Russian differential object marking in Spanish speakers learning Russian as a second language

This study investigates a key assumption in generative linguistics about the dual nature of the grammatical case and its two distinct operations, syntactic or abstract case matching and morphological case ascription. The relevance of this study lies in its provision of experimental evidence demonstrating that these two operations can be analysed as distinct procedures, yielding differentiated outcomes when examined from the perspective of acquisition. The Spanish and Russian languages use Differential Object Marking (DOM) for animate direct objects, in most cases, in similar syntactic positions. However, Russian has more complex morphological conditions for using case patterns, particularly in DOM. The aim of this study is twofold: (i) to examine possible asymmetries between syntactic and morphological case operations in Spanish speakers with partial knowledge of Russian cases, and (ii) to determine whether the intricate syntax-morphology interface of Russian DOM presents specific challenges to L2 learners compared to other case positions. The authors conducted an experiment to assess the accuracy of case acquisition among young adult Spanish learners of Russian as a second language (L2) who live in Spain compared to adult native Russian speakers living in Russia. The materials of the study comprised a balanced selection of Russian DOM constructions (target stimuli) in contrast with sentences with alternative syntactic contexts and filler items to ensure variability. The research has shown that Spanish-speaking L2 learners experience significant difficulties while acquiring Russian case, especially with regard to the DOM. Consequently, L2 acquisition is vulnerable in contexts where the syntactic — morphological interface is not the same in the two languages. Future research will examine the difficulties in acquiring Russian DOM among speakers of languages without DOM (e.g., German or English) and assess whether DOM in a learner’s first language (L1) undergoes a congruency effect in L2 acquisition.