Dative alternation in Brazilian Portuguese : typology and constraints
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on dative alternation in natural languages. Dative alternation in BP shows four structural possibilities: VP[V SN1 PP]; VP [V PP SN1]; VP [V SN1 SN2]; VP [V SN2 SN1]. These configurations involve two independent but related processes: variable position of the complement within the VP and variable use of the preposition in the dative complement. These processes are independent in the sense that the use of the preposition is possible with both positions of the indirect complement. They are related in the sense that adjacency of the complement to the verb tends to favor absence of the preposition. We posit that the four observed configurations can be treated as a variable process in the sense of Labov (1972) and investigate the variable position of the complement within the VP and the variable use of preposition. For complement position, we examine competing structural constraints such as size, structural complexity, and certain semantic properties (material or perceptual transfer between complements) of both the accusative and dative complements as well as discourse level constraints such as given/new information in the dative complement. Diachronic data show that the synchronic configurations are the effect of a process of change that involves the decline of the IO DO order. Variable use of the preposition is constrained by adjacency and semantic properties of the verb. Dative alternation in BP exhibits characteristics related to increase of abstractness following the pattern proposed by Heine (1981).
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Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese:
ypology and cons ain s
CHRISTINA ABREU GOMES
UFRJ (Fede al Uni e si y o Rio de Janei o)
Abs ac : The aim o his pape is o con ibu e o he discussion on da i e
al e na ion in na u al languages. Da i e al e na ion in BP shows ou s uc u al
possibili ies: VP[V SN1 PP]; VP [V PP SN1]; VP [V SN1 SN2]; VP [V SN2 SN1]. These
con igu a ions in ol e wo independen bu ela ed p ocesses: a iable posi ion
o he complemen wi hin he VP and a iable use o he p eposi ion in he da i e
complemen . These p ocesses a e independen in he sense ha he use o he
p eposi ion is possible wi h bo h posi ions o he indi ec complemen . They a e
ela ed in he sense ha adjacency o he complemen o he e b ends o a o
absence o he p eposi ion. We posi ha he ou obse ed con igu a ions can be
ea ed as a a iable p ocess in he sense o Labo (1972) and in es iga e he
a iable posi ion o he complemen wi hin he VP and he a iable use o
p eposi ion. Fo complemen posi ion, we examine compe ing s uc u al
cons ain s such as size, s uc u al complexi y, and ce ain seman ic p ope ies
(ma e ial o pe cep ual ans e be ween complemen s) o bo h he accusa i e
and da i e complemen s as well as discou se le el cons ain s such as gi en/new
in o ma ion in he da i e complemen . Diach onic da a show ha he synch onic
con igu a ions a e he e ec o a p ocess o change ha in ol es he decline o
he IO DO o de . Va iable use o he p eposi ion is cons ained by adjacency
and seman ic p ope ies o he e b. Da i e al e na ion in BP exhibi s
cha ac e is ics ela ed o inc ease o abs ac ness ollowing he pa e n p oposed
by Heine (1981).
1. In oduc ion
The phenomenon known as Da i e Al e na ion o Da i e Shi cons i u es
a complex challenge in he sea ch o linguis ic uni e sals. Languages
exhibi wo al e na i e syn ac ic con igu a ions: he oblique cons uc ion
[NP V NP PP] and/o he double objec cons uc ion [NP V NP NP]. The
condi ions unde which al e na ion occu s and, in pa icula , he s uc u al,
mo phological, and seman ic ac o s ha cons ain he use o he wo
o de s a e opics ha ha e been explo ed in de ail wi hin di e en
heo e ical amewo ks, anging om gene a i e o unc ionalis , and
using da a om se e al languages (English: E eschik-Shi 1979, Ba ss &
Lasnik 1986, La son 1988, Jackendo 1999, G oe sema 2000;
Language Design 5 (2003, 67-78)
68 Ch is ina Ab eu Gomes
Manda in/Can onese: Liejiong & Pey aube 1997; G eek: Kakou io is
1995; Dolakha Newa i: Gene i 1997).
The aim o his pape is o discuss he linguis ic ac o s ha
condi ion da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese (BP). In BP, he
indi ec complemen o a e b wi h bo h an indi ec and a di ec objec
(hence o h called ‘di ansi i e’ e bs) can be p eceded by a p eposi ion o
he p eposi ion may be absen . In his ex he adi ional labels - da i e
al e na ion, da i e shi , double objec cons uc ion - a e used e en hough
he da a in BP do no con o m en i ely o he classical pa e ns exhibi ed
by he Ge manic languages and o he languages ha ha e " ue" da i e
shi .
