This thesis attempts to give a clear outline of the distribution of case in Australian languages and thereby aims to clarify the common divsion between Pama-Nyungan and non-Pama-Nyungan languages....Show moreThis thesis attempts to give a clear outline of the distribution of case in Australian languages and thereby aims to clarify the common divsion between Pama-Nyungan and non-Pama-Nyungan languages. That is, Australianists have not always agreed about which cases and core cases occur in which language groupings and what the alignment looks like in each language. On the basis of a representative sample of 12 Australian languages, I give an overview of the core cases and the alignment of these languages. The initial outcome shows a mixture of features, like a widespread ergative case and multiple forms of split ergativity, which not necessarily define the difference between the Pama-Nyungan and the non-Pama-Nyungan language family. As Pama-Nyungan and non-Pama-Nyungan are valid terms, one can, strictly speaking, still make the distinction between these two language families, yet not convincingly on the basis of case.Show less
