"he notion of a set of synta#ti# L semanti# relations that ha%e some independen#e
from noun$phrase marking is not entirely new! ?elations of this type are found in thean#ient -ndian grammarian Nanini!
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the dire#tion of role$assignment as well as the distin#tion that #an bedrawn between synta#ti# positions that #an be assigned roles (argument
positions) and non$argument positions (orniles#u 200:1Q)!
b) the regularities (e!g! regularities in the use of prepositions) that gobeyond synta& #an only be a##ounted for in terms of #ase #on#epts(orniles#u 200:1Q)!
#.2.2 :illmore3s Case 5rammar
-t is Fillmore who deser%es #redit for bringing to the fore the notion thatthere is a set of uni%ersal semanti# roles! -n his seminal paper A"he asefor ase, published in 1/, he proposed a set of si& A#ases, whi#h helater 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 #omprisethe means of e&pressing #ases: suffi&es, suppletion, adpositions, et#!(Fillmore 1/: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 somelanguages, 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%ersalin%entory! "o a #ertain e&tent establishing roles and as#ribing parti#ulararguments to roles in%ol%es an e&tra$linguisti# #lassifi#ation ofrelationships holding between entities in the physi#al world! "here tendsto be agreement on su#h roles as agent, patient, instrument and source,whi#h are %iewed as salient manifestations! 7owe%er, problems arisewith 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%antin %erb #lassifi#ation!
&gent
"he +gent is typi#ally the animate parti#ipant who initiates or performsthe a#tion! "he +gent must be #apable of %olition (desire) or deliberatea#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!
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('-)
(a) !ohn hit "om!
(b) + falling ro#k hit 6mily!(#) "ary a##identally broke the glass!(d) Dithout meaning, 5eorge insulted his friend!(e) $e deliberately walked out before the end of the seminar!(f) The crod applauded!
ohn is an +gent in ('-a), a falling ro#k, whi#h is inanimate, is not an+gent! +n +gent does not ne#essarily ha%e to intend to perform thea#tion, as shown in ('-c and '-d)! +n +gent role reuires the #apa#ity
of %olition, intention, responsibility, as in ('-a and '-cEf). +d%erbs su#has willingly, deliberately, intentionally #ount as typi#al identifiers of+gents!
periencer
"he role of an animate being e&perien#ing an emotion or per#eption (e!g!the sub'e#t of love, hate, the dire#t ob'e#t of surprise, aware, frighten,et#!)!
()
(a) They lo%e musi#!(b) -t seems to me that you are twisting my words!(#) 7e surprised me with his theory!(d) omputers used to frighten me!
T$A(+46
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+lmost all in%entories of semanti# relations in#lude a role that #o%ers thefollowing:
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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 bythe %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/J) #alled it themeK others ha%e #alled it patient! "helabels Aob'e#t and Aob'e#ti%e are unsatisfa#tory sin#e they #an be easily#onfused with a #ase label or a label for a grammati#al relationrespe#ti%ely! .imilarly, the label Atheme #an be #onfused with the termestablished in Nrague .#hool linguisti#s for a dis#ourse$pragmati#fun#tion!
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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!
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(')
+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 theconservatory!(#) "hey managed to sur%i%e through the drought!(d) 7e rolled the ball don 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 toards it!(b) "he plane flies to +ondon in an hour!(#) 7e remo%ed the book from the shelf.(d) .he slept till dan!
"he terms direction and destination are alternati%es! "he meaning ofthe former, howe%er, is less transparent!
ecipient
-t denotes a sentient destination:
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(-)
.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 takeEaay!
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 inwhi#h a #hange of state takes pla#e!
(*1)
7e did it ith great skill!
tent
"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!
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Possessor
"his semanti# role denotes the entity that possesses another entity:
(*#)
- saw !ohn3s new #ar!
