The Understanding of Case Classification in Armenian and Russian Linguistics

Abstract

The aim of our study is to examine the debates surrounding the case systems in Armenian and Russian. Both Armenian and Russian have rich case systems which, despite sharing certain structural and functional similarities, also display significant differences - in terms of the number of cases and their functions.

Moreover, this work aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the case systems of Armenian (specifically the literary form of Eastern Armenian) and Russian, with the goal of revealing their similarities and differences. We have presented the case system of each language based on theories accepted in contemporary linguistics.

Armenian theorists have mainly focused on the syntactic functions, development, and classification of cases, while Russian scholars have emphasized morphological aspects, the use of prepositions, and case governance, often within systematized frameworks. We consider the five-case system to be the most appropriate, and for pronouns - a six-case system, although distinguishing between the genitive and dative in nominal declension may present certain challenges. The five-case system appears considerably more logical from the perspective of core grammatical relationships.