Spoken e nacula B azilian Po uguese shows ou s uc u al
possibili ies: V NP1 PP; V PP NP1; V NP1 NP2; V NP2 NP1, as illus a ed
in (1) - (4) bellow:
(1) Ma ia deu o li o a/pa a Ped o
Ma y ga e he book o Pe e
(2) Ma ia deu o li o Ø Ped o
Ma y ga e he book Ø Pe e
(3) Ma ia deu a/pa a Ped o o li o
Ma y ga e o Pe e he book
(4) Ma ia deu Ø Ped o o li o
Ma y ga e Ø Pe e he book
These con igu a ions, no all o which a e p esen in he s anda d
language, in ol e wo independen bu ela ed p ocesses - a iable
posi ion o he complemen wi hin he VP and a iable use o he
p eposi ion in he da i e complemen . The wo p ocesses, which we
examine in de ail below, a e go e ned by di e en cons ain s. Ou
esul s a e based on quan i a i e s udies (1) o da a collec ed in wo
samples o spoken Po uguese in he ci y o Rio de Janei o: he “Censo”
P ojec , ca ied ou in 1980, and he "T end" sample o 2000. The
pu pose o he la e sample was o u nish da a o he s udy o sho - e m
eal- ime change in p og ess (2).
Examples (1) - (4) a e su icien o show ha Da i e Al e na ion
in spoken e nacula B azilian Po uguese is di e en om o he
Romance languages, a leas in hei s anda d o ms. This di ec ly
Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese... 69
con adic s he claim o La son (1988:379), acco ding o which Da i e
Shi is una ailable in he Romance languages in gene al. In La son's
e ms, he p eposi ion ha in oduces indi ec complemen s (a ' o' in
Po uguese) would assign Oblique Case in Romance languages, bu
S uc u al Case in English and o he Ge manic Languages. Howe e ,
e en hough s anda d F ench and Spanish appa en ly bo h con o m o
La son's gene aliza ion (see Kayne 1981, La son 1988, Demon e 1995),
e nacula B azilian Po uguese does no - i exhibi s an al e na ion
be ween he oblique and double objec cons uc ions. Fu he mo e, I can
see no p incipled basis why o "gi e Jim he book" in English should be
analyzed di e en ly om "da Ped o o li o" in Po uguese, especially
wi h ega d o syn ac ic p ope ies such as case assignmen . La son's
claim is simply an unmo i a ed o e gene aliza ion ha con adic s he
empi ical ac s o B azilian Po uguese.
2. Synch onic s udy
As shown in examples (1)-(4), he p ocesses a e independen in he sense
ha he use o he p eposi ion is possible wi h bo h posi ions o he
indi ec complemen . None heless, hey a e ela ed in he sense ha
adjacency o he complemen o he e b ends o a o absence o he
p eposi ion. Quan i a i e analysis o synch onic da a om con empo a y
B azilian Po uguese e eals ha dele ion o he p eposi ion is a e. As a
as o de o he complemen s is conce ned, he s uc u e V DO IO is he
mos equen con igu a ion o di ansi i e e bs. I is impo an o no e
ha since anapho ic di ec objec s (DO) end o be null (Dua e 1986) in
BP, adjacency be ween an indi ec objec (IO) and a di ansi i e e b may
be a consequence o he absence o a di ec objec .
2.1 Va iable use o he p eposi ion
Examples (5) o (10) illus a e all o he ele an con ex s o he a iable
use o he p eposi ion ha in oduces he indi ec objec o a di ansi i e
e b.
(5) E pede um comp o an e ao p esiden e do mo o né? Pede Ø o seu
Au ino, pede um comp o an e Ø ele (Censo sample - 1980)
And (you) ask he P esiden o he Slum o a eceip . (you) ask (0) M .
Au ino, (you) ask o a eceip ( om) him.
70 Ch is ina Ab eu Gomes
(6) ai dei a ele o jogo (Censo sample - 1980)
Then I ga e him he game
(7) Aí Jesus C is o deu p a ele uma in eligência (Censo sample - 1980)
Then Jesus Ch is ga e him in elligence
(8) o ga o o esc e eu coisas lindas pa a o pai (Censo sample - 1980)
The boy w o e beau i ul hings o his a he
(9) ensina Ø o po o eg as básicas de saneamen o (Censo sample - 1980)
To each people basic sani a ion no ms
(10) Ela le a a a gen e semp e Ø o quad o p a aze as coisas (Censo
sample - 1980)
She always wen wi h us o he blackboa d o do hings
Examples (5) o (10) show ha he e a e, in ac , h ee a ian s: s uc u es
wi h he p eposi ion a ‘ o’, wi h he p eposi ion pa a ‘ o’ o ‘ o ’, and
wi h he null p eposi ion. Da i e al e na ion occu s only wi h e bs wi h a.
