The AWSOM correlation in comparative Bantu object marking

The Bantu languages show much variation in object marking, two parameters be- ing (1) their behaviour in ditransitives (symmetric or asymmetric) and (2) the num- ber of object markers allowed (single or multiple). This paper reveals that a com- bination of these parameter settings in a sample of 50+ Bantu languages results in an almost-gap, the AWSOM correlation: “asymmetry wants single object marking”. A Minimalist featural analysis is presented of Bantu object marking as agreement with a defective goal (van der Wal 2015) and parametric variation in the distribu- tion of φ features on low functional heads (e.g. Appl) accounts for both the AWSOM and Sambaa as the one exception to the AWSOM.