The Oblique Case in Balochi: Reduction and Renewal in the Case-Marking System

The development of case systems and the reorganization of grammatical relations constitute one of the major diachronic processes in the history of the Iranian languages, reflecting a continuum of morphological erosion and innovation. Balochi varieties provide compelling evidence for ongoing changes in case morphology, with the oblique case representing the principal locus of diachronic change. Adopting a descriptive–analytical approach, this study investigates the historical development of the oblique case across different Balochi varieties. The analysis is primarily grounded in Kulikov’s (2009) cross-linguistic typological framework and Stilo’s (2008) model of case-system development in Iranian languages, while also drawing on complementary theoretical approaches to case change, including grammaticalization, differential object marking (DOM), and case stacking. The findings demonstrate that Balochi has not only retained the oblique case but has also undergone functional extension and morphological renewal, leading to the emergence of new case morphology. Three major diachronic developments are identified. First, the western varieties have lost the oblique case and replaced it with syntactic strategies, resulting in the predominance of analytic patterns. Second, the oblique case has undergone internal renewal through differential object marking, whereby oblique case marking has been extended to mark prominent objects in ergative constructions under the influence of animacy and definiteness hierarchies. Third, the eastern and coastal varieties exhibit morphological renewal through the merger of genitive and oblique morphology, giving rise to a distinct locative marker that reduces the functional ambiguity arising from the multifunctionality of the oblique case.