.ome linguists refer to the possessed item as the Apossessum! -t #an beeuated 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 setof pra#ti#es in as#ribing roles:
a) the in%entory is kept smallb) a semanti# role #an be assigned only on#e in a #lause#) no dependent #an bear more than one semanti# roled) semanti# roles remain #onstant under paraphrase
Heeping the inventory small
+ll the in%entories of semanti# roles that ha%e been proposed are fairlysmall, 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 thepredi#ate! "he %erb hit implies a Ahitter and a Ahittee, the %erb scrapeimplies a As#raper and a As#rape, and so on! 7owe%er, Ahitter andAs#raper 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 Ahitee andAs#rapee: no one suggests taking them to be separate rolesK one abstra#tsthe notion of patient!
"he problem that arises is to determine how broad the roles #anbe! onsider the %erb watch in the following senten#e:
(*4)
"he #at wat#hed the bird!
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The cat #an be des#ribed as an agent, but the bird is not a patient in thesense of an Aentity that is affe#ted by an a#ti%ity (#ontrast with themouse 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, theaffe#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 opposedparadigmati#ally! onseuently, they #an be treated as sharing the samerole, i!e! patient!
-f an e&ploration of synta#ti# relations raises uestions of howmany distin#tions are needed, an e&amination of adpositions (i!e!
prepositions and postpositions) raises the opposite issue of how few arereuired! -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%e,Abelow, Anear, Aon, et#! -f these were analy;ed as e&pressing separatesemanti# roles, the in%entory would be signifi#antly larger than ittypi#ally is! "hus, all these lo#al forms #annot be taken to representseparate roles, if we want to maintain the notion of atomi# roles! "heselo#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$referent, so only onereferent is understood as bearing the assigned role!
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6o dependent bears more than one role
"he prin#iple that ea#h dependent bears only one role to its go%ernor isgenerally agreed! 7owe%er, %erbs su#h as buy and sell ha%e beendis#ussed as pro%iding a #hallenge! onsider the following assignmentof roles:
(*)
Fred bought the book from ohn!&56T P&TC
(**)
ohn&56T
sold the book P&T
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*ore spe#ifi# roles su#h as agent, e&perien#e, patient, et# are predi#table
from the semanti#s of the %erb!
oles constant under paraphrase
-n the generally a##epted tradition, semanti# roles #an be identifieda#ross paraphrases and a#ross translational eui%alents, whi#h makesroles independent of e&pression (#f! +gud 1/0:QJ)! onsider thesenten#es below:
(*-)
ohn opened the door with the key!&56T
69"
P&C
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7owe%er, there is a range of e&les whi#h is beset withproblems! =ne type, re#ognised by Fillmore as problemati# (1/:Q$/),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 underparaphrase! 6ither we #onsider that the wall in (,1a) is a patient and thepipe an instrument and transfer these roles to (,1b), or we take the pipein (,1b) to be the patient and the wall to be locative and transfer theseroles to (,1a)! =b%iously, we #annot do both and maintain that rolesremain #onstant under paraphrase! + solution to this problem would beto analy;e (,1a) and (,1b) as representing different en#odings of thesame physi#al e%ent! (,1a) is likely to be #hosen if ohn is seen Ato betapping the wall with his pipe to see if the wall is hollow! "hus, Athewall is seen as a patient and Ahis pipe an instrument! (,1b) is likely to
be #hosen if ohn is seen Ato be tapping his pipe on the wall to dislodgesome wet toba##o from the pipe! nder this latter interpretation, Ahis
pipe is seen as a patient and Athe wall 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#alrelations (Blake 200Q:)! *oreo%er, as Blake (200Q) points out,semanti# roles #an be ordered hierar#hi#ally with respe#t to grammati#alrelations! +s we shall see in what follows, this order #an be shown to berele%ant to the a##eptability of su#h #onstru#tions as refle&i%es and
passi%es!
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#.#.1 5rammatical relations
?elational 4rammar, a theory de%eloped by Nerlmuter and Nostal in theearly 1/50s, is of parti#ular rele%an#e to the study of #ase sin#e it#on#erns itself almost elusi%ely with grammati#al relations! Dithinthis 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 knownas terms, and the obliIues (e! g! lo#ati%e, benefa#ti%e, instrumental)!"he terms are pure synta#ti# relation whereas the obliues 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
! indire#t ob'e#t
Q! obliues (lo#ati%e, instrumental, et#!)
