Differential object marking in Chavacano

초록

This research investigates differential object marking in the Zamboanga dialect of Chavacano (ZChav), a Spanish-based Creole spoken in Zamboanga region in the south of the Philippines. Using various diagnostics, we show that differential object marking in ZChav correlates with epistemic specificity and discourse-linkedness. We ultimately tie both of these phenomena to the notion of the Common Ground and propose that it underlies the distribution of the differential object marker. We further make some notes on the interaction between differential object marking and word order in ZChav. ZChav is a VSO language; however, with non-specific objects the word order VOS is found. For VSO order, we propose that the object raises out of the VP and that the remnant VP raises to SpecTP. For VOS order, we propose that the non-specific object remains inside the VP and that the VP (V+O) raises to SpecTP.

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