Case

Case is an accessible introduction for students of linguistics to the ways relations between words in sentences are marked in languages. Case is fundamental to the whole system of language. One of its most interesting features is the recurrence of apparently idiosyncratic patterns and devices in otherwise unrelated languages. This book picks out these recurring strategies and explores their significance. It provides the background against which the case-marking of particular languages can be best understood. In this revised edition, Blake refines and expands on his discussions of the most important concepts in the study of case, taking into account recent developments in the field. It incorporates significant additions to the data and includes a thoroughly revised section on abstract case in the Chomskyan paradigm.

• This is the best-known introduction to the study of case • Case is a fundamental category in theoretical linguistics; graduate students need a study of this kind • Wide-ranging, takes a perspective across a large number of different languages

1. Overview; 2. Problems in describing case systems; 3. Modern approaches to case; 4. Distribution of case marking; 5. Survey of case marking; 6. Life cycle of case systems; Notes; Guide to terminology; Guide to further reading; References; Index.