Inherent vs. structural case, KPs and the implementation of dependent case

LECTURER: THOMAS MCFADDEN
August 12-16, 09.00-10.30, Room 3.104

This course will explore some recent theoretical approaches to morphological case and how exactly it relates to the syntactic derivation. Included will be theories where cases correspond to dedicated (decomposed) syntactic heads, ones where they are assigned by ‘dependent’ or configurational case rules and more traditional licensing and Agree-based approaches.  Much of the empirical background will come from a reevaluation of the traditional distinction between structural and inherent cases, along with systematic patterns of syncretism and allomorphy that have played a crucial role in more recent work on case. We will explore how we might try to deal with all of this via a synthesis of what initially look like incompatible approaches. Time permitting, this will lead to a consideration of how dependent case assignment might actually be implemented, which has been a topic of much recent debate.