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Differential objects and datives – a homogeneous class?
Edited by Monica Alexandrina Irimia and Anna Pineda
[Lingvisticæ Investigationes 42:1] 2019
► pp. 56–81

dom as a syntax-pragmatics interface marker

Evidence from Catalan

| Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona – Centre de Lingüística Teòrica

Building on the display of dom in Catalan and focusing on the Balearic variety, this paper explores this phenomenon arguing for a discourse-driven marking, showing that the assumption that semantic hierarchies as crucial triggers for dom cannot be assumed anymore. We aim to present some ideas to address the correlation between prepositional markings and peripheral positions and to provide arguments for a syntax-pragmatics approach to dom in Clitic Dislocation. Our data shed light on the link between information structure – in particular, anaphoricity- and marked objects. This analysis would also account for other markers (i.e. de) available as a mechanism for signalling the same [+anaphoric] feature.

Keywords: differential object marking, clitic dislocation, Catalan, information structure, accusative case
Article outline
  • 1.Goals
  • 2.Introduction: Differential object marking as a multidimensional phenomenon
    • 2.1DO+dom and IO: Identical nature?
  • 3.The case of Balearic Catalan: Some facts and data
  • 4. dom in Clitic Left Dislocation and Clitic Right Dislocation
  • 5.Towards a tentative proposal
  • 6.What can diachrony tell us?
  • 7.A possible extension: De as a marker
  • 8.Conclusions and further research
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 10 July 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/li.00029.kho
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