Cover not available

In:Contemporary Trends in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics: Selected papers from the Hispanic Linguistic Symposium 2015
Edited by Jonathan E. MacDonald
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 15] 2018
► pp. 121–142

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
authorization required

Chapter 6
Are Argentines a-blind?

Acceptability of a-marked inanimate direct objects

 | The Ohio State University
Published online: 14 February 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.15.07hof
Abstract
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 (34)
References
Aissen, J. (2003). Differential object marking: Iconicity vs. economy. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 21(3), 435–483. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
Bentivoglio, P. (1983). Continuity and discontinuity in discourse: A study on Latin American Spoken Spanish. In T. Givón (Ed.), Topic continuity in discourse: A quantitative cross-language study (pp. 255–311). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bossong, G. (1985). Empirische Universalienforschung. Differentielle Objektmarkierung in der neuiranischen Sprachen. Tübingen: Narr.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Company, C. (2002). Grammaticalization and category weakness. In I. Wischer, & G. Diewald (Eds.), New reflections on grammaticalization (pp. 201–215). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
(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 logo with link to Google Scholar
Fábregas, A. (2013). Differential object marking in Spanish: State of the art. Borealis: An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics, 2(2), 1–80. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
(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 logo with link to Google Scholar
(2014). Differentielle Objektmarkierung bei unbelebten Objekten im Spanischen. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Givón, T. (1983). Topic continuity in discourse: An introduction. In T. Givón (Ed.), Topic continuity in discourse: A quantitative cross-language study (pp. 1–41). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Iemmolo, G. (2011). Towards a typological study of Differential Object Marking and Differential Object Indexation. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Pavia.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
(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 logo with link to Google Scholar
Lambrecht, K. (1994). Information structure and sentence form: A theory of topic, focus, and the mental representations of discourse referents. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
(2004). Specificity and differential object marking in Spanish. Catalan Journal of Linguistics 3, 75–114. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
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. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
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. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
(2011). Affectedness and differential object marking in Spanish. Morphology, 21(3–4), 593–617. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Weissenrieder, M. (1985). Exceptional uses of the accusative a . Hispania, 68(2), 393–398. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

de Crignis, Patricia
2025. Differential object marking—or what makes a good Spanish speaker? Findings from German learners of Spanish, heritage speakers, and L1 speakers from Spain and Argentina. International Journal of Bilingualism DOI logo
Hoff, Mark
2025. La variación gramático‐léxica del español rioplatense (Argentina). In Enciclopedia concisa de los dialectos del español en el mundo, ► pp. 751 ff. DOI logo
Wall, Albert, Senta Zeugin, Philipp Obrist, Patrick Santos Rebelo & Johannes Kabatek
2025. Prominence scales and variation in differential object marking: experimental evidence from Ibero-Romance. Probus 37:1 ► pp. 115 ff. DOI logo
Bautista-Maldonado, Salvador & Silvina Montrul
2019. An experimental investigation of differential object marking in Mexican Spanish. Spanish in Context 16:1 ► pp. 22 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 december 2025. 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.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue