Case variation in quantifier constructions in the Mordvinic languages

Abstract This paper presents a descriptive study of the case variation of nouns attested in quantifier constructions of Mordvinic. We illustrate the contexts in which the case variation occurs and investigate the reasons behind it. Data is extracted from the MokshEr-corpus, which consists of texts written in the contemporary literary languages. The results show that the marking of the noun varies according to the features of the quantifier and the relationship between the noun and the quantifier. Such variation is observed in three constructions with quantifiers: (1) adnominal modification, (2) partitive constructions, and (3) quantificational clauses. The nominal marking varies between the nominative and separative strategies, which is observed in both languages, although with significant differences in their distribution. We argue that the common starting point for the use of the separative strategy is in partitive constructions, while the differences in the declension paradigm in these languages have led to the diverse uses of the separative cases.