In gene al, he ac ion deno ed by he e b in ol es a ans e , whe he
ma e ial o no (3). A compa ison be ween he da a collec ed in he wo
samples men ioned abo e e eals ha pa a is cu en ly eplacing a in he
spoken language. The p eposi ion a is he o mal a ian , mos equen ly
used in o mal w i en and o mal spoken language. The ela i e
equency o pa a in he Censo sample is 49%; in he T end sample his
igu e inc eases o 85%. The examples also show ha he h ee a ian s
can occu in bo h posi ions o he IO; mo e speci ically, he p eposi ion
may be absen , whe he o no IO is adjacen o he e b and adjacency o
IO o he e b does no necessa ily imply dele ion o he p eposi ion.
The synch onic da a show ha he e is no con ex in which any o
he ou a ian s occu ca ego ically. In o he wo ds, he e is no con ex in
which he use o only one o ano he o he a ian s unde s udy is
pe mi ed. Pai s (5a) - (6), (5c) - (9), (7) - (8) e eal ha he gi en/new
dimension o he in o ma ion con ained in he noun ph ase does no
ca ego ically de e mine which a ian s a e used. Example (10) shows ha
he a iable use o he p eposi ion a ec s no only human IO’s in he goal
o bene icia y ole, bu also complemen s indica ing place. Thus, dele ion
o he p eposi ion can occu in BP e en when he p eposi ional ph ase is
no he ecipien (4).
Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese... 71
Examples (11)-(12) below exhibi sen ences wi h ligh e bs (da ‘gi e’ +
NP) and a human indi ec complemen . These e bs a e seman ically
emp y and o m a compound wi h he ollowing NP. The da a in (11) we e
collec ed in Censo sample. They show he ca ego ical use o p eposi ion
a. Bu he da a in (12), collec ed mo e ecen ly in he T end sample, show
he sp ead o a ia ion o a con ex ha exhibi ed ca ego ical p esence o
he p eposi ion a in he pas . They a e submi ed o he same p ocess
obse ed in examples (5) o (10) wi h ull meaning e bs.
(11) a. eles não dão mui a ên ase a isso (Censo sample - 1980)
They don' emphasize ha e y much
b eles não dão a enção ao caso (Censo sample - 1980)
hey don' pay a en ion o ha
(12) a. p a da con inuação Ø o abalho (T end sample - 2000)
in o de o con inue he wo k
b. não deu mui a inclinação pa a a pa e in elec ual (T end sample -
2000)
he didn' ha e much o a leaning owa d in ellec ual hings
c. que eu dou mui o alo a uma eunião (T end sample - 2000)
I hink mee ings a e impo an
As can be seen, he synch onic da a p o ide e idence ha oblique and
double objec cons uc ions o di ansi i e e bs wi h he p eposi ion a in
BP can be ea ed as a iable al e nan s, cons ained by s uc u al and
social ac o s. Since he e is no ca ego ical con ex o any gi en syn ac ic
s uc u e, hey can be labeled as al e nan s om a sociolinguis ic poin o
iew and he syn ac ic and seman ic cons ain s can be ega ded as
a o ing o dis a o ing each a ian . Quan i a i e analysis shows ha
adjacency a o s absence o he p eposi ion, while non-adjacency a o s
i s p esence. Adjacency is also he con ex in which he pa a a ian has
he high equency o occu ence. This dis ibu ion ein o ces he
assump ion ha he use o pa a is a s a egy o a oid dele ion, he
s igma ized a ian . The pa icle a is mo e equen ly used when i is
dis an om he e b. The use o p eposi ion pa a is also mo e equen
wi h human objec s and ull con en e bs. Fo mal s yles and highe
educa ional le els also a o he use o a (see Gomes (1999).
72 Ch is ina Ab eu Gomes
2.2 The o de o he complemen s
Assuming ha all o he obse ed con igu a ions could be ea ed as a
single a iable p ocess in he sense o Labo (1972), we in es iga ed he
a iable posi ion o he complemen wi hin he VP. We examined
compe ing s uc u al cons ain s on wo d o de such as size(5), s uc u al
complexi y, and ce ain seman ic p ope ies (ma e ial o pe cep ual
ans e be ween complemen s) o bo h he accusa i e and da i e
complemen s as well as discou se le el cons ain s such as gi en/new
in o ma ion in he da i e complemen . The da a collec ed in Censo
sample exhibi o e whelming occu ence o di ec o de (89%).
