Differential object marking—or what makes a good Spanish speaker? Findings from German learners of Spanish, heritage speakers, and L1 speakers from Spain and Argentina

Aims and Objectives: This study examines how differential object marking manifests across different adolescent acquisition settings: (1) German foreign language learners of Spanish, (2) heritage speakers (L1 Spanish and German), (3) L1 acquisition with a geographical component (Spain vs. Argentina). Approach: a -marking rates are examined mainly in the variable non-human animate domain by comparing two referents in direct object position with distinct degrees of animacy (dog and frog) across all participant groups. In addition, a -marking patterns for frequent verbs occurring with the frog in direct object position are analyzed, considering its changing animacy throughout the task as it acquires human-like attributes. Data and Analysis: This study is based on a dataset comprising written productions from 99 participants, totaling approx. 70,500 words and 1,629 direct objects available for analysis. Conclusions: The findings support the validity of the school grammar rule, as taught in grammar books for German learners of Spanish, which mandates a -marking for all animate direct objects, as evidenced by the productions of L1 speakers from Spain and Argentina. Originality: The learner productions are compared not only with an abstract Castilian standard norm, as is usually the case, but also with productions from peer bilingual L1 (heritage) speakers and monolingual L1 speakers from both Peninsular and Hispano-American (Argentine) Spanish (L1 control groups). Significance: The data suggest that heritage speakers are strong representatives of the Castilian standard. In contrast, monolingual L1 speakers are surprisingly strong representatives of the grammar rule taught in schools within the context of foreign language didactics, which mandates a -marking for all animate direct objects (both human and non-human). These findings challenge critiques that argue the school grammar rule is overly simplistic and impedes learners from fully acquiring differential object marking.