Clitic doubling
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, clitic doubling, or pronominal reduplication is a phenomenon by which clitic
pronoun
s appear in verb
phrases together with the full noun phrase
s that they refer to (as opposed to the cases where such pronouns and full noun phrases are in complementary distribution
).
Clitic doubling is found in many languages, including Albanian
, Arumanian, Macedonian
, Bulgarian
, Degema
, Greek
, Persian
, Romanian
, Somali
, and Spanish
.
The conditions on clitic doubling vary from language to language, generally depending on well-known properties of the objects along the Animacy Hierarchy (allowing, requiring, or forbidding clitic-doubling for different kinds of objects). In this regard, clitic doubling for objects can be viewed as a species of Differential Object Marking
.
In such constructions, the indirect object can be expressed both as a full noun phrase and as a clitic in order to note that the noun phrase beginning with a (to) should be understood as an indirect object:
The above, if literally translated into English, would be redundant:
This usage is not compulsory, and it would also be valid to say: "Siempre ofrezco café a mis invitados", without clitic doubling.
Similarly, the direct object may also be doubled, with both the direct object pronoun and the full noun phrase, but this is not as common as indirect clitic doubling and is usually a matter of style.
One particular use is to clarify emphatic structures:
, although it is considered incorrect by some.
Example: a me mi pare di sì ("I [personally, for what I am concerned] think so")
Te gh'el diset ti a la Rina che l'è staa luu?
Will you tell OR Would you mind telling Rina it was him [who did it]?
Usually clitics double second singular person subject and third singular and plural subject.
The above, if literally translated into English, would be redundant:
'My parents come tomorrow'
'Marco comes tomorrow'
'You come tomorrow'
Interrogative subjects clitics double also other subjects. They attach to the verb:
'Do you (pl.) sing as well?'
Accusative clitics double first and second singular/plural direct object
In some varieties of the language, also dative clitics may double and indirect object, even of third person:
, clitic doubling is obligatory with definite
direct and indirect objects, which contrasts with standard Bulgarian where clitic doubling is optional. Non-standard dialects of Macedonian and Bulgarian have differing rules regarding clitic doubling.
, as it does in Romance and Slavic languages. However, clitic doubling in Degema is not associated with the presence of a preposition as in Romance languages like Spanish nor is it associated with topicality or specificity as in Slavic languages like Bulgarian. Rather, what make clitic doubling in Degema possible are syntactic (movement and anaphoricity) and discourse (emphasis and/or familiarity) factors (Kari 2003) Consider (1) below:
(1) Eni mo=sire
elephant cl=run
'An elephant is running'
In (1) the subject noun phrase (NP) 'Eni' is doubled by the clitic 'mo='. The clitic agrees in person, number and case with the doubled subject NP.
Example (2) shows that specific and non-specific subjects in Degema can be doubled by a clitic:
(2) Eni mo=rere (non-specific)
elephant cl=walk
'An elephant is walking'
Eni mee mo=rere (specific)
elephant my cl=walk
'My elephant is walking'
Example (3) shows that both topicalized and non-topicalized NPs in Degema can be doubled by a clitic:
(3) Okper o=kun esen (non-topicalized)
Otter cl=catch.factative fish
'An Otter caught a fish'
Okper nu o=kun esen (topicalized)
Otter Focus marker cl=catch.factative fish
'It was an Otter that caught a fish'
In Degema, the preposition does not feature in clitic doubling constructions in particular and in cliticization in general. Although there are object NPs such as indirect object NPs that can cooccur with a preposition, there are no corresponding object clitics to double them, unlike subject NPs.
Kari (2003: 135f) adds that "syntactic factors are stronger than discourse factors in the licensing of clitic doubling in Degema. Discourse factors only ensure the expression or suppression of the doubled NP after syntactic operations have taken place".
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, clitic doubling, or pronominal reduplication is a phenomenon by which clitic
Clitic
In morphology and syntax, a clitic is a morpheme that is grammatically independent, but phonologically dependent on another word or phrase. It is pronounced like an affix, but works at the phrase level...
pronoun
Pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
s appear in verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
phrases together with the full noun phrase
Noun phrase
In grammar, a noun phrase, nominal phrase, or nominal group is a phrase based on a noun, pronoun, or other noun-like word optionally accompanied by modifiers such as adjectives....
s that they refer to (as opposed to the cases where such pronouns and full noun phrases are in complementary distribution
Complementary distribution
Complementary distribution in linguistics is the relationship between two different elements, where one element is found in a particular environment and the other element is found in the opposite environment...
).
Clitic doubling is found in many languages, including Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
, Arumanian, Macedonian
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
, Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
, Degema
Degema language
Degema is a Delta Edoid language of Nigeria. It is spoken in two autonomous communities on the Degema Island by about 22,000 people, going by the 1991 population census figures...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, Somali
Somali language
The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
The conditions on clitic doubling vary from language to language, generally depending on well-known properties of the objects along the Animacy Hierarchy (allowing, requiring, or forbidding clitic-doubling for different kinds of objects). In this regard, clitic doubling for objects can be viewed as a species of Differential Object Marking
Differential object marking
Differential object marking is a linguistic phenomenon that is present in more than 300 languages; the term was coined by Georg Bossong. 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...
.
