Case morphology and radical pro -drop
-
Ad Neeleman
Abstract
This paper focuses on the so-called discourse pro-drop languages,
i.e., those permitting radical pro-drop, which affects not just subjects,
but other pronominal arguments too. Whereas previous attempts to
understand the properties of these languages have focused on verbal
agreement, the proposal here is that it is in fact the properties of the
pronominal paradigm that determine the availability or otherwise of
radical pro-drop. In particular, we propose that radical pro-drop will
only be possible in languages with “transparent” (i.e., non-fusional)
pronominal paradigms, since pro-drop falls out as the consequence
of the zero spell-out of regular pronouns. On the empirical front, we
show that investigation of a wide range of languages would seem to
confirm our prediction.
Abstract
This paper focuses on the so-called discourse pro-drop languages,
i.e., those permitting radical pro-drop, which affects not just subjects,
but other pronominal arguments too. Whereas previous attempts to
understand the properties of these languages have focused on verbal
agreement, the proposal here is that it is in fact the properties of the
pronominal paradigm that determine the availability or otherwise of
radical pro-drop. In particular, we propose that radical pro-drop will
only be possible in languages with “transparent” (i.e., non-fusional)
pronominal paradigms, since pro-drop falls out as the consequence
of the zero spell-out of regular pronouns. On the empirical front, we
show that investigation of a wide range of languages would seem to
confirm our prediction.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
I. The locus of (parametric) variation
- Parametric versus functional explanations of syntactic universals 75
- Three fundamental issues in parametric linguistics 109
- On the syntactic flexibility of formal features 143
- Expletives, datives, and the tension between morphology and syntax 175
- Mapping a parochial lexicon onto a universal semantics 219
- Aspect matters in the middle 247
-
II. A classic parameter revisited: the null-subject parameter
- The null subject parameter and correlating properties: The case of Creole languages 271
- The Case-F valuation parameter in Romance 295
- Silent arguments without pro : The case of Basque 311
- Case morphology and radical pro -drop 331
-
III. Parametric clustering
- The macroparameter in a microparametric world 351
- Topic prominence and null subjects 375
- Non-configurationality: Free word order and argument drop in Turkish 411
- Diachronic stability and feature interpretability 441
-
III. The acquisition of parameters
- Can children tell us anything we did not know about parameter clustering? 459
- Parameter setting and input reduction 483
- Index 517
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
I. The locus of (parametric) variation
- Parametric versus functional explanations of syntactic universals 75
- Three fundamental issues in parametric linguistics 109
- On the syntactic flexibility of formal features 143
- Expletives, datives, and the tension between morphology and syntax 175
- Mapping a parochial lexicon onto a universal semantics 219
- Aspect matters in the middle 247
-
II. A classic parameter revisited: the null-subject parameter
- The null subject parameter and correlating properties: The case of Creole languages 271
- The Case-F valuation parameter in Romance 295
- Silent arguments without pro : The case of Basque 311
- Case morphology and radical pro -drop 331
-
III. Parametric clustering
- The macroparameter in a microparametric world 351
- Topic prominence and null subjects 375
- Non-configurationality: Free word order and argument drop in Turkish 411
- Diachronic stability and feature interpretability 441
-
III. The acquisition of parameters
- Can children tell us anything we did not know about parameter clustering? 459
- Parameter setting and input reduction 483
- Index 517
