Case in Berber

Abstract

The phenomenon of state alternation in Berber languages has been the subject of much discussion and debate among linguists. This paper investigates Berber state alternation, arguing that state is the realization of Case morphology. Taking into consideration morphological patterns and syntactic distribution, we argue that Berber belongs to a marked nominative system of case. The accusative case is the unmarked or default case, whereas nominative case is morphologically marked (König 2008). Specifically, the Free State aligns with accusative case, while the Construct State aligns with nominative case. The analysis is grounded in Baker’s (2015) hybrid dependent case theory, which posits that case assignment follows a hierarchical model: lexical case > dependent case > Agree-based case > unmarked/default case. Within this framework, dependent case assignment in Berber adheres to the negative c-command condition, marking an NP with nominative case if it is the highest NP within its domain. This analysis enhances our understanding of the syntactic distribution of noun state alternations in Berber, highlighting its alignment system as rare within Afroasiatic and African languages.