Cover not available
Part of
Syntactic Variation in Insular Scandinavian
Edited by Höskuldur Thráinsson, Caroline Heycock, Hjalmar P. Petersen and Zakaris Svabo Hansen
[Studies in Germanic Linguistics 1] 2017
► pp. 53–90

Variation in oblique subject constructions in Insular Scandinavian

| University of Iceland
| University of Iceland

This chapter reviews the division of morphological case into structural case and lexical case and the latter in turn into regular (thematic) and idiosyncratic case (Yip, Maling and Jackendoff 1987). The Case Directionality Hypothesis (Eythórsson 2002, 2015b) states that historical development of case is predictable if one assumes this division: structural case replaces lexical case and idiosyncratic lexical case will yield to regular (thematic) lexical case. This hypothesis is tested on data which were collected in projects on variation in subject case in Icelandic and Faroese. It is concluded that the development of subject case in Icelandic and Faroese is to a significant degree in accordance with the predictions of the CDH, but interesting exceptions are also described and discussed.

Keywords: case marking, structural case, lexical case, thematic case, idiosyncratic case, Case Directionality Hypothesis, productivity, Faroese, Icelandic
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Structural case and lexical case
    • 2.2Thematic (regular) lexical case and idiosyncratic lexical case
    • 2.3Changes in the case marking of arguments
  • 3.Variation in subject case in Icelandic
    • 3.1The “early” studies
    • 3.2The IceDiaSyn survey
    • 3.3Interim conclusion
  • 4.Variation in subject case in Faroese
    • 4.1Experiencer verbs
    • 4.2Theme verbs
    • 4.3Conclusion about subject case in Faroese
  • 5.Two apparent puzzles
    • 5.1Case non-preservation in Faroese passives
    • 5.2 “Impersonalization” in Icelandic and Faroese
  • 6.The implications of the development of case marking
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 18 July 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sigl.1.03eyt
References
Andrews, Avery
1976 “The VP Complement Analysis in Modern Icelandic.” Proceedings of NELS 6: 1–21.Google Scholar
Árnadóttir, Hlíf, and Einar Freyr Sigurðsson
2013 “Case in Disguise.” In Variation in Datives. A Microcomparative Perspective, ed. by Beatriz Fernández and Ricardo Etxepare, 96–143. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Barðdal, Jóhanna
1999 “Case in Icelandic. A Construction Grammar Approach.” Tijdschrift voor Skandinavistiek 20(2): 65–99.Google Scholar
2001 Case in Icelandic – A Synchronic, Diachronic and Comparative Approach. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Scandinavian Languages, Lund University, Lund.Google Scholar
2008 Productivity. Evidence from Case and Argument Structure in Icelandic. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2011a “Lexical vs. Structural Case: A False Dichotomy.” Morphology 21: 619–654. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2011b “The Rise of Dative Substitution in the History of Icelandic: A Diachronic Construction Grammar Approach.” Lingua 121(1): 60–79. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barðdal, Jóhanna, and Thórhallur Eythórsson
2012 “ ‘Hungering and Lusting for Women and Fleshly Delicacies’: Reconstructing Grammatical Relations for Proto-Germanic.” Transactions of the Philological Society 110(3): 363–393. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barnes, Michael
1986 “Subject, Nominative and Oblique Case in Faroese.” Scripta Islandica 37: 13–46.Google Scholar
Evangelium Sankta Matthæussa
1823 = Evangelium Sankta Matthæussa aa Førisk o Dansk. [‘The Gospel according to St. Matthew in Faroese and Danish.’] Randers: Det danske Bibelselskab. [Reprinted with comments and edited by Christian Matras 1973 and published by Emil Thomsen, Tórshavn.]Google Scholar
Eythórsson, Thórhallur
