flat:gov: partitive-like appositional element
Sometimes, the named element in an appositional construction is expressed in an oblique case (genitive) as if it were a modifier, while the structure actually remains flat. In this sense, the flat construction “governs” a case.
Examples
- urbs Romae, where urbs and Roma are coreferent: the city is not a possession of Rome, but Rome itself
Accedunt nunc ille sacratissime victime Deciorum , qui ... \n They-access now those most-sacred victims of-Decii , who ...
flat:gov(victime,Deciorum)
nsubj(Accedunt,victime)
acl:relcl(victime,...-9)
flat:gov(victims,of-Decii)
nsubj(They-access,victims)
acl:relcl(victims,...-19)
‘Now add to their number those most holy victims, the Decii, who …’ (De Monarchia, UDante)
- Note: the Decii themselves are the victims; there are no victims caused by (“belonging to”) them. The English translation indeed conveys this expression with a mere apposition.
flat:gov in other languages: [la]