"he hierar#hy manifests itself in %arious ways! -n some languages theunmarked word order follows the hierar#hy! "his applies to 6nglish andFren#h (#liti# pronouns apart), for instan#e! "he hierar#hy manifestsitself in issues of relati%isation! 6nglish #an relati%ise sub'e#ts (the manwho left), ob'e#ts (the man I saw) and obliue relations (the gun withwhich 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 intoa##ount the hierar#hy of grammati#al relations gi%en in (,2), su#h %erbalderi%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#ementof the dire#t ob'e#t to sub'e#t position and the demotion of the sub'e#t toa peripheral relation! Blake (200Q:/) points out that regardless of theorganisation of the #ore grammar the ad%an#ement displa#es the
patientGtheme argument!
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#.#.2 Case
-nfle#tional #ase systems ha%e been shown to built up in a parti#ularorder, 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 #asein#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, itwill ha%e a geniti%e, an a##usati%e or ergati%e (or both), and anominati%e! -n a system that in#ludes a small number of #ases (betweentwo and fi%e #ases), the lowest ranked #ase will usually ha%e a largerange of fun#tions, i!e! it will fun#tion as a kind of Aelsewhere #ase! "hishierar#hy of grammati#al relations is an elaboration of the ?elational4rammar hierar#hy gi%en in (,2)!
Ninkster (1/J:15) has demonstrated that #ases #an be arrangedhierar#hi#ally, the highest raked #ases are more likely to en#odearguments of a predi#ate rather than ad'un#ts! -n 3atin, for instan#e, thehierar#hy is as follows (Ninkster 1/J:15):
(,4)
nom R a## R dat R abl R gen
#.#.#. "arking
.e%eral generali;ations #an be made about the distribution ofmorphologi#ally unmarked forms, about syntheti# and analyti# markingand about head %ersus dependent marking!
-f a language has an unmarked #ase, and it usually has, this #aseis normally nominati%e
5en#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 1/1)!
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patient R re#ipient R benefi#iary R instrument R lo#ation R temporal
+##ording to @ik (1/5), a #ontinuous segment of the hierar#hy hasa##ess to sub'e#t and another #ontinuous segment has a##essibility todire#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 theytypi#ally in%ol%e marked #onstru#tions! For instan#e, in 6nglish, agent isthe 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 agentargument 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#efor dire#t ob'e#t! ontrast the senten#es in (,-):
(,-)
(a) -&56T
ga%e the book P&C
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(-)
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 thesenten#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&les of passi%es with benefi#iariesas sub'e#t!
6nglish is unusual in allowing roles ranked lower on thehierar#hy to be en#oded as sub'e#t, at least with some %erbs! "hesenten#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 Atemporal sub'e#ts:
(-4)
The ar years saw a redu#tion in the #rime rate!Tomorro is a holiday!
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-t should be pointed out that @ik (1/5) does not re#ognise ane&perien#er role! -f we take into a##ount this role (i!e! e&perien#e), itwould 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 ofrole hierar#hies not only is the e&perien#er pla#ed abo%e the patient, butse%eral other roles are as well (#f! a#kendoff 1/52, Foley and Man Malin1/Q)! a#kendoff introdu#es the hierar#hy in (-') and uses it as a basisfor the "hemati# 7ierar#hy ondition on passi%es and refle&i%es!+##ording to a#kendoff (1/52: Q, 1Q), in a passi%e #onstru#tion theagent is supposed to be higher than the deri%ed sub'e#t and in refle&i%esthe refle&i%ised argument may not be higher than its ante#edent!
(-')
1! +gent2! 3o#ation, .our#e, 4oal! "heme
"he "hemati# 7ierar#hy ondition #ould be in%oked to show why thesenten#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#ha#kendoff analy;es as an abstra#t goal!
(-)
"hat girl matters to me!"he reason es#apes me!
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