Affectedness and Differential Object Marking in Turkish and Uzbek

Abstract

Abstract This article explores the relationship between affectedness and Differential Object Marking (DOM) of indefinite direct objects in Turkish and Uzbek. We argue that the distribution of DOM in the two Turkic languages is determined by the direct objects’ specificity and animacy as nominal semantic properties, and affectedness as a verbal semantic property associated with the direct object. We provide original empirical evidence from two forced-choice studies that investigate DOM along the parameters of animacy, affectedness, and telicity, and their interaction with each other. Our findings indicate that affectedness shapes the distribution of DOM in both Turkish and Uzbek, with an interesting variation in how it is instantiated and interacts with animacy. The findings do not confirm an impact of telicity as an independent factor driving overt case marking in the languages investigated. Rather, its influence on DOM stems from interaction with affectedness.