30. The Noun: Case.

Noun. Meaning: thingness. Form: nouns have the category of number (singular and plural), the category of case (common and genitive).

Case – the category of noun which expresses relations between the thing denoted by the noun and other things/properties/ actions. This category is expressed by the opposition: “possessive” or “genitive” case (the form ending in –‘s) & the “common” case (unmarked element).However, there are a number of other views, which claim that: (1) the number of cases in English is more than two (I.I.Meshchaninov adds instrumental case (e.g. with the pen) & locative case (e.g. in the pen)); (2) there are no cases at all in English nouns.

The ending -‘s- serves to distinguish in writing the singular noun in the genitive case from the plural noun in the common case. The views, concerning -‘s: 1) when the -'s belongs to a noun it is the genitive ending, and when it belongs to a phrase it is a syntactical element, a postposition; 2) since the -'s can belong to a phrase it is no longer a case inflection; 3) the -'s when belonging to a noun, expresses not a case, but a new grammatical category, of "possession" .Different views have been expressed concerning the scope of meaning of the -'s. The -'s-form can sometimes be used in a sense which may be termed qualitative. (an officer's cap can be interpreted in two different ways: 1) 'a cap belonging to a certain officer', 2) and the usual possessive meaning (фуражка офицера). Only the context will show which is meant. If both the subject of an action and its object are mentioned, the former is expressed by a noun with -'s preceding the name of the action, and the latter by an of-phrase following it (Einstein's theory of relativity).

The category of case shows the close connection (a) between language and speech, (b) between morphology and syntax. a. the members of the case are united paradigmatically on the basis of their syntagmatic differences. b.the case has a distinct syntactical significance. Common case  the functions of subject and object; possessive case  the function of an attribute.

31 Types of oppositions.

The opposition may be defined as a generalised correlation of lingual forms by means of which a certain function is expressed. The correlated elements of the opposition must possess two types of features: common and differential ones. Common features reveal contrast, while differential features express the function in question.

3 main types of oppositions were established in phonology: privative, gradual, equipollent. By the number of members contrasted, oppositions were divided into binary (two members), ternary, quaternary, etc.

The most important type of opposition is the binary privative opposition. It is formed by a contrastive pair of members; one member (the marked/ strong/ positive member) is characterised by the presence of a certain differential feature, the other (the unmarked/ weak/ negative member) expresses the absence of this feature: play(weak) - played(strong).

The gradual opposition is formed by a contrastive group of members which are distinguished by the degree of a certain feature: [i] - [i:] are differentiated by the degree of their openness.

The equipollent opposition is formed by a contrastive pair/ group where the members are distinguished by different positive features. E.g., the phonemes [m] and [b], both bilabial consonants, form an equipollent opposition, [m] being sonorous nasalized, [b] being plosive.

The privative morphological opposition is based on a morphological differential (write (weak) – wrote (strong)). Equipollent oppositions in the system of English morphology is not rather numerous (am-are-is).Gradual oppositions in morphology are not generally recognised.

A grammatical category must be expressed by at least one opposition of forms. Any opposition in morphology & phonology can be reformulated in privative terms.