Case and case alignment in the Greater Hindukush : An areal-typological survey

Abstract: This thesis concerns languages in the Greater Hindukush, the area in northern Afghanistan and Pakistan, where a total of about 50 languages are spoken. The thesis’ topic is case systems and case alignment systems of nouns in an areal-typological perspective. This is investigated by using a representative sample. The grammatical relations of S, A and P, and the cases marking these, are investigated. The three attested alignment systems are accusative, ergative and split, and are clearly geogra-phically distributed, which indicates that their status is areal-typological. Based on the sample, there seems to be a tendency for the languages in the Greater Hindukush to exhibit split align-ment systems built on tense-aspect. Most languages employ accusative alignment in imperfect-tive, and ergative alignment in perfective tense-aspects. A compa­rison with a worldwide sample (WALS) is only partly possible, as this sample uses more categories than accusative, ergative and split, but the present sample supports the results in those categories which can be compared. A predominant pattern in core case syncretism is observed, with an opposition of the nomi­native singular versus the nominative plural and the oblique in both numbers.