Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2002, Blaðsíða 78

76
QUIRKY CASE IN FAROESE
these changes, since we will leave this to
future investigations and researchers.7
References
Bames, M. 1986. Subject, Nominative and Oblique
Case in Faroese. Scripta Islandica 37:13-46.
Dixon, R.M.W. 1997. The rise and fall of languages.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jónsson, G.J. 1997/1998. Sagnir með aukafallsl'rumlagi.
Islenskt mál og almenn málfrceði. 19/20:11-45.
Levin, B. 1993. English Verb Classes and Alternations:
A Preliminary Investigation. Chicago, University of
Chicago Press.
Petersen H.P. and Staksberg, M. 1995. Donsk-føroysk
orðabók. Fróðskaparfelag Føroya. Tórshavn.
Poulsen J.H.W. et al. 1998. Føroyskorðabók. Fróðskap-
arfelag Føroya. Tórshavn.
Ura, H. 2000. Cltecking Theoryand Grammatical Func-
tions in Universal Grammar. New York, Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Zaenen, A.J.M. and Práinsson, H. 1985. Case and
Grammatical Functions: The Icelandic Passive. Nat-
ural Language and Linguistic Theory 3:441-483.
Notes
1 I would like to thank M. P. Barnes and Ei. Weyhe for
extensive comments on the article and correcting my
English.
2 Or in the words of Dixon: “Documenting languages
is the responsibility of linguists.” (Dixon,
1997:136), and further: “The most important task in
linguistics today - indeed, the only really important
task - is to get out in the field and describe lan-
guages, while this can still be done. Self-admiration
in the looking glass of formalist theory can wait; that
will always be possible.” (Dixon 1997:144). Since
Faroese is the least studied North Germanic lan-
guage, we can go along with this.
He is here talking about endangered languages,
but one can go along with what has been said here
when we are talking about Faroese - the least stud-
ied North Germanic language.
3 The notion experiencer is to be understood as de-
noting someone that experiences something without
having any influence on what is happening (Jónsson
1997/98:18).
4 An investigation into the matter, using a short text
into which people were asked to add 3 person of the
personal pronoun, showed that dúina is common
with a dative subject
5 The abbreviations are FD = Faroese Dictionary
(1998), DD = Danish Diclionary (1995), Dimml. =
Dimmalætting (a Faroese newspaper).
6 This expression is extremely archaic in colloquial
Faroese.
7 The following expressions are also impersonal in
Faroese:
(i) a. mær líður einki
me-dat. passes nothing
T am not making any progress’
b. tær nýtist ikki at renna
you-dat. do not have to run
‘you need not to run’
c. honum nyttar einki at rópa
him-dat. is of no use to yell
‘there is no use his yelling’
d. mær rennur týðan til hansara
me-dat. runs-3.sg. kindness to him-gen.
‘I think about him with kind feelings’
e. mær var rógvandi/gangandi/vitandi
me-dat. was rowing/walking/knowing
‘I was rowing/walking’
f. mær skilst
me-dat. understands
‘I understand’