Null Subjects Research Articles

The Second Language Processing of Passives, Object Pronouns and Null Subjects: Processing Instruction Compared to Language Experience

The present study compared the performance of two groups of second language learners processing three linguistic structures in Spanish. The linguistic targets were passives, object pronouns in OproVS sentences, and gender-cued null subjects in subordinate clauses. The primary differences between the two groups were language experience and an instructional treatment. The group with greater language experience was enrolled in the last course of their Spanish major, the other group in the middle of their major coursework. The group with less language experience received Processing Instruction on passives. The scores of the greater language experience group were compared to the pretest and then posttest scores of the Processing Instruction group. Results demonstrated that greater language experience gave learners an advantage in processing the linguistic targets when compared to the Processing Instruction group's pretest scores. Comparisons between the greater language experience group's scores with the Processing Instruction group's posttest scores showed that Processing Instruction provided a superior effect on passives, an equalizing effect on null subjects, and a non-effect on object pronouns. Experience counted more with object pronouns.

Discourse Factors Involved in Distribution of Null-Subject Phenomenon in Mandarin Chinese

This paper aims to examine the null-subject phenomenon in Mandarin Chinese, a discourse-oriented radical pro-drop language, and the factors that contribute to the presence/absence of overt subject pronouns in the language. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 11 Chinese high school students to collect data regarding the usage of null subjects by native Mandarin Chinese speakers. Three discourse factors that affect the distribution of null subjects, namely: 1) register, 2) speakers’ agency, and 3) nature of information conveyed by subject pronouns, are identified and analysed based on the collected data. Therefore, we should pay more attention to pragmatic factors when refining syntactic theories regarding null-subjecthood in future studies.

Il soggetto nullo nel processo di acquisizione del portoghese brasiliano

This paper is part of a research project - still at an early stage - on the process of acquisition of Brazilian Portuguese as a foreign language in the Italian university context. We present here the first data on the acquisition, by Italian-speaking learners (all students of the University of Salento), of morphosyntactic properties associated with the positive/negative value of the pro-drop parameter, also showing the pragmatic-discursive properties that can determine a distribution of null pronominal subjects in different contexts.

R-impersonal interpretation in Italian Sign Language (LIS)

Abstract In this paper, we examine agent backgrounding in Italian Sign Language (LIS). Specifically, we are interested in identifying and describing the strategies used by LIS signers to reduce referentiality. On the basis of low-referential contexts (cf. questionnaire in the Introduction chapter), we recorded target sentences containing potential markers of agent backgrounding and asked three LIS native signers to provide felicity judgments on them using a 7-point scale. We discuss agent-backgrounding strategies of different types: (i) manual, (ii) non-manual, and (iii) syntactic. Overall, our study shows that the combination of raised eyebrows and mouth-corners down associated with the existential quantifier someone and the sign person makes the agent-backgrounding reading more prominent. Other strategies that can be used in LIS to reduce referentiality are free relatives, perspective shift, and null subject. We also investigate in more detail the semantic status of someone, person, and the null subject through well-established tests from the literature.

언어의 매개변이로서 공주어의 통사적 허용

언어의 매개변이로서 공주어의 통사적 허용

Pre-verbal position in BP: a reinterpretation of the "avoid pronoun principle"

The aim of this paper is to analyze the changes occurring in Brazilian Portuguese, regarding the possibility of null subjects, and suggest the kinds of constraints that explain its present distribution. In this paper, we will propose that the null subject parameter is defi ned at the interfaces. At the level of Logical Form, a constraint like Chomsky’s (1981) Avoid Pronoun will be atwork for languages that are prototypical null subject languages, like Spanish and Chinese. For languages like BP, a system with a particular distribution of null subjects, the constraint will be more specifi c: Avoid non-referential pronouns. We will also propose that at the other interface, the Phonetic Form, languages have fi lters regarding their rhythm. To account for the preference for certain forms, a constraint of the form: Avoid V1 will be proposed. This constraint hasnothing to do with an XP constituent in Spec of C, like in V2 languages, but with a phonetic requirement. This means that the initial element can be a head or an XP.

