Re: Def. of Case WAS: Cases, again

Hallo!

Besides the language types Mark J. Reed mentioned
(accusative, ergative, MRL, tripartite, ...) there are also
"split-S" and "fluid-S" languages.

Split-S languages divide intransitive verbs into two groups;
the subjects of verbs of group I are marked like A's,
those of verbs of group II are marked like P's.  Usually,
group I verbs are verbs denoting action (such as "to run"),
while group II verbs are verbs denoting states (such as "to sit")
or processes the subject undergoes without being the agent
(such as "to fall"), but there might be exceptions.

Fluid-S languages are like that, too, but there are verbs whose
subjects can receive A-marking *or* P-marking depending on their
agency.  For example, in the sentence "My brother came yesterday"
the S would be marked as A, but in "Your letter came yesterday"
the S would be marked as P.  Fluid-S languages are thus especially
precise semantically.

Both split-S and fluid-S languages are often grouped together
and called "active-stative" or simply "active" languages.

Greetings,

Jörg.