Differential object marking in Neo-Aramaic

Bibliographic Data

ID4943028
AuthorsEleanor Coghill (0000-0002-0451-4397, University of Konstanz, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume52
Issue2
Publication date2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLinguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0024-3949 • E-ISSN: 1613-396X
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/ling-2013-0065
OpenAlexW2133563735
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited16

Many languages differentiate between different types of objects, commonly marking definite or highly animate objects. Crosslinguistically, two strategies for differentiating such objects are attested. One is differential object flagging (DOF), whereby an object is flagged by a case-marker or adposition. Another is differential object agreement (DOA), whereby the verb agrees with the object. A third strategy is to combine DOF and DOA, as happens in some North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) dialects. This paper will focus on one such case, the Telkepe dialect, spoken in the town of Telkepe in northern Iraq. Definiteness is the main factor behind both object agreement and flagging in Telkepe: animacy does not seem to play a role. However, not all definite objects are marked as such. Objects that are generic or semantically integrated with the verb, even if activated in the previous discourse, tend not to be marked. Definite objects that are in focus also lack marking: differential object marking correlates with topic-hood, not only with the primary but also the secondary topic. These conditions for DOM are similar to Nikolaeva's (2001) findings for Ostyak. The situation in Telkepe is compared with the situation in other NENA dialects and with DOM in earlier stages of the Aramaic language. The regional parallels are also discussed, as are the possibilities of contact influence between Aramaic and Arabic dialects

Definiteness · Differential (mechanical device) · Flagging · Focus (optics) · Linguistics · Object (grammar) · Physics · Verb · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Computer Science · History · Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation