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Differential Object Marking in Spanish: A Quantitative Variationist Study

Tippets, Ian Robert
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1282049112

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Spanish and Portuguese.
This dissertation addresses the variable nature of the linguistic phenomenon known as Differential Object Marking (DOM) as it is manifested in Spanish. More commonly known in the literature as the personal a or the accusative a, this phenomenon has been attributed primarily to marking animate, predominantly human, direct objects. However, this marking is considerably more variable when observed in actual usage, permitting the marking of non-human referents as well as not always occurring with human referents. This variation in marking is a prime candidate for variationist methodologies and the present dissertation quantifies the distribution of DOM in the spoken language of three dialects of Spanish in order to realize a multivariate analysis. The data is culled from three transcribed corpora, one from Buenos Aires, one from Madrid and one from Mexico City. To evaluate what factors are relevant in these dialects as well as to provide a general model of how the a-marking phenomenon works broadly, the multivariate statistical program Goldvarb is used to assess the data. The principal findings of the dissertation include identifying a unifying concept, individuation, which is able to account for significant components of the data. The individuating factors found to be primarily responsible in accounting for observed variation in a-marking include animacy, definiteness, specificity and number. Additionally, the relationship between a-marking and topicality is explored more fully as a result of implementing particular quantifiable metrics. It is shown that marking correlates with a relative notion of topicality wherein those objects which are frequent and have proximal coreferential expressions are more likely to be marked. Finally, dialectal distinctions are found when comparing the factors found to be significant in each dialect. The empirical data obtained through this quantitative approach to a-marking provide concrete evidence to show how Spanish Differential Object Marking is motivated by multiple factors.
Scott Schwenter, PhD (Committee Chair)
Terrell Morgan, PhD (Committee Member)
Rebeka Campos-Astorkiza, PhD (Committee Member)
216 p.
Linguistics
Differential object marking; personal a; goldvarb; variation; Spanish; Buenos Aires, Madrid; Mexico City; topicality; specificity; definiteness

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Tippets, I. R. (2010). Differential Object Marking in Spanish: A Quantitative Variationist Study [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1282049112

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Tippets, Ian. Differential Object Marking in Spanish: A Quantitative Variationist Study. 2010. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1282049112.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Tippets, Ian. "Differential Object Marking in Spanish: A Quantitative Variationist Study." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1282049112

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1282049112
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© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.