Diach onic da a show ha he synch onic con igu a ions a e he ou come
o a p ocess o change ha in ol es decline in he use o mo emen o he
da i e complemen . Table 1 below displays he equencies ound in
w i en documen s om B azil beginning in he 16 h cen u y.
Table 1. F equency o V OD OI o de
XVI XVII XVIII XIX
Apl/To al 19/40 17/28 11/16 29/39
F equency 47% 60% 68% 74%
Examples (13) o (18) display a se o dis inc con ex s:
(13) não em um ca a lá na I ália que endo da um p esen e Ø o Papa?
(Censo sample - 1980)
Isn’ he e a guy in I aly wan ing o gi e a p esen ( o) he Pope?
(14) ensina Ø o po o eg as básicas de saneamen o
To each people basic sani a ion no ms
(15)Eu não sabia que ocê ia pedi o dinhei o a ele”( Censo sample)
I didn' know ha you we e going o ask him o money
(16) Aí dei a ele o jogo (Censo sample)
Then I ga e him he game
(17) eu ala ia com o João pa a me da um emp ego melho Ø os meus
ilhos (Censo sample)
I would ell John o gi e me a be e job ( o) my child en
Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese... 73
(18) Que da am condições de ida legal pa a o pessoal
Tha hey p o ided enough o a good li e o hem
The pai s in (13) - (14) and (15) - (16) show ha a iable o de is possible
wi h bo h new and gi en in o ma ion. Examples (14)-(17) show bo h
possibili ies o complemen posi ion wi hin he VP, independen ly o he
size o he IO. Finally, (14)-(18), in compa ison wi h (13)-(17), a e
examples o di e en le els o ph ase complexi y o DO.
Quan i a i e analysis (see Gomes e alli, 2002) e eals ha di ec o de
[NP V NP PP/ NP] is a o ed when he da i e complemen (wi h o
wi hou he p eposi ion) is bigge han DO (mo e han 5 syllables), is
mo e complex, and ca ies new in o ma ion. Ve bs o ma e ial ans e
(da o li o a Ped o ‘gi e he book o Pe e ’) also end o a o di ec
o de while e bal o pe cep ual ans e e bs (dize a e dade a alguém
‘ ell he u h o someone’) a o indi ec o de (6).
3. Fu he ema ks
The e is cu en ly a deba e in he li e a u e as o he s uc u al na u e o
e nacula B azilian Po uguese. One line o hough a ibu es ypical
a iable ea u es such as a iable subjec / e b conco d o a pos ula ed
c eolized s age o he language in B azil (c . Sil a Ne o (1951), Guy
(1981, 1989) Bax e & Lucchesi (1997) Bax e , Lucchesi & Guima ães
(1997), Lucchesi (2000)) , while ano he iew a ibu es hese same
ea u es o he ope a ion o a d i wi hin he language b ough om
Po ugal (c . Re ah (1963), Na o & Sche e (1993, 2000)). In his con ex ,
we e lec on whe he he si ua ion desc ibed in his a icle should be
asc ibed o a possible C eole o igin o Popula B azilian Po uguese o
whe he is i migh be he consequence o an in e nal d i . In o he wo ds,
should da i e al e na ion in BP be iewed as he esul o con ac o
Eu opean Po uguese wi h A ican Languages which di e om Romance
Languages in ela ion o he ma king o da i e cons uc ions (7) o migh
i simply e lec in e nal g amma ical possibili ies?
E idence om A chaic Po uguese (11 h o 15 h cen u ies) shows ha
some o he a ian s in ol ed in da i e al e na ion (p esence x lack o
p eposi ion and di e en wo d o de ) ha e been p esen o cen u ies in
he g amma o Po uguese. Elsewhe e, we ha e documen ed he lack o
p eposi ion and he p esence o he p eposi ion pa a in ex s om he
a chaic pe iod (8), as exempli ied below:
74 Ch is ina Ab eu Gomes
(19) "e daqui a an e em cada mês ele a eque e [ ] odolos o iciães em
p esença de seus esc iuães que lhe deçla em se eçebe ão mais algũa
cousa ou he ec a alguma despesa da que a iam."(p. 19)
and om now on each mon h he will equi e all o ice s, in he p esence
o his no a ies, ha hey decla e i hey ecei ed any hing else o i he e
was any expendi u e om he ??? ha hey had
Li o dos Conselhos de El- ei D. Dua e (Li o da Ca uxa), Lisboa,
Edi o ial Es ampa, 1982 ( ex s w i en be ween 1423 and 1438)
The da a we e no submi ed o quan i a i e analysis, bu hey pe mi an
impo an conclusion abou Po uguese g amma : he s uc u al
con igu a ions ound oday a e he e lex o s uc u al al e nan s o he
pas . We ha e shown, based on bo h synch onic quan i a i e e idence and
diach onic da a, ha da i e al e na ion is wi hin he s uc u al scope o a
Romance language. The al e na ion is be e desc ibed as a sociolinguis ic
a iable.
