Case

the long version

Case is an introduction for students of linguistics to the ways relations between words in sentences are marked in languages. It describes the systems of suffixes familiar from languages like Latin and also the roles of prepositions, postpositions and the use of the pronominal elements on verbs. One of the most interesting features of case 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. Case contains in addition a useful discussion of the theoretical problems in identifying cases and the basis for distinguishing case relations from cases. A final chapter looks at the origins and development of case-marking devices.