DATIVE AND NOMINATIVE EXPERIENCES - 2 FOLK THEORIES OF THE MIND

This paper defines the factors that determine the choice of either the nominative or the dative case to code the experiencer in Polish. The choice of case marking can be explained in sematic terms and reflects alternative ways of construing mental experience. The dative construal implies special prominence of the experiencer's ''sphere of awareness '' and highlights the subjective nature of the experience, whereas the nominative construal highlights the experiencer's active, volitional, controlled involvement in an interaction that has an objective or ''p ublic'' dimension. The choice of case marking echoes aspects of the le xical meaning of the verb, or, when the verb allows both construals, i t highlights some features of the experience at the expense of others.