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<TITLE>lack of casemarking in answers?</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Does anyone know of languages that employ no or default casemarking on NPs used as single-word answers, if the thematic relation of the questioned constituent to the state-of-affairs can be retrieved from the question itself? These would be cases like the following (only then in languages with overt casemarking):</FONT></P>
<P><I><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Did you buy a book<SUB>Pat</SUB>? No, a doll<SUB>0</SUB></FONT></I>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I am primarily interested in arguments rather than adjuncts. The little data I have is from German; it is very inconclusive but seems to suggest that the casemarking used in the question should at all times be repeated on the answer. Dutch, a close relative, has no casemarking at all on NPs but does require use of the properly inflected pronoun in case of a single-word answer, which seems to point in the same direction.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Even more interesting would be cases where both is possible (i.e. omission and repetition of casemarking), and where the distinction would have an identifiable influence on the answer's interpretation. This situation seems to obtain for certain oblique NPs in English (</FONT><I><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Where did you go to? - Switzerland / to Switzerland</FONT></I><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">); I would be very interested to know if languages allow this for non-obliques.</FONT><I></I></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">I would be most grateful for your information. Thanks, best regards,</FONT>
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<BR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Niels Smit </FONT></SPAN>
<BR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">University of Amsterdam</FONT></SPAN>
<BR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication</FONT></SPAN>
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