A minimal cartography of Dierential Object Marking in Spanish

Abstract

In this paper we use a minimal cartography to show that DOM constructions
in Spanish have special properties that make them syntactically and semantically
dierent from non-DOM constructions. First, a-marked DOs have a dierent underlying structure. In their structure there is a relational projection (RelP) which is modied by Disjoint, giving the interpretation that the DP complement is a recipient of the action of the verb. Second, a-marked objects occupy a dierent position in the structure from non a-marked objects: while the former occupy the complement of proc(ess), the latter occupy a modier position. By establishing these two dierences, we provide a unied explanation for the special properties of DOM constructions that have been pointed out in previous works, like the presence of a or aectedness, specicity and animacy of the DO.