LING 350 Lecture 11: February 16th
Document Summary
Spanish: null subject language, with rich verbal agreement. Use of overt subjects is determined by pragmatic/discourse context (new information, contrast, emphasis, etc. English: overt subjects are obligatory and are not subject to pragmatic constraints of this kind. Null subject is licensed by the rich verbal agreement. Use of overt subjects is determined by pragmatic/ discourse context (new information, contrast, emphasis, etc. ) just like in italian. (= about 30%) Overt subjects are obligatory and are not subject to pragmatic constraints of this kind. Stage 2: start to produce overt subject (16% - 20%). This correlates with children acquiring restriction linked to syntax- pragmatics interface. Stage 1: omission of subjects in declarative sentences, but only 30% of the time. Childes database, observed from age about 1;8 -2;7. Data coded for [ overt] subjects, types of overt subjects, and pragmatic functions of overt subjects. Parental speech to the children was coded in the same way.
