Full Description
This is the first of three volumes dealing with clausal architecture, grammatical relations, case-marking and the syntax-semantics interface in Baltic. It focuses on the grammatical relations of subject and object and the viability of these notions in languages like Lithuanian and Latvian, which have a rich case morphology and show many deviations from the canonical nominative-accusative pattern of case-marking. The issues examined include differential object marking, subjecthood in specificational copular constructions, 'swarm'-type alternations and what they tell us about grammatical relations, special types of subject and object marking in non-finite clauses, and non-canonical grammatical relations induced by modal predicates. One study provides a comparative outlook towards Icelandic, another language noted for its complex marking of grammatical relations. The articles in the volume represent various theoretical frameworks.
Contents
1. Preface; 2. Argument marking and grammatical relations in Baltic: An overview (by Holvoet, Axel); 3. Case and word order in Lithuanian infinitival clauses revisited (by Arkadiev, Peter M.); 4. Non-canonical grammatical relations in a modal construction: The Latvian debitive (by Holvoet, Axel); 5. Alternations in argument realization and problematic cases of subjecthood in Lithuanian (by Lenartaite-Gotauciene, Kristina); 6. Subjecthood in specificational copular constructions in Lithuanian (by Mikulskas, Rolandas); 7. Differential object marking in Latgalian (by Nau, Nicole); 8. The independent partitive genitive in Lithuanian (by Serzant, Ilja A.); 9. On the non-canonical marking of the highest-ranking argument in Lithuanian and Icelandic: Steps toward a database (by Wiemer, Bjorn); 10. Language index; 11. Name index; 12. Subject index
