The grammaticalization of adpositions and case marking

Abstract This article examines the grammaticalisation of case marking and adpositions. The findings reveal that there is synchronic evidence for determining relative degrees of grammaticalization and that the behaviour of case synchronically is shaped by features the language has developed in other areas such as definiteness, topic, focus, or means of case coding. It explains that definiteness shapes case or case systems on various levels, either being the source for grammaticalisation, a restriction, or an indicator of the first or final stage of grammaticalisation.