A person approach to impersonal passive in Null Subject Languages and elsewhere

A person approach to impersonal passive in Null Subject Languages and elsewhere

What you hear is (not always) what you get

Abstract The present study offers data from native Spanish speakers who possess receptive competence in Palenquero, a Spanish-lexified creole spoken in the Afro-Colombian village of San Basilio de Palenque. Until recently Palenquero was endangered, but language revitalization activities are now underway in Palenque. These efforts are resulting in young L2 Palenquero speakers and receptive bilinguals, who do not actively use the language but who are exposed to it within the community and through occasional classes. This study, based on experimental research conducted in Palenque, examines receptive bilinguals' grasp of Palenquero subject-verb structures as a demonstration of how the divergence between active and receptive bilinguals' grammars can go undetected within the speech community. Receptive bilinguals sometimes produce referential null subjects instead of overt pronouns even in the absence of other disambiguating cues. Receptive bilinguals also do not systematically differentiate Palenquero pre-verbal particles, in a fashion suggestive of a maximally simplified subject-verb configuration.

Text form and grammatical changes in Medieval French

AbstractThis paper presents a treebank-based study of the effect the text form (prose vs. verse) has on the course of two grammatical changes in Medieval French: the loss of null subjects and the loss of OV word order. By means of statistical analysis, we demonstrate that naive estimates of the spread of overt subjects and VO orders give the impression that there is a significant difference between the rates of development in prose vs. verse. By contrast, estimates based on an abstract grammar competition model which distinguishes between grammar-ambiguous surface forms (overt personal subjects, null subjects in coordination contexts) and grammar-unambiguous surface forms (overt expletive subjects, null subjects in non-coordination contexts) show prose-verse parallelism, prose having an earlier change onset, in line with traditional intuitions. At a more general level, these results suggest that the product of the interaction of a particular grammar with universal pragmatic laws is constant, which can be observed if the factors responsible for variation in grammatical choices are controlled for.

O infinitivo flexionado do português paulista dos séculos XVIII, XIX e XX: um estudo sintático-diacrônico

Este estudo apresenta uma análise sobre o infinitivo flexionado dos séculos XVIII, XIX e XX sob uma perspectiva diacrônica. Por meio do estudo dos infinitivos flexionados (MAURER JR., 1968; RAPOSO, 1987; PIRES, 2006; SALLES, 2006; MARINS, 2009; MODESTO, 2011) e de estudos de sintaxe diacrônica, foram analisadas ocorrências desse fenômeno em textos do português paulista dos séculos mencionados, tomando como base para a análise o parâmetro do sujeito nulo (DUARTE, 1995). O enfraquecimento da flexão dos verbos no português brasileiro é crescente (GALVES, 1993), contudo o infinitivo flexionado contraria essa perda de flexão, sendo utilizado mesmo na escrita em contextos em que não está prevista sua ocorrência (CANEVER, 2012). Nos textos paulistas, observamos os contextos de presença dos infinitivos e o seu crescimento e, no último século, uma presença mais restrita. Por meio do Parâmetro do Sujeito Nulo, foram analisados trechos de cartas, a fim de entendermos o processo de enfraquecimento da flexão no português brasileiro e o crescimento da realização do sujeito.

Comparative syntax of argument ellipsis in languages without agreement: A case study with Mandarin Chinese

This paper investigates the cross-linguistic distribution of argument ellipsis (AE) with an emphasis on Chinese, an Asian language well-known for its lack of overt morphological agreement. It is observed in the literature that Japanese permits AE in both null subject and null object positions whereas Chinese permits it in null object positions, but not in null subject positions. Adopting Saito’s (2007) hypothesis that the presence of$\unicode[STIX]{x03C6}$-feature agreement associated withvor T blocks AE, Miyagawa (2013) and Takahashi (2014) argue that the absence of subject AE in Chinese follows from abstract subject agreement. After presenting three empirical arguments against this analysis from the Chinese literature, I propose that the distribution of AE is better predicted by topichood and link this proposal to Saito’s (2017) recent analysis of AE developed for Japanese, whereby AE, analyzed as LF Copy, cannot apply to an operator–variable configuration. My analysis is supported by the novel observation that the null subject position in Chinese actually allows AE when it is not linked to the topic position, as in hanging topics, relative clauses and conditional clauses.

