Differential object marking in kinship terms and animacy hierarchies in Old Sardinian

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the characteristics of Differential Object Marking (DOM) in kinship terms in Condaghe di San Pietro di Silki written in Logudorese Sardinian, and to demonstrate that the animacy hierarchy which governs the occurrence of DOM varies depending on the grammatical number of the direct object. In singular numbers, kinship terms are distinguished from animate common nouns in relation to the occurrence of DOM. On the other hand, in plural numbers, kinship terms and animate common nouns are not distinguished from each other as regards the occurrence of DOM. To conclude, we will structure animacy hierarchies regarding the occurrence of DOM and of the definite article.