Differential Object Marking in Romance: Towards microvariation

Differential object marking is a characteristic of many Romance languages, but a thorough investigation of this phenomenon raises numerous challenges. This volume brings together original papers addressing various aspects of differential object marking in Romance languages, focusing on micro-variation, from both a descriptive and formal perspective, touching on diachrony, language contact, synchrony, and using a large set of methodologies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 350 pages
Publication date: 15 October 2023
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Co

Differential marking as applied to direct objects has long been a topic of discussion in many Romance languages. While there is a general agreement that a thorough investigation into this phenomenon presents numerous challenges at both the empirical and theoretical levels, there is still a lack of consensus regarding the precise morpho-syntactic strategies that qualify as differential object marking, the possibility of unifying the data, and the appropriate formal and theoretical approaches to achieving such unity. Furthermore, a comprehensive study of differential object marking in many Romance languages, particularly at the micro-variation level, remains an area of need.

This volume aims to address various aspects of differential object marking in Romance languages, with a particular focus on micro-variation, from both a descriptive and formal perspective. The papers included in this volume explore diachrony, language contact, synchrony, and employ a wide range of methodologies.

The first section of the volume focuses on the theoretical and descriptive aspects of differential object marking. Contributors discuss the historical development of differential object marking in Romance languages, examine its typological distribution, and explore the relationship between differential object marking and other linguistic phenomena such as case marking, verb agreement, and nominal morphology. They also discuss the potential benefits and challenges of studying differential object marking from a theoretical perspective, including the insights it can provide into the nature of language and the cognitive processes involved in language production and comprehension.

The second section of the volume explores the micro-variation of differential object marking in different Romance languages. Contributors examine the patterns of variation across speakers, dialects, and regions, and discuss the factors that contribute to these variations, such as social factors, language contact, and historical change. They also explore the implications of micro-variation for language analysis and pedagogy, including the importance of accounting for variation in language data and the development of effective teaching strategies.

The third section of the volume focuses on the application of differential object marking to other fields of research, such as literary studies, cognitive linguistics, and language acquisition. Contributors discuss the use of differential object marking in the analysis of literary texts, the cognitive processes involved in its production and comprehension, and the role of differential object marking in language acquisition. They also explore the potential benefits of studying differential object marking in these fields, including the insights it can provide into the nature of language and the development of effective language learning strategies.

In conclusion, this volume brings together original papers addressing various aspects of differential object marking in Romance languages, focusing on micro-variation, from both a descriptive and formal perspective. The papers included in this volume contribute to our understanding of the nature and variability of differential object marking in Romance languages, and have implications for language analysis, pedagogy, and other fields of research. By exploring the theoretical and descriptive aspects of differential object marking, the micro-variation of differential object marking, and its applications to other fields of research, this volume provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of this important phenomenon in Romance languages.

ISBN-13: 9789027213907