Differential object marking and reference tracking in the Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialect of Christian Urmi

• Applicant: Dr. Maria Ovsjannikova
• Subject Area: General and Comparative Linguistics, Experimental Linguistics, Typology, Non-European Languages
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 540571440

The project aims at an in-depth corpus-based investigation of differential object marking (DOM) in the Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialect of Christian Urmi (Semitic). The system of DOM in Christian Urmi includes both differential object flagging (DOF) and differential object indexing (DOI). This project will contribute to the understanding of the division of labor between these two phenomena, when co-existing in the same language. It is generally acknowledged that DOM is a phenomenon largely rooted in discourse (Dalrymple & Nikolaeva 2011; Iemmolo 2010; Schikowski 2013). Still, the existing studies of DOM in various languages operate with the parameters such as definiteness, specificity, and topic-focus relations, which are mainly confined to the clause containing the object. This project will look at DOM in Christian Urmi at two levels of granularity. First, we will analyze DOM as an integral part of the reference-tracking system and examine its contribution as a discourse-structuring mechanism. The study will focus on the ways participants are introduced and mentioned further in discourse, with special attention to the grammatical means of object expression (e.g., lexical noun phrase indexed on the verb vs. indexing only, etc.). Second, at the clause level, we will adopt a bottom-up approach, assessing the role of low-level semantic and grammatical distinctions in the choice of object-marking strategies, in particular the semantic classes of the object and the verb and the tense and aspect of the clause. Apart from analyzing the linguistic predictors of DOM in Christian Urmi, we will compare the DOM system as represented in modf ern spoken corpora to that observed in the older written texts of this dialect and in related dialects. Over the entire course of the project, we will analyse the DOM system in Christian Urmi against a broader intragenetic and typological background and assess its place in the typology of DOM systems.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Israel
• International Co-Applicant: Professorin Dr. Alena Witzlack-Makarevich