Diversity of Cases: Using <i>The World Atlas of Language Structures</i>

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  • Nose Masahiko
    Tohoku University Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

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  • 格の多様性について―言語構造のワールドアトラス（WALS）を使用して―
  • Diversity of Cases: using the world atlas of language structures

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Abstract

<p>Case markers, as a nominal morphological feature, indicate the functions of NPs in a clause. The number of cases in individual languages is diverse, ranging from no case-marking in Chinese and Arabic to more than 10 cases in Hungarian and Nez Perce. In The World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS), this morphological feature is highlighted under the heading of “number of cases.” Selecting languages with more than 10 cases, I examine what kinds of cases each of them has, and then consider the reasons why these multiple-case languages do indeed have so many cases. Finally, I discuss whether the languages with rich case systems have other common typological features as described in WALS. The languages with no case marking are densely distributed in Africa and South Asia, and the languages with more than 10 cases are scattered in Eurasia (Basque, Finnish, and Evenki) and Australia (Gooniyandi, Martuthunira, and Kayardild). Cross-linguistic comparison shows that the languages with rich case systems are in fact rich in locative cases but poor in terms of the variety of cases. Finally, as a result of contrasting case with other WALS features, it is established that the languages discussed in this paper have other frequent grammatical tendencies, SOV word order, and postpositions. </p>

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