Spanish
Spanish is one well-known example of clitic-doubling language. Because standard Spanish grammatical structure does not draw a clear distinction between an indirect object and a direct object referring to a person or another animate entity (see Spanish prepositions), it is common but not compulsory to use clitic doubling to clarify. Compare:- Conocí a Juan. "I met Juan." (Direct object: a Juan)
- Di un regalo a Juan. "I gave a gift to Juan." (Direct object: un regalo; indirect object: a Juan)
In such constructions, the indirect object can be expressed both as a full noun phrase and as a clitic in order to note that the noun phrase beginning with a (to) should be understood as an indirect object:
- Le di un regalo a mi madre. "I gave my mother a gift."
- A mis invitados siempre les ofrezco café. "I always offer coffee to my guests."
- No les des comida a los animales. "Do not give food to the animals."
The above, if literally translated into English, would be redundant:
| Le | di | un | regalo | a | mi | madre |
| To her | I gave | a | gift | to | my | mother |
| A | mis | invitados | siempre | les | ofrezco | café |
| to | my | guests | always | to them | I offer | coffee |
| No | les | des | comida | a | los | animales |
| not | to them | give | food | to | the | animals |
This usage is not compulsory, and it would also be valid to say: "Siempre ofrezco café a mis invitados", without clitic doubling.
Similarly, the direct object may also be doubled, with both the direct object pronoun and the full noun phrase, but this is not as common as indirect clitic doubling and is usually a matter of style.
- (Lo) vi a tu papá en la tienda. "I saw your dad at the store."
- El otro día (la) conocí a su esposa. "The other day I met his wife."
One particular use is to clarify emphatic structures:
- Ese regalo se lo di a él. "I gave him that gift."
Italian
Clitic doubling is used as colloquial pleonasmPleonasm
Pleonasm is the use of more words or word-parts than is necessary for clear expression: examples are black darkness, or burning fire...
, although it is considered incorrect by some.
Example: a me mi pare di sì ("I [personally, for what I am concerned] think so")
Lombard
In Lombard, clitics are widely used with both nouns and pronouns.Te gh'el diset ti a la Rina che l'è staa luu?
Will you tell OR Would you mind telling Rina it was him [who did it]?
| Te | gh | el | diset | ti | a la Rina | che | l | è | staa | luu? | |
| You | to her | it | (you) tell | you | to Rina | that | it | has | been | he? |
Veneto
In VenetoVenetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
Usually clitics double second singular person subject and third singular and plural subject.
The above, if literally translated into English, would be redundant:
| I | mii | i | vien | doman |
| The (parents) | mine | they | come | tomorrow |
'My parents come tomorrow'
| Marco | el | Vien | doman |
| Marco | he | comes | tomorrow |
'Marco comes tomorrow'
| Ti | te/ti/tu | vien | doman |
| You | you | come | tomorrow |
'You come tomorrow'
Interrogative subjects clitics double also other subjects. They attach to the verb:
| Cantè-o | anca | voaltri/e ? |
| Sing-you | also | you (pl.m/f) |
'Do you (pl.) sing as well?'
Accusative clitics double first and second singular/plural direct object
| Te | go | visto | ti |
| you | (I) have | seen | you |
In some varieties of the language, also dative clitics may double and indirect object, even of third person:
| Marco | el | ghe | ga | dà | un libro | a Toni |
| Mark | he | to him | has | given | a book | to Tony |
Macedonian and Bulgarian
In the standard Macedonian languageMacedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
, clitic doubling is obligatory with definite
Definiteness
In grammatical theory, definiteness is a feature of noun phrases, distinguishing between entities which are specific and identifiable in a given context and entities which are not ....
direct and indirect objects, which contrasts with standard Bulgarian where clitic doubling is optional. Non-standard dialects of Macedonian and Bulgarian have differing rules regarding clitic doubling.
Degema
Clitic doubling occurs in DegemaDegema language
Degema is a Delta Edoid language of Nigeria. It is spoken in two autonomous communities on the Degema Island by about 22,000 people, going by the 1991 population census figures...
, as it does in Romance and Slavic languages. However, clitic doubling in Degema is not associated with the presence of a preposition as in Romance languages like Spanish nor is it associated with topicality or specificity as in Slavic languages like Bulgarian. Rather, what make clitic doubling in Degema possible are syntactic (movement and anaphoricity) and discourse (emphasis and/or familiarity) factors (Kari 2003) Consider (1) below:
(1) Eni mo=sire
elephant cl=run
'An elephant is running'
In (1) the subject noun phrase (NP) 'Eni' is doubled by the clitic 'mo='. The clitic agrees in person, number and case with the doubled subject NP.
Example (2) shows that specific and non-specific subjects in Degema can be doubled by a clitic:
(2) Eni mo=rere (non-specific)
elephant cl=walk
'An elephant is walking'
Eni mee mo=rere (specific)
elephant my cl=walk
'My elephant is walking'
Example (3) shows that both topicalized and non-topicalized NPs in Degema can be doubled by a clitic:
(3) Okper o=kun esen (non-topicalized)
Otter cl=catch.factative fish
'An Otter caught a fish'
Okper nu o=kun esen (topicalized)
Otter Focus marker cl=catch.factative fish
'It was an Otter that caught a fish'
In Degema, the preposition does not feature in clitic doubling constructions in particular and in cliticization in general. Although there are object NPs such as indirect object NPs that can cooccur with a preposition, there are no corresponding object clitics to double them, unlike subject NPs.
Kari (2003: 135f) adds that "syntactic factors are stronger than discourse factors in the licensing of clitic doubling in Degema. Discourse factors only ensure the expression or suppression of the doubled NP after syntactic operations have taken place".