Grammatical Relations and their Non-Canonical Encoding in Baltic

This is the first of three volumes dealing with clausal architecture, grammatical relations, case-marking and the syntax–semantics interface in Baltic. It focuses on the grammatical relations of subject and object and the viability of these notions in languages like Lithuanian and Latvian, which have a rich case morphology and show many deviations from the canonical nominative-accusative pattern of case-marking. The issues examined include differential object marking, subjecthood in specificational copular constructions, ‘swarm’-type alternations and what they tell us about grammatical relations, special types of subject and object marking in non-finite clauses, and non-canonical grammatical relations induced by modal predicates. One study provides a comparative outlook towards Icelandic, another language noted for its complex marking of grammatical relations. The articles in the volume represent various theoretical frameworks.

Andrej Malchukov, Leipzig & Mainz:
This excellent collection of papers makes Baltic languages one of the most thoroughly investigated in the domain of grammatical relations. The discussion of non-canonical marking of subjects and objects in Baltic, as well as of related issues of diffuseness of grammatical relations, argument alternations, differential case marking and impersonal constructions will inform the future typological and theoretical studies in this domain.