2000 “Fall á fallanda fæti? Um breytingar á frumlagsfalli í íslensku.” [‘Withering case? On changes in subject case in Icelandic.] Íslenskt mál 22: 185–204.Google Scholar
2002 “Changes in Subject Case-marking in Icelandic.” In Syntactic Effects of Morphological Change, ed. by David Lightfoot, 196–212. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2009 “Stöðugleiki og breytingar í fallakerfi norrænu eyjamálanna.” [‘Stability and change in the case system of Insular Scandinavian.’] In Frændafundur 6, ed. by Turið Sigurðardóttir and Magnús Snædal, 75–92. Tórshavn: Fróðskapur.Google Scholar
2012 “Varðveisla falla í þolmynd í íslensku og færeysku, með nokkrum samanburði við norsku og ensku.” [‘Preservation of case in the passive in Icelandic and Faroese, with some comparison with Norwegian and English.’] In Frændafundur 7, ed. by Magnús Snædal and Turið Sigurðardóttir, 109–126. Reykjavík: Hugvísindastofnun.Google Scholar
2013 “Syntactic Change.” In The Bloomsbury Companion to Syntax, ed. by Silvia Luraghi and Claudia Parodi, 365–388. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
2015a “Aukafallshneigð.” [‘Impersonalization.’] In Ástumál kveðin Ástu Svavarsdóttur sextugri, 19. Janúar 2015, ed. by Jón Hilmar Jónsson, Halldór Jónsdóttir and Margrét Guðmundsdóttir, 42–44. Reykjavík: Menningar- og minningarsjóður Mette Magnussen.Google Scholar
2015b “The Insular Nordic Experimental Kitchen: Changes in Case Marking in Icelandic and Faroese.” In An Intimacy of Words/Innileiki orðanna: Essays in Honour of Pétur Knútsson / Festschrift til heiðurs Pétri Knútssyni, ed. by Matthew Whelpton, Guðrún Björk Guðsteinsdóttir, Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir, and Martin Regal, 328–352. Reykjavík: University of Iceland Press.Google Scholar
Eythórsson, Thórhallur, and Jóhannes Gísli Jónsson
2003 “The Case of Subject in Faroese.” Working Papers in Scandinavian Syntax 72: 207–232.Google Scholar
Eythórsson, Thórhallur, Janne Bondi Johannessen, Signe Laake and Tor A. Åfarli
2012 “Dative Case in Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese: Preservation and Non-preservation.” Nordic Journal of Linguistics 35: 219–249. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Eythórsson, Thórhallur, and Jóhanna Barðdal
2005 “Oblique Subjects: a Common Germanic Inheritance.” Language 81 (4): 824–881. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Færeyínga saga
1832 = Færeyínga saga eller Færøboernes Historie i den islandske Grundtekst med færøisk og dansk oversættelse. [‘The Faroe Islanders’ history in the Icelandic original with a Faroese and Danish translation.’] ed. by Carl Christian Rafn. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Føroysk orðabók
1998 Tórshavn: Føroya Fróðskaparfelag.Google Scholar
Halldórsson, Halldór
1982 “Um méranir. Drög að samtímalegri og sögulegri athugun.” [‘On dative substitution. Towards a synchronic and a diachronic study.’] Íslenskt mál 4: 159–189.Google Scholar
Henriksen, Jeffrei
2000 Orðalagslæra. [‘Syntax.’] Tórshavn: Sprotin.Google Scholar
Holmberg, Anders
1986 Word Order and Syntactic Features in the Scandinavian Languages and English. Doctoral dissertation, University of Stockholm, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Ingason, Anton Karl
2010 “Productivity of Non-default Case.” Working Papers in Scandinavian Syntax 85: 65–117.Google Scholar
Jakobsen, Jakob
1891 Ordsamling. In Færøsk anthologi II, ed. by V. U. Hammershaimb, 1–418. Copenhagen: S. L. Møllers Bogtrykkeri. [Reprinted 1991, Tórshavn: Hammershaimbsgrunnurin.]Google Scholar
Jónsson, Jóhannes Gísli
1997–98 “Sagnir með aukafallsfrumlagi.” [‘Verbs with oblique subjects.’] Íslenskt mál 19–20: 11–43.Google Scholar
2003 “Not so Quirky. On Subject Case in Icelandic.” In New Perspectives in Case Theory, ed. by Ellen Brandner and Heike Zinsmeister, 127−163. Chicago: CLSI Publications, University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
