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oa The interaction between animacy, definiteness and topicality in the historical development of Differential Object Marking in Spanish
Steps towards a more complete overview
- Source: Nota Bene, Volume 1, Issue 2, Dec 2024, p. 293 - 313
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- 08 Apr 2024
- 08 Jun 2024
- 24 Jan 2025
Abstract
Abstract
Usage of a as a marker of direct objects in Spanish has been a popular topic of research, but there is no clarity on how different factors interact. The current investigation looks at the historical change in usage of a, focussing on animacy, definiteness, and topicality. We analyzed the extent to which historical texts follow state-of-the-art theories, by combining automatic and manual annotation. The results indicate that the investigated texts to a large extent confirm existing theories, with some aspects worth noting. First of all, inanimate definite objects sometimes carry a, which is impossible according to prescriptive grammars. Second, we found an increase in the usage of a with definite human referents through time, which was predicted by Aissen (2003), although the limited amount of available data prevents us from drawing definitive conclusions. Furthermore, there is tentative evidence that topicality plays a role.