Object-, animacy- and role-based strategies: A typology of object marking

The present paper discusses the marking of objects in ditransitive clauses. On the basis of the factors conditioning the marking, three strategies are distinguished. These are labeled as object-, animacy- and role-based strategies. In the first case, the mere objecthood (i.e. the contrast to the Agent) determines the marking of objects. In the animacy-based strategy, animate Themes and Recipients are encoded in the same way as animate Patients, while the marking of inanimate Themes corresponds to inanimate Patients. In the role-based strategy, Theme and Recipient are marked on the basis of the semantic roles they bear. All the types are examined in light of cross-linguistic data, in addition to which the rationale behind the types is also discussed. It is shown that the three strategies suffice to explain object marking in ditransitives and that the strategies can all be explained on the basis of the nature of three-participant events and the principles of economy and distinctiveness.