2005 “Merkingarhlutverk, rökliðir og fallmörkun.” [‘Semantic roles, arguments and case.’] In Setningar: Handbók um setningafræði. [‘Sentences. A handbook on syntax.’], ed. by Höskuldur Thráinsson, 350–409. Reykjavík: Almenna bókafélagið.Google Scholar
2009 “Verb Classes and Dative Objects in Insular Scandinavian.” In The Role of Semantics and Pragmatics in the Development of Case, ed. by Jóhanna Barðdal and Shobhana Chelliah, 203–224. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
2013 “Dative versus Accusative and the Nature of Inherent Case.” In Variation in Datives. A Microcomparative Perspective, ed. by Beatriz Fernández and Ricardo Etxepare, 144–160. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jónsson, Jóhannes Gísli, and Thórhallur Eythórsson
2003 “Breytingar á frumlagsfalli í íslensku.” [‘Changes in subject case marking in Icelandic.’] Íslenskt mál 25: 7–40.Google Scholar
2005 “Variation and Change in Subject Case Marking in Insular Scandinavian.” Nordic Journal of Linguistics 28 (2): 223–245. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2011 “Structured Exceptions and Case Selection in Insular Scandinavian.” In Expecting the Unexpected: Exceptions in Grammar, ed. by Heike Wiese and Horst Simon, 213–241. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Labov, William
2001 Principles of Linguistic Change. Volume II: Social Factors. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Maling, Joan
2002 “ ‘Það rignir þágufalli á Íslandi.’ [‘It rains datives in Icelandic.’] Verbs with Dative Objects in Icelandic.” Íslenskt mál 24: 31−105.Google Scholar
Malmsten, Solveig
2015 Dativ i modern färöiska. En fallstudie i grammatisk förändring. [‘Dative in Modern Faroese. A case study in linguistic change.’] Doctoral dissertation, University of Uppsala, Uppsala.Google Scholar
Nowenstein, Iris Edda
2014 “Intra-speaker Variation in Subject Case: Icelandic.” University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics 20(1), Article 28.Google Scholar
Petersen, Hjalmar P.
2002 “Quirky Case in Faroese.” Fróðskaparrit 50: 63–76.Google Scholar
Sagnir og ævintýr I‒II
. [A collection of Faroese folk tales compiled by Jakob Jakobsen.] Second edition 1984 Tórshavn: H. N. Jacobsens Bókahandil. [First published 1898–1901.]Google Scholar
Sigurðsson, Halldór Ármann
1997 “Öðruvísi frumlög.” [‘Otherwise subjects.’] In Milli himins og jarðar. Papers from a humanities conference, ed. by Anna Agnarsdóttir, Pétur Pétursson and Torfi H. Tulinius, 299–306. Reykjavík: Háskólaútgáfan.Google Scholar
2004 “Icelandic Non-Nominative Subjects: Facts and Implications.” In Non-Nominative Subjects 2, ed. by Peri Bhaskararo and K. V. Subbarao, 137–159. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Smith, Henry
1992 Restrictiveness in Case Theory. Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University, Stanford. [Published by Cambridge University Press 1996.]Google Scholar
1994 “Dative Sickness in Germanic.” Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 12: 675–736. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Svavarsdóttir, Ásta
1982 “„Þágufallssýki“.” [‘Dative sickness.’] Íslenskt mál 4: 19–62.Google Scholar
2013 “Þágufallshneigð í sjón og raun. Niðurstöður spurningakannana í samanburði við málnotkun.” [‘Dative substitution, apparent and real. A comparison of results based on questionnaires and corpora.’] In Tilbrigði í íslenskri setningagerð I, ed. by Höskuldur Thráinsson, Ásgrímur Angantýsson and Einar Freyr Sigurðsson, 83–110. Reykjavík: Málvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands.Google Scholar
Tagliamonte, Sali A., and Alexandra D‘Arcy
2009 “Peaks beyond Phonology. – Adolescence, Incrementation and Language Change.” Language 85 (1): 58–108. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thráinsson, Höskuldur
