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From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Subject: Re: One point against Esperanto
Message-ID: <D6K4u6.7uo@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK
References: <D5ICH0.Ho1@indirect.com> <D61nCy.LGL@cogsci.ed.ac.uk> <3l61oe$s1d@kralle.zdv.Uni-Mainz.DE>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 10:22:52 GMT
Lines: 23

In article <3l61oe$s1d@kralle.zdv.Uni-Mainz.DE> knappen@vkpmzd.kph.Uni-Mainz.DE writes:
>Ivan A Derzhanski (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk) schrieb:
>>Note that in Esperanto prepositions govern the nominative, and that
>>doesn't seem to be the case in any language which has oblique cases.

>Interesting. I wonder if english counts as a counter example,
>since prepositions govern the unmarked form of the noun,

They don't.  They assign the same case as verbs do, only you don't see it.
(That's where the hypothesis that Esperanto has a prepositional case which
is superficially identical to the nominative comes into the picture.)

>but there still exits the genitive with the ending 's.

I don't think the _-'s_ form is a (genitive) case.   _-'s_ follows
various modifiers in postposition, for one thing (cf. _the king of
France's crown_ and all that).

-- 
`"Haud oan there a meenit," says the king tae Joseph, "I've been thinkin."'
Ivan A Derzhanski (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk)    (J Stuart, _Auld Testament Tales_)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,   Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House E113, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Pk Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
