Deep case

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The deep case ( English deep case ) is a central concept to that of Charles J. Fillmore developed (1968) Deep grammar as case grammar is known.

Distinction between depth vs. Surface case

Deep grammar distinguishes between a morphologically marked case or “surface case” (syntactic, dative , accusative etc.) and a content category that is represented by this case, i.e. the “deep case” (semantic, agent , the protagonist, patient, affected by the action, etc., also thematic role). In case grammar , the case refers to the semantic roles assigned to the various agents in the sentence. The semantic roles are about the terms of the content level such as agent, patient, instrumental, locative. In this sense, one speaks of the "deep case" also as the "semantic case". It is different with the surface case, it can be understood as a grammatical category of declinable words, which u. a. serve to identify their syntactic function in the sentence.

Examples: 

Alfred backt den Kuchen.

compared to 

Alfred serviert den Kuchen.

In both sentences , the cake is in the accusative , the surface case, but according to Fillmore (1968) it belongs to different deep case: In the first case, the cake is the object resulting from the action, its deep case is the factitive . In the second sentence it is simply an object with which something is done (objective - this case is extremely vague and one of the criticisms of Fillmore's deep grammar).

Surface and depth cases cannot, however, be mapped in an isomorphic manner to one another, as they are not in a reciprocal correspondence to one another.

Meaning of verbs

Verbs generate a series of actants or "players" who have different semantic relations to this verb. If the verb “bake” has two players, such as an agent and a patient, it must be differentiated from a verb with three “players”. 

Alfred legt den Kuchen auf den Tisch

In addition to the agents and patients, there is also the location ( overview of some semantic roles ).

Execution deep case

Examples of deep case are agentive , instrumental, dative, factitive , locative, objective. In total, he introduced six thematic or semantic roles, which Fillmore called cases. Whereby he admitted that the list had to be continued:

  • Agentive: the normally lively initiator of the action
  • Instrumental: the non-living participant in the action
  • Dative, beneficative: the living person affected by the action
  • Factitive: the result of the action
  • Locative: the location or spatial orientation of the action
  • Objective: the things that are affected by the action (very general role)

Fillmore understands the term “action” to mean the action that is described by the associated verb, which, by the way, can also be a state.

The number and catalogs of deep cases are the subject of various studies, they vary between 15 and 25 depending on the author. The term "deep case" is closely related to the semantic role and has been further developed in these considerations.

literature

  • Charles Fillmore: The Case for Case . In: E. Bach & RT Harms (eds.): Universals in Linguistic Theory . Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York 1968, pp. 1-88 - German: Plea for case . In: W. Abraham (ed.): Case theory . Athenaeum, Frankfurt / M. 1971, pp. 1-118.
  • Charles Fillmore: Some Problems for Case Grammar . In: RJ O'Brien (ed.): Papers from the 22nd Annual Round Table. Linguistics: Developments of the Sixties - Viewpoints for the Seventies. (= Monograph Series on Languages ​​and Linguistics, 24). Georgetown University Press, Washington DC 1971, pp. 35-56.

Web links

Wiktionary: Tiefenkasus  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charles J. Fillmore: The case for case. In: E. Bach & RT Harms (eds.): Universals in Linguistic Theory . Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York 1968
  2. ↑ Gerhard Helbig : Problems of the valence and case theory. Vol. 51 Concepts in Linguistics and Literature Studies, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-1109-3832-4 , pp. 22-25
  3. ^ Wilhelm Köller: Perspectivity and Language: on the structure of objectification forms in images, in thinking and in language. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-1101-8104-5 , p. 394
  4. ^ Gerhard Helbig: Development of Linguistics since 1970. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg / Berlin / New York 2013, ISBN 3-3228-6538-X , p. 124