This study takes the form of a detailed investigation into the evolution and development of the inflectional system of nominal case in Indo- European. Part One is devoted to a critical appraisal of a semantic approach to case analysis, concluding that claims for a 'local' basis cannot be substantiated. In the introductory first chapter the frames of reference for the study are delineated and the basic tenets of three models (traditional grammar, case grammar and the theory of Kury~owicz) are reviewed. Chapter Two deals with the influential localist hypothesis; and Chapter Three makes a specific examination of the locative and ablative cases, which are perhaps the most obviously spatial in origin. Part Two provides a syntactic account for each of the nominative, accusative, genitive, dative and instrumental cases in turn, arguing that it is only by giving due prominence to syntactic considerations and demands that inflectional cases can be satisfactorily handled. Part Three, which can be regarded as a synthesis of Parts One and Two, is concerned with the relationship between cases and prepositions, and there is some discussion as to the emergence of prepositions and their categorial status.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:238470 |
| Date | January 1980 |
| Creators | Booth, J. A. |
| Publisher | University of Birmingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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