Pronominal Subjects in English L2 Acquisition and in L1 Greek: Issues of Interpretation, Use and L1 Transfer

Abstract

This study examines the L2 acquisition of English pronominal subjects by Greek learners and its possible causes. It also considers the factors that affect pronoun resolution in L1 Greek. Null pronominal subjects were found to be used even by advanced learners, especially in topic-continuity contexts. This is attributed to the transfer of the L1 property of null subjects and to the interpretive effects thereby achieved. Regarding pronoun resolution in Greek, we found that the syntactic constraint related to the null/overt realization of pronominal subjects is such a decisive factor that its effect surfaces even when antecedents are pragmatically inferred. 1. Theoretical Background