The positive effect of explicit positive evidence

The study investigates questions central to the field of second language (L2) acquisition and instruction: Does the first language (L1) influence the L2 grammar? Can wrong patterns be restructured? Is Universal Grammar accessible during L2 acquisition? And can L2 acquisition, rather than learning (in Krashen’s sense), be triggered by explicit positive evidence (EPE), combining input flood with explicit emphasis upon target forms? Three properties associated with the Null Subject Parameter were inspected in two sixth-grade groups (L1-Hebrew, L2-English): thematic subject omission, expletive subject omission, and post-verbal subjects. During teaching, both groups were exposed to input flood of expletive subjects, but only in one group were expletives explicitly emphasized (EPE). A Hebrew-toEnglish translation-choice task tested the abovementioned properties pre-teaching, immediately post-teaching, and four months post-teaching. Shortly after teaching, the group which was explicitly taught improved significantly in rejecting ungrammatical null expletives and post-verbal subjects, but not null thematic subjects, thus indicating (partial) clustering. However, the improvement attained was not fully preserved four months later. The results show that shortterm exposure to EPE concerning a single property can apparently trigger change in another property, suggesting that learned knowledge can affect L2 competence, and that Universal Grammar plays a role in L2 acquisition.

The positive effect of explicit positive evidence

The study investigates questions central to the field of second language (L2) acquisition and instruction: Does the first language (L1) influence the L2 grammar? Can wrong patterns be restructured? Is Universal Grammar accessible during L2 acquisition? And can L2 acquisition, rather than learning (in Krashen’s sense), be triggered by explicit positive evidence (EPE), combining input flood with explicit emphasis upon target forms? Three properties associated with the Null Subject Parameter were inspected in two sixth-grade groups (L1-Hebrew, L2-English): thematic subject omission, expletive subject omission, and post-verbal subjects. During teaching, both groups were exposed to input flood of expletive subjects, but only in one group were expletives explicitly emphasized (EPE). A Hebrew-toEnglish translation-choice task tested the abovementioned properties pre-teaching, immediately post-teaching, and four months post-teaching. Shortly after teaching, the group which was explicitly taught improved significantly in rejecting ungrammatical null expletives and post-verbal subjects, but not null thematic subjects, thus indicating (partial) clustering. However, the improvement attained was not fully preserved four months later. The results show that shortterm exposure to EPE concerning a single property can apparently trigger change in another property, suggesting that learned knowledge can affect L2 competence, and that Universal Grammar plays a role in L2 acquisition.

Aspectos morfofonológicos nos paradigmas dos pronomes fortes e fracos

Considerando que os traços-j podem vir realizados nos pronomes fortes e nos tipos de pronomes fracos (pronomes livres, clíticos ou flexão de concordância), este trabalho propõe que a possibilidade de homofonia (rima) entre eles pode levar à elipse dos pronomes livres fracos, gerando o fenômeno do chamado sujeito nulo pro, e que é na morfofonologia que a criança se pauta para determinar o tipo de língua que ela está aprendendo. Esta proposta embasará a análise do Português Brasileiro com respeito ao Parâmetro do Sujeito Nulo.

Utility of Integrated Analysis of Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacometabolomics in Early Phase Clinical Trial: A Case Study of a New Molecular Entity.

In this report, we present a case study of how pharmacogenomics and pharmacometabolomics can be useful to characterize safety and pharmacokinetic profiles in early phase new drug development clinical trials. During conducting a first-in-human trial for a new molecular entity, we were able to determine the mechanism of dichotomized variability in plasma drug concentrations, which appeared closely related to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) through integrated omics analysis. The pharmacogenomics screening was performed from whole blood samples using the Affymetrix DMET (Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters) Plus microarray, and confirmation of genetic variants was performed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Metabolomics profiling was performed from plasma samples using liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A GSTM1 null polymorphism was identified in pharmacogenomics test and the drug concentrations was higher in GSTM1 null subjects than GSTM1 functional subjects. The apparent drug clearance was 13-fold lower in GSTM1 null subjects than GSTM1 functional subjects (p < 0.001). By metabolomics analysis, we identified that the study drug was metabolized by cysteinylglycine conjugation in GSTM functional subjects but those not in GSTM1 null subjects. The incidence rate and the severity of ADRs were higher in the GSTM1 null subjects than the GSTM1 functional subjects. Through the integrated omics analysis, we could understand the mechanism of inter-individual variability in drug exposure and in adverse response. In conclusion, integrated multi-omics analysis can be useful for elucidating the various characteristics of new drug candidates in early phase clinical trials.

