Abstract
Abstract. Two subject positions are identified in main and embedded clauses in Norwegian, appearing above or below negation and certain adverbs, and a similar situation is attested in the history of English. This paper investigates the distribution of subject types across several corpora of spoken Norwegian, produced by both adults and children. The frequencies attested are discussed in terms of a cue‐based approach to acquisition, according to which children are sensitive to fine distinctions in syntax and information structure (micro‐cues). Nevertheless, micro‐cues with an extremely low frequency are argued to bevulnerable, and possible language change is discussed with reference to some actual changes which have either taken place in the history of English or which are argued to be in progress in present‐day Norwegian. These changes are considered to reflect “syntactic freezing” of information structure patterns.
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