Differential place marking beyond place names: Evidence from two Amazonian languages

Abstract

Some languages display variable marking on spatial adjuncts with the same semantic role – a phenomenon known as differential place marking (DPM). Recent studies of DPM have established two common typological claims regarding the motivations and morphological realizations of the phenomenon: 1. DPM is primarily motivated by noun semantics, mainly opposing place names and other nouns; and 2. DPM is primarily realized as a contrast between zero-marking of place names and contentful marking of other nouns in spatial adjunct role. This paper evaluates these claims against new fieldwork data from two Indigenous languages spoken in Northwestern Amazonia: Dâw (Naduhup) and Ticuna (isolate).  We demonstrate that DPM in these languages is conditioned by many factors beyond the contrast between place names and other nouns, including the perceptual and ontological properties of noun referents (i.e. size, boundedness); the morphosyntactic properties of verbs; and the semantics of verbs. We additionally argue that morphological realizations of DPM extend beyond contrasts between zero- and contentful marking. Rather, DPM in these languages is realized through alternation between markers of equal complexity, as well as through variation in the set of markers with which the adjunct can combine.