Differential object marking in Latgalian

Abstract

This article discusses variation in object marking in Latgalian, based on sources where this phenomenon is most pronounced. Differential object marking in Latgalian consists in the choice of the genitive instead of the accusative for objects of transitive verbs. Genitive marking regularly appears in negated clauses and in constructions with the supine. It is optionally used in clauses that portray a situation as unreal, unlikely, or undesired from the point of view of the speaker. Apart from these clause-related factors, genitive marking is common though less regular with mass nouns and count nouns in the plural in descriptions of single events, while for habitually occurring events the accusative is used. The use of the partitive genitive is increasingly coupled with prefixing of the verb. A further type is the use of the genitive with cumulative verbs. There is also a small group of non-derived verbs that select the genitive. Those that have a nominative subject tend to become transitive verbs in modern written Latgalian.