The si ua ion obse ed a he end o he 20 h cen u y can be
iewed as he esul o a endency owa d he c ys alliza ion o V OD OI
o de . We also obse e he sp ead o use o he p eposi ion pa a wi h
inc eased abs ac ness in acco d wi h he abs ac ness cycle p oposed by
Heine e al., 1981): PERSON > OBJECT> SPACE> TIME> PROCESS >
QUALITY. The cycle ini ially p oposed o explain unidi ec ionali y in
p ocesses o g amma icaliza ion can also be ela ed o inc ease o
abs ac ness in meaning. The a ~pa a ~ Ø al e na ion is a p ocess o
change in which a is being eplaced by pa a in he coding o seman ic
ela ions in a con inuum om [+conc e e] o [+abs ac ]. Besides
occu ing wi h NP’s ma ked as [+anima e], he use o pa a sp eads o
con ex s in which a was ea lie he only possibili y o was p e e ed such
as NP’s ma ked as [-ANIMATE, +ABSTRACT]..
No es
(1) see Gomes (1999), (2000) and (2001).
(2) The Censo da Va iação Lingüís ica Resea ch P ojec collec ed da a on he
u ban dialec spoken in he ci y o Rio de Janei o, B azil, om 1982 o 1984 (c .
Oli ei a e Sil a, 1996). The sample consis s o 64 speake s and is s a i ied o
age, gende , and le el o o mal educa ion. The sample eco ded in 2000 con ains
da a om 32 speake s. In bo h samples speake s a e dis ibu ed acco ding o
di e en le els o he social pa ame e s men ioned: a)- age: 7 - 14; 15 - 25; 26 -
49; 50 - 70; b) le el o o mal educa ion: elemen a y school, junio high, high
Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese... 75
school. The sociolinguis ic in e iews we e collec ed by ained ield wo ke s
using s anda d sociolinguis ic me hodology. The T end sample is s a i ied in he
same way as he Censo sample.
(3) - ma e ial ans e :
da ‘ o gi e’ (p o o ypical) - da o li o a alguém ‘ o gi e he book o someone’.
Examples: emp es a ‘ o loan’, ‘ o bo ow’, en ia ‘ o send’.
- e bal o pe cep ual ans e :
dize ‘ o say, speak, ell, alk’ (p o o ypical) - dize umas pala as a alguém ‘ o
say some wo ds o someone’.
Examples: ensina ‘ o each’, ala ‘ o say’, pe gun a ‘ o ask’, esponde ‘ o
answe ’.
(4) Mazu kewich 1984 p oposed ha wo con ex s -- one mo phological, and he
o he seman ic -- o he double objec cons uc ion in English. The
mo phological con ex dis inguishes na i e om La in o igin e bs and pos ula es
ha only na i e e bs pe mi he double objec cons uc ion
: a. Pe e old/* epo ed his boss he news;
b. The p o esso showed/*demons a ed us his new me hods;
c. Paul go /*ob ained his gi l iend a icke .
The e is an excep ion o La in e bs wi h wo syllables such o e and p omise.
The seman ic es ic ion pos ula es ha he en i y o which he heme is
ans e ed, ha is, he ecipien , should be capable o owne ship. Places canno
exe cise owne ship:
a.*I sen a le e o England/ * Pe e opened he old lady a doo .
Bu i we eplace England by Helen we ge :
b. I sen Helen a le e .
In he a sen ences, he IO indica es a change o posi ion and no o possesso
while Helen implies bo h. MAZURKEWICH,I. (1984) The acquisi ion o he
da i e al e na ion by second language lea ne s and linguis ic heo y, Language
Lea ning 34, p.91-109. Acho que odos es es de alhes do inglês são i ele an es
pa a o eu a igo e podem cansa o lei o .
(5) Size was measu ed by numbe o syllables
(6) A possible explana ion is ha e bal o pe cep ual ans e e bs end o appea
wi h sen en ial objec s, which a e always in inal posi ion in he VP.
(7) Acco ding o Gonçal es (1996:47-48), in Ban u languages (Tsunga and Yao
(Y)) he e is no g amma ical ma k, whe he o no he bene icia y NP ha
co esponds o an oblique cons uc ion in Po uguese occupies he posi ion adjacen
o he e b: