<p> </p><div>

Chapter 1

: Introduction</div><ul><li>Background of Case Marking in Linguistic Theory</li><li>Research Objectives</li><li>Significance of the Study</li><li>Scope and Limitations</li><li>Definition of Key Terms</li></ul><div>

Chapter 2

: Typological Variation in Case Marking</div><ul><li>Nominative-Accusative and Ergative-Absolutive Systems</li><li>Differential Object Marking</li><li>Case Stacking and Syncretism</li></ul><div>

Chapter 3

: Syntactic Functions of Case Marking</div><ul><li>Case and Argument Structure</li><li>Case and Grammatical Relations</li><li>Case and Discourse Organization</li></ul><div>

Chapter 4

: Theoretical Perspectives on Case Marking</div><ul><li>Case Theory and Universal Grammar</li><li>Role of Case in Syntactic Theory</li><li>Typological Implications for Case Marking</li></ul><div>

Chapter 5

: Case Marking and Language Universals</div><ul><li>Cross-Linguistic Patterns in Case Marking</li><li>Implications for Typological Universals</li><li>Case Marking and Language Contact</li></ul> <br><p></p>