Differential object marking

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The term differential object marking ( DOM ) is understood to mean the phenomenon that many languages ​​of the world only formally ( morphologically ) mark direct objects under certain conditions . Depending on how exactly these conditions are designed in a certain language, certain direct objects are marked if these conditions are present or not marked if these conditions are not present.

Semantic or pragmatic features of the nouns in question , such as liveliness and definiteness , but also features of the verb , such as B. the aspect can cause this phenomenon depending on the language.

The following sentences from the Iwrit , where the object marker et is only used for definite nouns, are given as an example :

  • ani xotev mixtav "I'm writing (a) letter"
  • ani xotev et ha-mixtav "I write MARKER the letter"

In Iwrit, the condition under which differential object marking occurs is that the direct object must be definite. If the direct object is definite, a marking is inserted; if the direct object is indefinite, no marking is made.

Differential Object Marking Languages ​​(DOM)

These include a. some Romance languages , such as B. Spanish (here it concerns the marker a which is also known as the prepositional accusative), or Romanian. Languages ​​without such a differentiation are - among the languages ​​that mark direct objects at all - in a minority worldwide. - Examples: 

* La madre busca al granuja. Die Mutter sie sucht zu dem Bengel. Belebt, spezifisch;
* La madre busca la pantufla. Die Mutter sucht die Schlappen. Unbelebt, spezifisch;
* La madre busca a un granuja. Die Mutter sucht einen bestimmten Straßenjungen. Belebt, spezifisch, allgemein;
* La madre busca un granuja. Die Mutter sucht einen Straßenjungen. Belebt (auch für Unbelebt), unspezifisch.

The sentence “La madre busca a una pantufla ” would be grammatically incorrect here as an inanimate object ( inanimate , specific, general) with the prepositional accusative or marker a .

Differential object marking exists not only in spoken languages, but also in sign languages, such as B. German Sign Language (DGS). In the DGS, animate direct objects are marked with a special sign (the sign is usually referred to as OPEN) while inanimate direct objects do not receive this marking.

Languages ​​without differential object marking (DOM)

Languages ​​without DOM, such as B. Latin , German or ancient Greek , on the other hand, must use the accusative case in the direct object.

literature

  • Judith Aissen: Differential object marking: iconicity vs. economy . In: Natural Language and Linguistic Theory . Vol. 21, 2003, pp. 435-448.
  • Barry J. Blake: Case . 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2001.
  • Georg Bossong : Empirical research on universals. Differential object marking in the modern Iranian languages . Narr, Tübingen 1985.
  • Georg Bossong: Marking of actant functions in the Guaraní. On the question of differential object marking in non-accusative languages . In: Frans Plank (Ed.): Relational typology . Mouton, Berlin 1985, pp. 1-29.
  • Georg Bossong: Differential object marking in Romance and beyond . In: Dieter Wanner u. Douglas A. Kibbee (Ed.): New analyzes in Romance linguistics . Benjamin, Amsterdam a. Philadelphia 1991, pp. 143-170.
  • Georg Bossong: Le marquage différentiel de l'objet dans les langues d'Europe . In: Jack Feuillet (ed.): Actance et valence dans les langues de l'Europe . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin a. New York 1998, pp. 193-258.
  • Bernard Comrie: Subjects and direct objects in Uralic languages. A functional explanation of case-marking systems . In: Études finno-ougriennes . Vol. 12 (1975), 1977, pp. 5-17.
  • Bernard Comrie: Definite and animate direct objects: a natural class . In: Linguistica Silesiana . Vol. 3, 1979, pp. 13-21.

Web links

  • Klaus von Heusinger, Georg A. Kaiser: Animacy, Specificity, and Definiteness in Spanish. In Klaus von Heusinger, Georg A. Kaiser (Ed.): Proceedings of the Workshop Semantic and Syntactic Aspects of Specificity in Romance Languages. Working paper 113, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 2003, pp. 41–65. [1]
  • Klaus von Heusinger, Georg A. Kaiser: The evolution of differential object marking in Spanish. In Klaus von Heusinger, Georg A. Kaiser, Elisabeth Stark (eds.): Proceedings of the Workshop “Specificity And The Evolution / Emergence of Nominal Determination Systems in Romance”. University of Konstanz, Konstanz 2005, pp. 33–70. . [2]
  • Manuel Leonetti: Specificity and Differential Object Marking in Spanish. Catalan Journal of Linguistics (2004) 3: 75-114. [3]
  • Miguel Rodríguez-Mondoñedo: The Syntax of Objects. Agree and Differential Object Marking. PhD Dissertation, University of Connecticut, 2007 The Syntax of Objects: Agree and Differential Object Marking ( Memento of May 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

  1. ^ From Heinrich Simon: Textbook of the modern Hebrew language . Verlag Enzyklopädie, Leipzig 1970, p. 31.
  2. ↑ Horst Isenberg: The direct object in Spanish. Studia Grammatica 9. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1968.
  3. ^ Bernard Comrie : Language universals and linguistic typology. Syntax and morphology. Blackwell, Oxford 1981, ISBN 0-631-12971-5 , pp. 120 f.
  4. ↑ Bross, F. (2020): Object marking in German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdenssprache): Differential object marking and object shift in the visual modality . In: Glossa. A Journal of General Linguistics, 5 (1), 63.