Non-canonical Marking of Subjects and Objects: (46 Typological Studies in Language)

In some languages every subject is marked in the same way, and also every object. But there are languages in which a small set of verbs mark their subjects or their objects in an unusual way. For example, most verbs may mark their subject with nominative case, but one small set of verbs may have dative subjects, and another small set may have locative subjects. Verbs with noncanonically marked subjects and objects typically refer to physiological states or events, inner feelings, perception and cognition. The Introduction sets out the theoretical parameters and defines the properties in terms of which subjects and objects can be analysed. Following chapters discuss Icelandic, Bengali, Quechua, Finnish, Japanese, Amele (a Papuan language), and Tariana (an Amazonian language); there is also a general discussion of European languages. This is a pioneering study providing new and fascinating data, and dealing with a topic of prime theoretical importance to linguists of many persuasions.

Table of Contents:
1. Contributors; 2. Preface; 3. Introduction: Non-canonically marked subjects and objects: Parameters and Properties (by Onishi, Masayuki); 4. Non-canonical marking of core arguments in European languages (by Haspelmath, Martin); 5. Non-canonical A/S marking in Icelandic (by Andrews, Avery D.); 6. Non-canonically marked A/S in Bengali (by Onishi, Masayuki); 7. Non-canonically marked A/S in Imbabura Quechua (by Hermon, Gabriella); 8. Verb types, non-canonically marked arguments and grammatical relations: A Tariana perspective (by Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y.); 9. Impersonal constructions in Amele (by Roberts, John R.); 10. Non-canonical subjects and objects in Finnish (by Sands, Kristina); 11. Non-canonical constructions in Japanese (by Shibatani, Masayoshi); 12. Language index; 13. Author index; 14. Subject index

Review :
The volume contains a broad range of carefully described cross-linguistic data which pertain to the ‘core’ theoretical problems of linguistics, and I strongly believe that it must and will play a major role in any further discussions of these problems. There is something for everyone in this volume. Differential case marking, split intransitivity, degrees of transitivity, control, impersonal constructions, dative subjects, and psychological verbs are just some of the many topics addressed. This book is another fine contribution to the study of language typology from John Benjamins and it is also another example of exciting collaborative work spear-headed by the Research Centre for Linguistic Typology, La Trobe University. Each article of the volume is valuable for its presentation of new data from individual languages as well as for its contribution to the study of subject and object properties from a cross-linguistic perspective. The clear presentation helps a lot in understanding the most complicated syntactic problems. This book is highly recommended for general linguists and typologists. The value in this collection is two-fold. Individually, the articles provide lucid insights into a host of thorny case-marking problems that at best have received a less than adequate functional description in the past. Collectively, they point the way toward true insight into the cognitive underpinnings behind recurring patterns of exceptions to general morpho-syntactic regularities. I consider the book interesting reading matter for all typologists who are interested in the cross-linguistic study of actancy phenomena. I am convinced that this collections of articles marks the starting point for similarly-minded studies of the relation of canonical and non-canonical marking of syntactic relations.