Inverse Case Attraction in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish

Authors

  • Oliver Rix Johannsen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/nys.v1i66.146880

Keywords:

case, attraction, relative clause, writing, Scandinavian

Abstract

This article compares the distribution of case forms in 3p.pl. pronouns with a restrictive relative clause (e.g. de/dem der larmer ‘they/them who are noisy’) in Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish. The comparison is based on two new studies of pronoun case in subjects and complements to the preposition til/till (‘to’) in Norwegian and Swedish, alongside selected results from three previous studies of pronoun case in the {PRONOUN + RELATIVE CLAUSE} construction in Danish. The article discusses the rules as presented in standard grammars, assessing that the explanations for the use of the nominative case instead of the oblique case – which is expected according to the main rule – are insufficient. The so-called article analyses is rejected, and it is argued that the use of the nominative case in prepositional complements is best explained as instances of inverse case attraction. In subjects, however, there is no reason to assume anything other than the main rule in Norwegian and Swedish, and in Danish, the use of oblique case in subjects is better explained by rules other than inverse case attraction.

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Published

2024-12-12

How to Cite

Rix Johannsen, O. (2024). Inverse Case Attraction in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. NyS, Nydanske Sprogstudier, 1(66), 101–127. https://doi.org/10.7146/nys.v1i66.146880

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Articles