DOM and DSM in Turkish
Jaklin Kornfilt · 2020
Current formal studies of Case center on one or both of two main approaches: Case assignment via Agree or dependent case, whereby the case features of a given NP/DP are valued in a particular structural configuration within a particular local domain, unless another NP/DP is assigned Case first (Marantz 1991, Baker & Vinokurova 2010). Some have suggested a mixed approach: Case licensing via Agree for subjects, but via dependent case for direct objects (DOs), for example Baker & Vinokurova (2010). This paper proposes a novel conciliatory approach to Case. In all instances of structural Case, i.e. for subjects as well as direct objects, Agree with a functional head is necessary. This addresses the conceptual issue of one unique type of licensing mechanism, rather than two. However, the functional licenser of the Case on DOs has to be itself licensed in this capacity. This is possible only when the subject has first been licensed via Agree. This results in the appearance of dependent case, which is an indirect symptom of dependent Agree. This approach is then extended to structural datives.