All Questions
Tagged with cases terminology
16 questions
3
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0
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When and by whom was the term absolutive (case) created?
While the question on the origin of the ergative case (When and by whom were the terms 'ergative case' and 'absolutive case' coined?) is answered, the origins of the terminus ...
4
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2
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418
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Word for difference between "in" and "into"
I was wondering whether there are words for the two types of prepositions, or a word for the distinction between them. I understand that the difference between them is that one is a "static" ...
0
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3
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371
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What's the difference between nominative and absolutive case?
Why do both these cases need to exist?
They are both subjects
4
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1
answer
140
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What is (or was) the exative case?
Inspired by this finding I'd like to know what the exative case described by Taplin for south-australian languages is or was. It does not seem to be modern terminology any longer, and lists of ...
1
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0
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256
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What is the definition of a “case” in grammar?
Among others, according to Wikipedia:
"Case" is a linguistics term regarding a manner of categorizing nouns,
pronouns, adjectives, participles, and numerals according to their
traditionally ...
5
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1
answer
140
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The term for the state of a noun
In linguistics, a case is how a noun declines with respect to its grammatical function within a given phrase, clause, or sentence. Is there a linguistics term to refer to the “state” of a noun within ...
8
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4
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17k
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What are the subjective and objective genitives?
I have recently come across the terms subjective genitive and objective genitive, but I don't fully understand them.
From what I have read, an example might be 'the love of God', as in 'the love of ...
4
votes
1
answer
942
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What is the meaning of the Latin names of grammatical cases (in general, not in Latin)?
I cannot find any source explaining the Latin names of grammatical cases. I am especially curious in the names of the less common cases, like in Finnish:
nominative
genitive
accusative
partitive
...
1
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1
answer
857
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Grammatical case vs semantic case
I'm not sure what these terms mean. In my lecture notes I wrote that grammatical case is used to show the syntactic functions of a nominal syntagm, depending on its relation to the verb. Semantic case,...
25
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4
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5k
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What is "case"?
As a non-linguist, I am confused about the concept of case. What is its definition, as linguists use it? Is it about the different forms that nouns/pronouns can take? Is it about the function of the ...
2
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0
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202
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What does CGEL mean by 'instability in the system' in their explanation of case?
Consider the following passage from CGEL (p. 458, boldfaced emphasis mine):
We look first at the contrast between nominative and accusative case, where we find a considerable amount of variation ...
1
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1
answer
156
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Grammatical case for provenience
I am looking for the term for the grammatical case expressing provenience or origin, roughly corresponding to the English prepositions "of, from, out of, made from" as for example:
He is from Sweden.
...
0
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1
answer
473
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What motivated the terms 'ergative' and 'absolutive'?
Source: p 195, Understanding Syntax (4 ed, 2014) by Prof. Maggie Tallerman PhD in Linguistics (U. Hull)
ERGATIVE is the case of A – the subject of transitive verbs. ABSOLUTIVE is the case of both ...
2
votes
1
answer
114
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How can it be decided whether two grammatical cases should be taken to be just homophonous (i.e. as separate) or actually equal?
I've come across this in multiple grammars: Two grammatical cases (e.g. ergative and instrumental) are said to be "homophonous" - they make use of the (apparently?) same marker and yet, they are ...
5
votes
1
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175
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What is "contacting case"?
According to Wikipedia, the Bats language of Eastern Georgia has a case called "contacting", but no description is offered as to its function.
I checked the Russian and Georgian versions of the page ...
7
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3
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629
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Is there a name for the "case" that is a conflation of nominative and accusative?
In Indo-European languages, the neuter is often characterized by syncretism between nominative and accusative.
There are other examples of syncretism and also historical change where the nominative ...