The role of information structure in the instantiation of objects

Evidence from Amazonian Spanish

Bibliographic Data

ID19544150
AuthorsRosa Vallejos (University of New Mexico, corresponding author), Evelyn Fernández-Lizárraga (0000-0001-6360-8548, Stanford University), Haley Patterson (University of Houston)
Year2020
Volume13
Issue1
Pages219-245
Publication date2020-05-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1939-0238 • E-ISSN: 2199-3386
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/shll-2020-2028
OpenAlexW3031419574
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited20

This study analyzes the instantiation of objects in Peruvian Amazonian Spanish (PAS) discourse in two communities with distinct linguistic contexts. We examine the impact of two social variables (gender and place) and nine linguistic variables (transitivity, animacy, definiteness, anaphora function, anaphora expression, cataphora function, cataphora expression, activation, topic persistence) on the speech of eight participants. Our findings indicate that null instantiation in PAS is pervasive, occurring with a range of verb lexemes. While neither gender nor place are significant predictors of null objects, various linguistic variables contribute to the instantiation of objects. The five significant variables as determined by a mixed model regression analysis include the following: animacy, definiteness, anaphora expression, cataphora expression, and activation status. Several findings are consistent with previous research (e. g. human and definite referents disfavor null objects), while other results differ (e. g. PAS propositions disfavor null objects). Activation status and anaphora expression are the most significant predictors of null objects in PAS. In particular, highly accessible referents in discourse and anaphoric null objects favored null objects in subsequent clauses. Thus, the results in the present study demonstrate the pivotal role of information structure in object instantiation, furthering the discussion on syntax-discourse interplay phenomena

Animacy · Definiteness · Linguistics · Syntax · Transitive relation · Computer Science · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation · Artificial Intelligence

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