| Abstract: | A functionally motivated account of the use of morphological case is proposed, combining insights from syntax, semantics, pragmatics, typology, and corpus research. The use of case is argued to follow from economy and generalization principles that are necessary for efficient communication. Special attention is given to the spatial use of case, which expresses the most frequent spatial meaning aspect: the change of relative position. By the focus on spatial case, this study complements existing literature on spatial adpositions on the one hand and structural case on the other.
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