Chapter 6
Are Argentines a-blind?
Acceptability of a-marked inanimate direct objects
I examine syntactic and discursive factors conditioning the variable a-marking of inanimate DOs in Argentine Spanish, using an online questionnaire which includes 16 contextualized discourse items recorded by native Argentines. Argentine respondents (N = 140) evaluated acceptability of the items using a 5-point Likert scale. Linguistic predictors analyzed include: definiteness, mono- vs. ditransitive constructions, and topicality, operationalized in terms of pre-/post-verbal position and referential distance. Mixed-effects analyses in R showed that although participants assigned significantly higher ratings to normative unmarked inanimate DOs than to a-marked ones, a-marking was still widely accepted, with definite DOs, pre-verbal position, and monotransitivity as significant predictors of acceptance. Furthermore, in 10/16 cases, participant ratings showed no significant difference between marked and unmarked DOs, demonstrating that participants are, to an extent, “a-blind” or uninfluenced by marking.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Previous literature
- 3.Variables
- 4.Research questions and hypotheses
- 5.Methodology
- 5.1Instrument
- 5.2Speakers
- 5.3Participants
- 5.4Data analysis
- 6.Results
- 7.Discussion
- 8.Conclusions
-
Notes
-
References
References
Aissen, J.
(
2003)
Differential object marking: Iconicity vs. economy.
Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 21(3), 435–483.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Balasch, S.
(
2011)
Factors determining Spanish differential object marking within its domain of variation. In
J. Michnowicz, &
R. Dodsworth (Eds.),
Selected proceedings of the 5th Workshop on Spanish Sociolinguistics (pp. 113–124). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Barrenechea, A. M., & Orecchia, T.
(
1977)
La duplicación de objetos directos e indirectos en el español hablado en Buenos Aires. In
J. M. Lope Blanch (Ed.),
Estudios sobre el español hablado en las principales ciudades de América (pp. 351–381). Ciudad de México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bossong, G.
(
1985)
Empirische Universalienforschung. Differentielle Objektmarkierung in der neuiranischen Sprachen. Tübingen: Narr.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Dumitrescu, D.
(
1997)
El parámetro discursivo en la expresión del objeto directo lexical: español madrileño vs. español porteño.
Signo y Seña, 7, 305–354.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Estigarribia, B.
(
2003)
“Did you say clitic doubling?” A structural and functional analysis for Buenos Aires Spanish. Unpublished manuscript, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Estigarribia, B.
(
2006)
Why clitic doubling? A functional analysis for Rioplatense Spanish. In
T. Face, &
C. Klee (Eds.),
Selected proceedings of the 8th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp. 123–136). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fábregas, A.
(
2013)
Differential object marking in Spanish: State of the art.
Borealis: An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics, 2(2), 1–80.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
García García, M.
(
2005)
Differential object marking and informativeness. In
K. von Heusinger et al. (Eds.),
Proceedings of the Workshop ‘Specificity and the Evolution/Emergence of Nominal Determination Systems in Romance,’ (pp. 17–31). Konstanz: Universität Konstanz.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
García García, M.
(
2007)
Differential object marking with inanimate objects. In
G. Kaiser, &
M. Leonetti (Eds.),
Proceedings of the Workshop ‘Definiteness, Specificity and Animacy in Ibero-Romance Languages’ (pp. 63–84). Konstanz: Universität Konstanz.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
García García, M.
(
2014)
Differentielle Objektmarkierung bei unbelebten Objekten im Spanischen. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Iemmolo, G.
(
2011)
Towards a typological study of Differential Object Marking and Differential Object Indexation. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Pavia.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Laca, B.
(
1995 [1987])
Sobre el uso del acusativo preposicional en español. In
C. Pensado (Ed.),
El complemento directo preposicional (pp. 61–91). Madrid: Visor Libros.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Laca, B.
(
2002)
Gramaticalización y variabilidad- propiedades inherentes y factores contextuales en la evolución del acusativo preposicional en español. In
A. Wesch et al. (Eds.),
Sprachgeschichte als Varietätengeschichte/Historia de las variedades lingüísticas (pp. 195–203). Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lambrecht, K.
(
1994)
Information structure and sentence form: A theory of topic, focus, and the mental representations of discourse referents. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Leonetti, M.
(
2003)
Specificity and object marking: The case of Spanish a
. In
K. von Heusinger, &
G. Kaiser (Eds.),
Proceedings of the Workshop ‘Semantic and Syntactic Aspects of Specificity in Romance Languages’ (pp. 67–101). Konstanz: University of Konstanz.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Leonetti, M.
(
2004)
Specificity and differential object marking in Spanish.
Catalan Journal of Linguistics 3, 75–114.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lizárraga Navarro, G. Z., & Mora-Bustos, A.
(
2010)
Variación en la marcación diferenciada de objeto en español.
Forma y Función, 23(1), 9–38.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Melis, C.
(
1995)
El objeto directo personal en El Cantar de Mio Cid. Estudio sintáctico-pragmàtico. In
C. Pensado (Ed.),
El complemento directo preposicional (pp. 133–163). Madrid: Visor Libros.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Montrul, S.
(
2013)
La marcación diferencial del objeto directo en el español de Argentina: Un estudio experimental. In
L. Colantoni, &
C. Rodríguez-Louro (Eds.),
Perspectivas teóricas y experimentales sobre el español de la Argentina (pp. 207–228). Madrid & Frankfurt: Iberoamericana & Vervuert.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ocampo, F.
(
2009)
El orden de palabras en el español hablado. La construcción sujeto verbo objeto directo. In
M. Veyrat Rigat, &
E. Serra Alegre (Eds.),
La lingüística como reto epistemológico y como acción social: Estudios dedicados al Profesor Ángel López García con ocasión de su sexagésimo aniversario (pp. 501–511). Madrid: Arco Libros.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pensado, C.
(
1985)
La creación del objeto directo preposicional y la flexión de los pronombres personales en las lenguas románicas.
Revue Roumaine de Linguistique, 30(2), 123–58.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
R Core Team
(
2013)
R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
[URL]
Suñer, M.
(
1988)
The role of agreement in clitic doubled constructions.
Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 6(3), 391–434.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tippets, I.
(
2011)
Differential object marking: Quantitative evidence for underlying hierarchical constraints across Spanish dialects. In
L. Ortiz-López (Ed.),
Selected proceedings of the 13th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (pp. 107–117). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tippets, I., & Schwenter, S.
(
2007)
Relative animacy and differential object marking in Spanish. Paper presented at NWAV 36, Philadelphia, PA.
von Heusinger, K.
(
2008)
Verbal semantics and the diachronic development of DOM in Spanish.
Probus, 20, 1–31.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
von Heusinger, K., & Kaiser, G.
(
2003)
The interaction of animacy, definiteness, and specificity. In
K. von Heusinger, &
G. Kaiser (Eds.),
Proceedings of the Workshop ‘Semantic and Syntactic Aspects of Specificity in Romance Languages’ (pp. 41–65). Konstanz: Dept. of Linguistics, Konstanz University.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
von Heusinger, K., & Kaiser, G.
(
2011)
Affectedness and differential object marking in Spanish.
Morphology, 21(3–4), 593–617.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Weissenrieder, M.
(
1985)
Exceptional uses of the accusative a
.
Hispania, 68(2), 393–398.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
Bautista-Maldonado, Salvador & Silvina Montrul
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 26 june 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.