Clitic doubling is found in many languages, including Albanian, Aromanian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Degema, Greek, Persian, Romanian, Somali, Italian, and Spanish.
Spanish is one well-known example of a clitic-doubling language, having clitic doubling for both direct and indirect objects.
Because standard Spanish grammatical structure does not draw a clear distinction between an indirect object and a direct object referring to a person or another animate entity (see Spanish prepositions), it is common but not compulsory to use clitic doubling to clarify.
One particular use is to clarify emphatic structures: In Italian, clitic doubling can be used for emphasis, is often viewed as a colloquial pleonasm, and is considered "incorrect" by many prescriptive grammarians.
Unknown glossing abbreviation(s) (help);NOT: *Nakitaak da Maria ken ni Juan.
Non-standard dialects of Macedonian and Bulgarian have differing rules regarding clitic doubling.
Example (2) shows that specific and non-specific subjects in Degema can be doubled by a clitic: Enielephantmo=rereCL=walk(non-specific) Eni mo=rereelephant CL=walk'An elephant is walking'Enielephantmeemymo=rereCL=walk(specific) Eni mee mo=rereelephant my CL=walk'My elephant is walking' Example (3) shows that both topicalized and non-topicalized NPs in Degema can be doubled by a clitic: OkperOttero=kunCL=catch.factativeesenfish(non-topicalized) Okper o=kun esenOtter CL=catch.factative fish'An Otter caught a fish'OkperOtternuFOCo=kunCL=catch.factativeesenfish(topicalized) Okper nu o=kun esenOtter FOC CL=catch.factative fish'It was an Otter that caught a fish' In Degema, the preposition does not feature in clitic doubling constructions in particular and in cliticization in general.
Discourse factors only ensure the expression or suppression of the doubled NP after syntactic operations have taken place".