Case, configuration and argumenthood: Reflections on the second dative

Abstract

In this paper I have argued for a configurational approach to Russian case. It was further demonstrated that both arguments and non-arguments may receive case for the same structural reasons, although only arguments are sensitive to features of the case assigner. This system was then applied to secondary predication, and it was shown how, given appropriate theoretical assumptions, the unique behavior of the second dative construction could be explained.