Case variation in Gothic absolute constructions

Tonya Kim Dewey-Findell | University of California

Yasmin Syed | University of California

The choice of case in Gothic absolute constructions is not random, but systematic. Its determining factors are the semantic relationship between the matrix clause and the absolute construction, the tense/aspect of its participle, and the thematic role of its subject. The nominative absolute has main clause semantics, while absolutes in the oblique cases have subordinate clause semantics. The bare dative is the default for absolute constructions in Gothic, while secondary meanings such as durativity or iterativity are linked with other cases. Additionally, the preposition at can be used with either the dative or the accusative as a temporal marker or a focussing device.

Published online: 11 March 2009
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.108.03dew

Cited by

Cited by 3 other publications

Madariaga, Nerea

2015. The decline of non-finiteness as a syntactic mechanism for embedding in East Slavic. Journal of Historical Linguistics 5:1 ► pp. 139 ff.

McFadden, Thomas

2020. In The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics, ► pp. 282 ff.

Ratkus, Artūras

2015. Gothic possessives, adjectives, and other modifiers in-ata. Journal of Germanic Linguistics 27:3 ► pp. 238 ff.

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