2005 Setningar: Handbók um setningafræði. [‘Sentences. A handbook on syntax.’] Editor and main author Höskuldur Thráinsson. Íslensk tunga III. Reykjavík: Almenna bókafélagið.Google Scholar
2007 The Syntax of Icelandic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2013 “Ideal Speakers and Other Speakers: The Case of Dative and some Other Cases.” In Variation in Datives. A Microcomparative Perspective, ed. by Beatriz Fernández and Ricardo Etxepare, 161–188. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
2015 “Tilbrigði í færeyskri og íslenskri setningagerð.” [‘Variation in Faroese and Icelandic Syntax.’] In Frændafundur 8, ed. by Turið Sigurðardóttir and María Garðarsdóttir, 183–213. Tórshavn: Fróðskapur.Google Scholar
Thráinsson, Höskuldur, Ásgrímur Angantýsson, Einar Freyr Sigurðsson, Sigrún Steingrímsdóttir and Thórhallur Eythórsson
2013 “Efnissöfnun og aðferðafræði.” [‘Elicitation and methodology.’]. In Tilbrigði í íslenskri setningagerð I, ed. by Höskuldur Thráinsson, Ásgrímur Angantýsson and Einar Freyr Sigurðsson, 19–68. Reykjavík: Málvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands.Google Scholar
Thráinsson, Höskuldur, Einar Freyr Sigurðsson and Jóhannes Gísli Jónsson
2015 “Samræmi.” [‘Agreement.’] In In Tilbrigði í íslenskri setningagerð II, ed. by Höskuldur Thráinsson, Ásgrímur Angantýsson and Einar Freyr Sigurðsson, 203–232. Reykjavík: Málvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands.Google Scholar
Thráinsson, Höskuldur, Hjalmar P. Petersen, Jógvan í Lon Jacobsen and Zakaris S. Hansen
2012 Faroese: An Overview and Reference Grammar. 2nd ed. Tórshavn: Fróðskapur, and Reykjavík: Linguistic Institute, University of Iceland. [Originally published 2004 by Føroya Fróðskaparfelag, Tórshavn.]Google Scholar
Thráinsson, Höskuldur, Thórhallur Eythórsson, Ásta Svavarsdóttir and Thórunn Blöndal
2015 “Fallmörkun.” [‘Case marking.’] In Tilbrigði í íslenskri setningagerð II, ed. by Höskuldur Thráinsson, Ásgrímur Angantýsson and Einar Freyr Sigurðsson, 33–76. Reykjavík: Málvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands.Google Scholar
Thráinsson, Höskuldur, Ásgrímur Angantýsson and Einar Freyr Sigurðsson
(eds) 2013 Tilbrigði í íslenskri setningagerð. I. Markmið, aðferðir og efniviður. [‘Variation in Icelandic Syntax. I. Goals, methods and materials.’] Reykjavík: Málvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands.Google Scholar
(eds) 2015 Tilbrigði í íslenskri setningagerð. II. Helstu niðurstöður. Tölfræðilegt yfirlit. [‘Variation in Icelandic Syntax. II. Main results. A statistical overview.’] Reykjavík: Málvísindastofnun Háskóla Íslands.Google Scholar
Viðarsson, Heimir Freyr
2009 “Tilbrigði í fallmörkun aukafallsfrumlaga. Þágufallshneigð í forníslensku?” [‘Variation in the case marking of oblique subjects. Dative substitution in Old Icelandic?’] Íslenskt mál 31: 15–66Google Scholar
Woolford, Ellen
2006 “Lexical Case, Inherent Case and Argument Structure.” Linguistic Inquiry 37: 111–130. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yip, Moira, Joan Maling and Ray Jackendoff
1987 “Case in Tiers.” Language 63: 217–250. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zaenen, Annie, Joan Maling and Höskuldur Thráinsson
1985 “Case and Grammatical Functions: The Icelandic Passive.” Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 3: 441–483. [Reprinted in Modern Icelandic Syntax. Syntax and Semantics 24, ed. by Joan Maling and Annie Zaenen, 95–136. San Diego: Academic Press.]Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 2 other publications

Sigurdardottir, Sigridur Saeunn & Thórhallur Eythórsson
2019. Chapter 4. Stability and change in Icelandic weather verbs. In The Determinants of Diachronic Stability [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 254], ► pp. 69 ff. DOI logo
WOOD, JIM, MATTHEW BARROS & EINAR FREYR SIGURÐSSON
2020. Case mismatching in Icelandic clausal ellipsis. Journal of Linguistics 56:2 ► pp. 399 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.