FINNISH CASE GRAMMAR 2 UNIWERSYTET IM. ADAMA MICKIEWICZA W POZNANIU SERIA JĘZYKOZNAWSTWO NR 34 Robert Bielecki FINNISH CASE GRAMMAR FROM THE SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC PERSPECTIVES POZNAŃ 2015 3 ABSTRACT. Bielecki Robert, Finnish Case Grammar. From the Syntactic and Semantic Perspectives. Poznań 2015. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Seria Językoznawstwo nr 34. Pp. 289. ISBN 978-83-232-2891-2. ISSN 0239-7617. Text in English. The present work comprises a study of the category of case in Finnish. It begins with an overview of the his- tory of investigation, from antiquity up to modern times, shedding light on the general complexity of the category and successive attempts to develop systemic approaches to it. The book’s main content consists of an analysis of the Finnish case system, with its 16 desinential cases classified into five subsystems on the ground of an explicitly formulated case theory. The detailed discussion concentrates on the solution of the most intri- cate problems of the syntax and semantics of Finnish cases, such as the characteristic merger of the category of subject and direct object (nominative, accusative and partitive) and the combinability of quantitative meanings with other (especially aspectual and individuative) meanings. The analysis results in the assignment to each Finnish case of a bundle of appropriate morphological, syntactic and semantic properties, relatively indepen- dent from the context, characteristic only of the given case, in such a way that it is systemically opposed to the other cases within the same case system. Robert Bielecki, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, Wydział Neofilologii, Instytut Języko- znawstwa, al. Niepodległości 4, 61-874 Poznań, Poland Recenzent: prof. dr hab. Romuald Huszcza © Robert Bielecki 2015 This edition © Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań 2015 Publikacja dofinansowana przez Rektora Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu oraz Instytut Językoznawstwa UAM Wydano na podstawie maszynopisu gwarantowanego Na okładce: las w Oulainen, fotografia ze zbiorów prywatnych Heli Lähdesmäki Projekt okładki: Helena Oszmiańska-Napierała Redaktor techniczny: Dorota Borowiak Łamanie komputerowe: Danuta Kowalska ISBN 978-83-232-2891-2 ISSN 0239-7617 WYDAWNICTWO NAUKOWE UNIWERSYTETU IM. ADAMA MICKIEWICZA W POZNANIU 61-701 POZNAŃ, UL. FREDRY 10 www.press.amu.edu.pl Sekretariat: tel. 61 829 46 46, faks 61 829 46 47, e-mail: [email protected] Dział sprzedaży: tel. 61 829 46 40, e-mail: [email protected] Wydanie I. Ark. wyd. 18,00. Ark. druk. 18,125 DRUK I OPRAWA: UNI-DRUK, LUBOŃ, UL. PRZEMYSŁOWA 13 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Symbols and abbreviations used ........................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................. 11 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 13 1. History of investigation ...................................................................................................... 17 1.1. Antiquity ........................................................................................................................... 17 1.1.1. India ........................................................................................................................ 17 1.1.2. Greece ..................................................................................................................... 21 1.1.3. The Roman Empire ................................................................................................. 26 1.2. The Middle Ages ............................................................................................................... 29 1.2.1. Byzantium ............................................................................................................... 29 1.2.2. Western Europe ...................................................................................................... 32 1.3. From the Renaissance to the 19th century .......................................................................... 35 1.4. The 19th century ................................................................................................................ 40 1.4.1. The localists ............................................................................................................ 42 1.4.2. The antilocalists ...................................................................................................... 45 1.4.3. The demilocalists .................................................................................................... 47 1.4.4. The Neogrammarians .............................................................................................. 49 1.5. The 20th century ................................................................................................................ 51 1.5.1. Structuralism ........................................................................................................... 52 1.5.2. Transformational-generative grammar .................................................................... 67 1.6. Finnish linguistics ............................................................................................................. 71 2. The theoretical background .............................................................................................. 77 2.1. Case Grammar vs. Case Lexis ........................................................................................... 79 2.2. Case oppositions................................................................................................................ 81 2.3. The syntax of cases ........................................................................................................... 87 2.4. The semantics of cases ...................................................................................................... 90 2.4.1. Actualization of meaning ........................................................................................ 90 2.4.2. Adscription of meaning........................................................................................... 93 2.4.3. Reinterpretation of meaning ................................................................................... 97 2.5. The form of cases .............................................................................................................. 97 2.5.1. Morphological variation.......................................................................................... 99 2.5.2. Phonetic neutralization – syncretism ...................................................................... 100 3. The cases of direct object ................................................................................................... 103 3.1. The accusative ................................................................................................................... 103 3.1.1. The accusative split ................................................................................................. 106 5 3.1.2. The accusative and voice ........................................................................................ 112 3.1.3. The accusative and infinitive/imperative ................................................................ 124 3.1.4. The accusative as morphosyntactic category .......................................................... 126 3.2. The partitive ...................................................................................................................... 128 3.3. The accusative-partitive opposition ................................................................................... 128 3.3.1. Non-neutralizative contexts .................................................................................... 139 3.3.1.1. Divisible vs. indivisible nouns .................................................................. 139 3.3.1.2. The constitutive meanings of the accusative and partitive ........................ 149 3.3.2. Neutralizative contexts ........................................................................................... 150 3.3.2.1. Pro-accusative neutralizative contexts ....................................................... 150 3.3.2.2. Pro-partitive neutralizative contexts .......................................................... 153 3.3.3. Quantification and aspect/gender of action – summary .......................................... 157 3.3.4. Other meanings ...................................................................................................... 159 3.3.4.1. Informational meanings ............................................................................. 160 3.3.4.2. Temporal meanings ................................................................................... 162 3.3.4.3. Honorificative meanings ........................................................................... 163 4. The cases of subject ............................................................................................................ 164 4.1. The nominative.................................................................................................................. 164 4.2. The absolutive ................................................................................................................... 166 4.2.1. The structure of the existential sentence