Case grammar

The Kasusgrammatik is a theory of grammatical analysis that has been developed by the American linguist Charles J. Fillmore in 1968 within the framework of transformational grammar. In this theory, sets are a combination of a verb and one or more deep cases (ie, semantic roles, Kasusrollen ), as agent, instrument or experiencers construed.

After Fillmore each verb selegiert a certain number of deep cases that make up the case frame. Such a case frame thus describes important aspects of the semantic valency of verbs, adjectives and nouns. Case frames are subject to certain restrictions; may occur only once, for example, a deep cases per set. Some case are mandatory, others optional. Mandatory case may not be repaid, otherwise ungrammatical sentences arise. In this sense, for example, * Peter gave the ball is ungrammatical.

A basic hypothesis of Kasusgrammatik is that grammatical functions such as subject or object as a function of deep cases are selegiert. Fillmore (1968 ) provides for a universal rule for the selection of the subject on the following hierarchy:

Agent < Instrumental < lens

This means that if the case frame of a verb contains an agent, this is realized as the subject of an active sentence; otherwise attributable to the deep case, following the agent in the hierarchy (ie, instrumental ) in the subject position.

( 1) John (A) opened the door (O).

( 2) The key (I) opened the door (O).

In the first sentence of the case frame contains an agent which becomes the subject. In the second set of case frames containing no agent, but as the next element in the hierarchy an instrumental which becomes the subject.

The number of deep cases or semantic roles vary depending on the research approach. So called Fillmore 1968 six semantic roles ( agentive, Instrumental, Dative, factitive, locative, Objective), extended and modified this list, however, is different and 1971, the following nine roles:

• Agent ( Peter repairing his car. )
• Experiencer ( Mary wonders about her father. )
• Instrument ( I opened the door with the key. )
• Object ( The government has erected a monument. )
• Source ( The béarnaise sauce comes from France. )
• Goal ( The children go to the beach. )
• Location ( Under the Mirabeau Bridge the river Seine. Apollinaire flows )
• Time ( What will be tomorrow, avoid asking. Horace )
• Path ( We drove on the main road along the Neckar. )

As the individual semantic roles are expressed syntactically depends on the verb used: Thus, the experiencer is the verb " wonder " expressed as a subject (see above), " amaze " the verb, however, as a direct object ( The behavior of her father surprised Maria). There are differences in the syntactic realization of semantic roles even between individual languages ​​; In the sentence I'm cold, the experiencer appears as an indirect object in the English equivalent I am cold, however, as a subject.

The influence of Kasusgrammatik on contemporary linguistics was significant; grab as many linguistic theories, the semantic roles in one form or another again, about the theta theory as part of the theory of Government and Binding Theory by Noam Chomsky. The Kasusgrammatik also gave suggestions for the development of frame -based representations in AI research.

In the 1970s and 1980s Fillmore developed his original theory on the so-called frame semantics.