DOM and dative case

Barany, Andras

Abstract

In some languages with DOM, the exponents of DOM and dative are homophonous, e.g. in Spanish and Hindi. I argue that this pattern is not due to DOM objects and indirect objects being represented identically in syntax, but due to syncretism between accusative and dative case in these languages. This is indicated by a number of syntactic tests which group DOM objects with morphologically zero-coded direct objects, rather than with indirect objects, including nominalisation, relativisation, controlling secondary predicates, and passivisation. I suggest that languages with a ditransitive alternation between direct/indirect and primary/secondary objects provide further support for the syntactic difference of DOM and dative objects.

Citation

Barany, A. (2018). DOM and dative case. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 3(1), 1-40. https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.639

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 21, 2018
• Publication Date: Sep 7, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 31, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 31, 2018
• Journal: Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics
• Electronic ISSN: 2397-1835
• Publisher: Open Library of Humanities
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-40
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.639
• Keywords: Differential object marking, Direct objects, Indirect objects, Dative, Accusative, Case syncretism