Comparing the evolution of differential object marking (DOM) in Spanish and Portuguese between the 16th and the 20th c. we discover great differences between the two neighbor languages. Whereas in Spanish we notice a steady increase and high degree of grammaticalization of DOM, the graph for the degree of grammaticalization of DOM in Portuguese resembles a standardized normal Gaussian distribution with its peak in the 17th c. The increase of object marking until the 17th c. is in consequence of convergence towards Spanish due to the high prestige of the latter language. From the 18th c. onwards divergence due to the building of an own national and linguistic identity finally led to the disappearance of DOM in modern Portuguese.

No abstract