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This paper examines two different strategies found in direct object encoding on the basis of a sample of 159 languages. In particular, this paper deals with the differences between symmetric (i.e. the alternation between two or more overt markers) and asymmetric (i.e. the alternation between a zero and one of more overt markers) alternations. The investigation is aimed at determining whether there are any evident cross-linguistic regularities with respect to the factors involved in these two kinds of alternation. It will be argued that the difference in the formal realization of direct object encoding is related to the distinct functions that these two structures perform cross-linguistically.While asymmetric alternations are regulated by referential properties of the direct object referent, symmetric alternations are governed by parameters related to verbal semantics, such as affectedness and boundedness, polarity, and quantification

This paper examines the interaction of DOM with information structure in Mandarin Chinese. Despite the large amount of works on this topic, much remains to be explained, in particular with respect to some alternations that do not easily fit the explanations proposed so far in terms of affectedness, animacy and definiteness. Through the analysis of text excerpts taken from the Corpus of Modern Chinese of the Center for Chinese Linguistics (CCL) of Peking University, we argue that, in addition to previously identified constraints, DOM in Mandarin Chinese performs another important function in discourse, namely that of signalling the high identifiability of the marked referent

This paper examines the interaction of DOM with information structure in Mandarin Chinese. Despite the large amount of works on this topic, much remains to be explained, in particular with respect to some alternations that do not easily fit the explanations proposed so far in terms of affectedness, animacy and definiteness. Through the analysis of text excerpts taken from the Corpus of Modern Chinese of the Center for Chinese Linguistics (CCL) of Peking University, we argue that, in addition to previously identified constraints, DOM in Mandarin Chinese performs another important function in discourse, namely that of signalling the high identifiability of the marked referent.

This paper examines two different strategies found in direct object encoding on the basis of a sample of 159 languages. In particular, this paper deals with the differences between symmetric (i.e. the alternation between two or more overt markers) and asymmetric (i.e. the alternation between a zero and one of more overt markers) alternations. The investigation is aimed at determining whether there are any evident cross-linguistic regularities with respect to the factors involved in these two kinds of alternation. It will be argued that the difference in the formal realization of direct object encoding is related to the distinct functions that these two structures perform cross-linguistically.While asymmetric alternations are regulated by referential properties of the direct object referent, symmetric alternations are governed by parameters related to verbal semantics, such as affectedness and boundedness, polarity, and quantification

This paper examines the interaction of DOM with information structure in Mandarin Chinese. Despite the large amount of works on this topic, much remains to be explained, in particular with respect to some alternations that do not easily fit the explanations proposed so far in terms of affectedness, animacy and definiteness. Through the analysis of text excerpts taken from the Corpus of Modern Chinese of the Center for Chinese Linguistics (CCL) of Peking University, we argue that, in addition to previously identified constraints, DOM in Mandarin Chinese performs another important function in discourse, namely that of signalling the high identifiability of the marked referent