<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This paper offers an argument to analyse the Spanish form /a/ as a syncretic case marker for accusative differential object marking (<sc>dom</sc>) and dative. The literature on free relative clauses has established that syncretism allows the repair of feature mismatches arising from contradictory selectional requirements between the matrix and the embedded predicates. By combining clitic left dislocation constructions (CLLD) and free relatives, it is shown here that <sc>dom</sc> and dative grant the same repairing effect in Spanish, so it follows that they must be syncretic categories. The same type of configuration distinguishes the directional preposition <italic>a</italic> and the dative case marker, which is taken to indicate that these elements are mere homophones in the language. Furthermore, an analysis of the repairing effect of syncretism is offered.</p></abstract>

This paper offers an argument to analyse the Spanish form /a/ as a syncretic case marker for accusative differential object marking (dom) and dative. The literature on free relative clauses has established that syncretism allows the repair of feature mismatches arising from contradictory selectional requirements between the matrix and the embedded predicates. By combining clitic left dislocation constructions (CLLD) and free relatives, it is shown here that dom and dative grant the same repairing effect in Spanish, so it follows that they must be syncretic categories. The same type of configuration distinguishes the directional preposition a and the dative case marker, which is taken to indicate that these elements are mere homophones in the language. Furthermore, an analysis of the repairing effect of syncretism is offered.

A further argument for a syncretic analysis of DOM and dative in Spanish

Topics in Linguistics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"A further argument for a syncretic analysis of DOM and dative in Spanish"}

This paper offers an argument to analyse the Spanish form /a/ as a syncretic case marker for accusative differential object marking (dom) and dative. The...

A further argument for a syncretic analysis of DOM and dative in Spanish

Published Online: Jun 22, 2020

Page range: 62 - 73

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/topling-2020-0004

Keywords
free relatives, clitic left dislocation, differential object marking, dative, syncretism, Spanish

© 2020 Carlos Muñoz Pérez, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

A further argument for a syncretic analysis of DOM and dative in Spanish

Published Online: Jun 22, 2020

Page range: 62 - 73

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/topling-2020-0004

Keywordsfree relatives, clitic left dislocation, differential object marking, dative, syncretism, Spanish

© 2020 Carlos Muñoz Pérez, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
free relatives, clitic left dislocation, differential object marking, dative, syncretism, Spanish