Case is a well-defined feature of generative syntax. However, the phenomenon of default Case, while widely accepted and discussed, is less defined in its triggers and limitations. The main body of work that seeks to explore default Case is that of Schütze (2001), which presents the main principles of default Case as well as the environments in which it may occur. The purpose of this thesis is to explore default Case at a deeper level, focusing on the interactions of Case, structure, and phi-features to determine how exactly the mechanism works. To achieve this, the data set used consists of English structures which include pronouns that occur with unexpected Case features. Through the course of this analysis, a separate but related phenomenon of category conversion is also explored. Culminating in a preliminary analysis from a cross-linguistic perspective, the study concludes with a more detailed account of how default Case arises.
","abstract_html":"<p>Case is a well-defined feature of generative syntax. However, the phenomenon of default Case, while widely accepted and discussed, is less defined in its triggers and limitations. The main body of work that seeks to explore default Case is that of Schütze (2001), which presents the main principles of default Case as well as the environments in which it may occur. The purpose of this thesis is to explore default Case at a deeper level, focusing on the interactions of Case, structure, and phi-features to determine how exactly the mechanism works. To achieve this, the data set used consists of English structures which include pronouns that occur with unexpected Case features. Through the course of this analysis, a separate but related phenomenon of category conversion is also explored. Culminating in a preliminary analysis from a cross-linguistic perspective, the study concludes with a more detailed account of how default Case arises.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ziemelis, Olivia"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"English Language and Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["T. Daniel Seely, Ph.D.","Eric Acton, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:53Z","subjects":["case","conversion","default case","English","pronoun","Linguistics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1324","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["T. Daniel Seely, Ph.D.","Eric Acton, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ziemelis, Olivia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-02-20T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English Language and Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["case","conversion","default case","English","pronoun","Linguistics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1324"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Case is a well-defined feature of generative syntax. However, the phenomenon of default Case, while widely accepted and discussed, is less defined in its triggers and limitations. The main body of work that seeks to explore default Case is that of Schütze (2001), which presents the main principles of default Case as well as the environments in which it may occur. The purpose of this thesis is to explore default Case at a deeper level, focusing on the interactions of Case, structure, and phi-features to determine how exactly the mechanism works. To achieve this, the data set used consists of English structures which include pronouns that occur with unexpected Case features. Through the course of this analysis, a separate but related phenomenon of category conversion is also explored. Culminating in a preliminary analysis from a cross-linguistic perspective, the study concludes with a more detailed account of how default Case arises.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["English pronouns: Default case and conversion"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["T. Daniel Seely, Ph.D.","Eric Acton, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Ziemelis, Olivia"],"dc:date.available":["2026-02-20T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Case is a well-defined feature of generative syntax. However, the phenomenon of default Case, while widely accepted and discussed, is less defined in its triggers and limitations. The main body of work that seeks to explore default Case is that of Schütze (2001), which presents the main principles of default Case as well as the environments in which it may occur. The purpose of this thesis is to explore default Case at a deeper level, focusing on the interactions of Case, structure, and phi-features to determine how exactly the mechanism works. To achieve this, the data set used consists of English structures which include pronouns that occur with unexpected Case features. Through the course of this analysis, a separate but related phenomenon of category conversion is also explored. Culminating in a preliminary analysis from a cross-linguistic perspective, the study concludes with a more detailed account of how default Case arises.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1324"],"dc:subject":["case","conversion","default case","English","pronoun","Linguistics"],"dc:title":["English pronouns: Default case and conversion"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English Language and Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:53Z"}