Anthropocentric language theory and Serbian case systems

Abstract

The author understands case as a relationship of syntactic dependence between a subordinated noun phrase and the governing syntactic construction (predicative expression and/or another noun phrase). The above definition construes case as a universal category characteristics of all the languages sharing the nomen vs verbum opposition. Particular cases are conceived as primarily semantically motivated. The two relevant semantic parameters are /+/ -human / (or /+/ -animated/) and /+/ -localized/, i. e. - in other words - the so-called hierarchy of animateness and the spatial location of the objects that the corresponding noun phrases refer to. N and D are being characterized as /+ hum/, A and I as /-hum/ and L as belonging to another semantic paradigm is defined simply as /+ loc/. Results of the analyses of morphological syncretism's and of syntactic exponents of the NPs-dependence found in Serbian case systems support the above tentative interpretation of the case as a (semantic and) syntactic category.

Pod terminom "padež" obično podrazumevamo morfološku nominalnu kategoriju odnosno morfološki oblik imenice, zamenice ili prideva koji spada u odgovarajuću kategorijalnu paradigmu. Ovde bih htela da predložim jedno drugo shvatanje padeža koje ga kao gramatičku pojavu podiže sa morfološkog na morfosintaksički nivo. Takvo shvatanje, prema mome ličnom iskustvu omogućuje da se lakše i bolje objasne za balkanske jezike karakteristične pojave vezane za prelaženje od takozvane sintetičke do takozvane analitičke deklinacije.