TOWARD A MODERN THEORY OF CASE.

Abstract

THE PAPER QUESTIONS THE ADEQUACY OF CHOMSKY'S PROPOSALS FOR FORMALLY RECONSTRUCTING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN .GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES AND GRAMMATICAL FUNCTIONS. THE DEEP STRUCTURE VALIDITY OF THE NOTIONS AND OBJECT IS ALSO QUESTIONED. THE WRITER PROPOSES TO RECOGNIZE, INSTEAD, VARIOUS INTRODUCED NOUN PHRASES SUGGESTIVE OF THE TRADITIONAL NOTION OF CASES, EACH, IN ENGLISH, BEGINNING WITH A PREPOSITION. THE SYNTACTIC RELATIONSHIP OF EACH OF THESE TYPES TO THE MAIN VERB OF THE SENTENCE IS DEFINED WITH REFERENCE TO THE CATEGORY UNDER WHICH IT IS INTRODUCED, HAVING NO DIRECT CONNECTION WITH WHATEVER EVENTUAL STATUS IT MAY HAVE AS SUBJECT OR OBJECT. THUS, EACH SIMPLE SENTENCE IN A LANGUAGE IS MADE UP OF A VERB AND A COLLECTION OF NOUNS IN VARIOUS CASES, IN THE DEEP STRUCTURE SENSE. IN THE SURFACE STRUCTURE, CASE DISTINCTIONS ARE SOMETIMES PRESERVED, AND SOMETIMES NOT, DEPENDING ON THE LANGUAGE, THE NOUN, OR THE IDIOSYNCRATIC PROPERTIES OF CERTAIN GOVERNING WORDS. (IT)

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