Types of Free Dative in Czech and Implications for Simplex Classification

Abstract

Case is the linguistic category hardly defined in a clear notion. Chomsky's approach to case is still dominant in recent trends of linguistics. Treatment of case in this framework is restricted almost entirely to discussions of syntax and is not considered under cognitive semantics or pragmatics. Free dative is the grammatical category which is involved in the semantics or pragmatics than structural configuration. This dative is not governed by its case assigner and its overt use in the sentence is motivated semantically or pragmatically: dativus ethicus as one of the uses of free dative is the typical example of strong dependence on semantics and pragmatics. There are various types of the free dative in Czech and in some cases it is difficult to recognize the boundary line between governed dative and free dative. This study tries to formulate the systematic classification of the types of free dative. To minimize the vagueness this paper suggests the simplex classification: Empathic dative vs. Non-empathic dative. It provides semantic and syntactic foundations for upholding the dichotomy. The final chapter discusses free word order within clitic clusters which is typical of the free dative.