Reducing pro and PRO to a single source

Abstract The goal of this paper is to provide novel theoretical and empirical evidence that the null subjects traditionally labelled as pro and pro, rather than being inherently distinct, are manifestations, differentiated in the course of the derivation, of what is underlyingly a single underspecified nominal pro-form, which we will call UPro. Included under this UPro are pro, oc pro and also the various types of ‘non-obligatory control’ (noc) pro, including arbitrary pro (proarb). The interpretive and distributional distinctions lurking behind these labels result from how UPro interacts with its structural environment and language-specific rules of morpho-phonological realization. Specifically, oc pro labels a rather specific interpretation that arises in embedding contexts where a syntactic oc relationship with an antecedent can be established. Different types of pro and noc pro, on the other hand, involve ‘control’ by (typically) silent representations of discourse-contextual elements in the clausal left periphery. Finally, pro$_{arb}$ arguably involves the failure to establish a referential dependence, which we will formalize in terms of a failure to Agree in the sense of Preminger (2014). Crucial evidence motivating the approach proposed here will be adduced from Sundaresan’s (2014) “Finiteness pro-drop Generalisation”, which reveals an otherwise unexpected complementarity of oc pro and pro.

The politeness ofvocêin European Portuguese

AbstractThe employment ofvocêin current European Portuguese is not clear. Although Brazilian Portuguese has specialised it as an informal pronoun in certain geographical areas within the country, the European variety presents its use in contexts which seem to be contradictory: informal address, formal address and pejorative address. Due to the lack of an in-depth study on the evolution of this form, we have collected data from three different corpora that reflect the real usage ofvocêthroughout the twentieth century, since it is from the nineteenth century thatvocêstarted specialising as an informal pronoun. The results show a decreasing use of this pronoun and a certain degree of polyvalence due to a gradual marginalisation experienced for over one hundred years. As a consequence, the strategy of null subject plus 3sg has emerged as the unmarked politeness strategy in current European Portuguese.

Asymmetries of null subjects and null objects in L1-English and L1-Japanese learners’ Chinese

AbstractBased on the HSK Dynamic Composition Corpus, this study investigated the use of Chinese null arguments by advanced adult L1-English and L1-Japanese learners with Chinese native speakers as a baseline. Several asymmetries were found. First, the learners produced many more null subjects than null objects. Second, null subjects were mainly animate, while null objects were mainly inanimate. Third, more null subjects were used in non-matrix clauses than in matrix clauses. In addition, L1 did not seem to play a significant role in the learners’ use of Chinese null arguments, and the learners’ use Chinese null arguments was generally not native-like. Finally, it appears that null objects are not transferable or developmental and that infrequent use of null objects is universal in L2. It was argued that positive evidence in the target input as well as the nature of the subject and the object led to the asymmetric use of null subjects and null objects in L2 Chinese.

Diachronic syntax based on constituency and dependency annotated corpora

AbstractThis contribution presents two syntactically annotated corpora of Old French,Modéliser le changement: les voies du français(MCVF) and theSyntactic Reference Corpus of Medieval French(SRCMF). The focus is on how the underlying syntactic theory (constituency vs. dependency) influences the grammar model and how this choice is reflected in the syntactic annotations of the corpora. The comparison relates to the most relevant general properties of the corpora as well as to two phenomena, null subjects and cleft constructions. Null subjects highlight possible conflicts between syntactic annotation models and syntactic theory, and the information-structural properties of cleft constructions pose a particular problem for the interpretation and annotation of historical corpora. Both phenomena are major instances of diachronic variation in French. The study is relevant for corpus users working on diachronic syntax, as well for corpus builders wishing to design a grammar model for annotation.

Another look at the interpretation of overt and null pronominal subjects in bilingual language acquisition: Heritage Portuguese in contact with German and Spanish

This paper investigates the interpretation of overt and null subject pronouns in the heritage language (European Portuguese, EP) of Portuguese heritage bilinguals (children and teenagers) in Germany and Andorra with German (Ger) and Spanish/Catalan (Span/Cat) as environmental languages and compares it to the outcomes of age-matched monolingual Portuguese children and monolingual adults. The results of an offline sentence interpretation task show that all groups of speakers differentiate between overt and null subjects. They are also sensitive to the syntactic context (intrasentential vs. intersentential) and the directionality of the anaphoric relation (anaphoric vs. cataphoric), although to different degrees. We argue that the interpretation of differences between monolingual and bilingual speakers needs to take into account these different syntactic contexts of pronominal resolution in order to gain a better understanding of the role of language-internal factors and cross-linguistic influence (CLI). With respect to the latter, the comparison between the Ger-EP and the Span/Cat-EP groups reveals no differences between these populations and shows that for the speakers’ knowledge of anaphora resolution in EP it is not decisive whether the contact language is a null subject language or not (confirming thus the results in Sorace et al. 2009).