Semantics of Genitive Objects in Russian

Olga Kagan

ISBN 10: 9401781958 / ISBN 13: 9789401781954

Published by Springer Netherlands, Springer Netherlands Nov 2014, 2014

About this Item

This item is printed on demand - Print on Demand Titel. Neuware -The genitive/accusative opposition in Slavic languages is a decades-old linguistic conundrum. Shedding new light on this perplexing object-case alternation in Russian, this volume analyzes two variants of genitive objects that alternate with accusative complements¿the genitive of negation and the intensional genitive. The author contends that these variants are manifestations of the same phenomenon, and thus require an integrated analysis. Further, that the choice of case is sensitive to factors that fuse semantics and pragmatics, and that the genitive case is assigned to objects denoting properties at the same time as they lack commitment to existence.Kagan¿s subtle analysis accounts for the complex relations between case-marking and other properties, such as definiteness, specificity, number and aspect. It also reveals a correlation between the genitive case and the subjunctive mood, and relates her overarching subject matter to other instances of differential object-marking.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 204 pp. Englisch.

Seller Inventory # 9789401781954

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Semantics of Genitive Objects in Russian
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands, Springer Netherlands Nov 2014
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9401781958
• ISBN 13: 9789401781954
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 235W x 155H x 12D millimeters 235 millimeters width by 155 millimeters height by 12 millimeters depth
• Weight: 318 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The genitive/accusative opposition in Slavic languages is a decades-old linguistic conundrum. Shedding new light on this perplexing object-case alternation in Russian, this volume analyzes two variants of genitive objects that alternate with accusative complements—the genitive of negation and the intensional genitive. The author contends that these variants are manifestations of the same phenomenon, and thus require an integrated analysis. Further, that the choice of case is sensitive to factors that fuse semantics and pragmatics, and that the genitive case is assigned to objects denoting properties at the same time as they lack commitment to existence. Kagan’s subtle analysis accounts for the complex relations between case-marking and other properties, such as definiteness, specificity, number and aspect. It also reveals a correlation between the genitive case and the subjunctive mood, and relates her overarching subject matter to other instances of differential object-marking.