Differential object marking is a linguistic phenomenon that is present in more than 300 languages; the term was coined by Georg Bossong. It is a form of differential argument marking that applies to the direct object.
Overview
In languages where DOM is active, direct objects are divided in two different classes, depending on different meanings, and, in most DOM languages, only one of the classes receives a marker, the other being unmarked. Direct objects that are higher in "prominence" is more likely to be overtly case-marked. The "prominence" is evaluated in the following ways: These scales are also reflected in Silverstein’s person/animacy hierarchy.
Some dialectal variation has been attested regarding the use of DOM in different varieties of Spanish. Balasch finds that, while the linguistic factors conditioning the use of DOM remain the same in both Mérida Spanish and Madrid Spanish, DOM appears much more often in Madrid data. Furthermore, Tippets and Schwenter find that a factor known as relative animacy is quite important in the implementation of DOM in varieties of Spanish such as Buenos Aires and Madrid Spanish.
In languages like Turkish, Kazakh language and Sakha, more "prominent" objects take an overt accusative marker while nonspecific ones do not. Lack of an overt case marker can restrict an object's distribution in the sentence. Those orders are permitted in Sakha if accusative case is overtly expressed: Sakha However, when the object is nonspecific, alternative ordering is not permitted: Sakha When the direct object is low on the definiteness scale, it must directly precede the verb, whereas alternative ordering is possible when the direct object is higher in prominence.
Other languages
Other examples of languages with differential object marking are Persian, Turkish, Copala Triqui, Khasi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kham, Hebrew and Amharic. A number of languages in Mozambique also show differential object marking. In Turkish, the direct object can either have accusative case or have no case at all; when it has accusative case, it is interpreted as specific, and otherwise it is interpreted as nonspecific. Differential Object Marking is not only found in spoken languages, but also in sign languages. In German Sign Language, for example, animate direct objects receive an additional marker while inanimate direct objects do not. This is different from what happens in non-DOM languages, where all direct objects are uniformly marked in the same way; for instance, a language could mark all direct objects with an accusative ending ; other language could leave all direct objects without overt marker.
