A constraint-based approach to Icelandic case system

Across languages, cases function as the most important coding features. However, Icelandic does not easily reveal the function of case system. It is mainly due to the fact that grammatical relation-based case system is interwoven with lexical quirky cases. Throughout this paper, I suggest that the ordinary default case system is dependent on the aspectual properties of the head verb (cf. Burzio’s Generalization). In addition, the information of lexical quirky cases overrides the default case-requirement. This cancellation process does not resort to the non-monotonic value cancelation. Instead, adopting configuration-based case realization approach in Kim and Choi (2004), I show that the core case assignment coincides with phrasal structure realization. The proposed analysis provides a performance-compatible description of the Icelandic case system without cyclic application of rules that destructively modifies the initial value.