Verbal Semantics and the Diachronic Development of Differential ...

Verbal semantics and the diachronic development of DOM in Spanish 21
Table 8: Percentage of DOM with indefinite human direct objects
(Bible translations of 1+2 Samuel and 1+2 Kings)
Table 9 summarizes both charts and shows that the distribution of DOM depends on (i) the
timeline, (ii) the position of the Referentiality Scale, and (iii) the verb class. It is very
interesting to note that for the latter two contextual factors the “distance” stays constant
through time. Take, for example, the contrast between definite human and indefinite human
direct objects for class 2 (ver / hallar). In translations A-C, the distance in percentages of
DOM between these two contexts stays around 20-25%. Take the distance in percentage for
definite human direct objects between the three verb classes (dotted lines). The difference
stays between 10% to 15% in all four translations. This observation would fit the Constant
Rate Hypothesis of Kroch (1989). However, it is hard to decide for this data whether the
curve for each context (verb class and position of the Referentiality Scale) is S-shaped or not.
See section 6 for a more detailed discussion of these issues.