Embedded null subjects in Capeverdean

Abstract

The status of Capeverdean as a pro-drop language is controversial. Baptista (2002) contends that this Portuguese-based creole has null referential subjects with some types of predicates, while Pratas (2002Pratas ( , 2007 proposes that it has only expletive null subjects. She argues that the rare cases of root null subjects can be analyzed as instances of null expletives. The aim of this paper is to show that in Capeverdean there is an asymmetry in the distribution of null referential subjects. These are ruled out in root contexts, but allowed in some embedded contexts ; this is the case when the null subject is bound by a wh-operator or a quantifier. Following Holmberg's (2005) and Holmberg, Nayudu & Sheehan's (2009) analysis of null subjects, we offer an analysis of Capeverdean null subjects exploring the properties of T in the language (in particular, the lack of a rich inflectional system), the syntax of subjects, and the type of null category available. We claim that Capeverdean embedded null subjects are variables, licensed by an operator in the matrix clause. We show that these specific properties explain minimal differences between null subjects in Capeverdean and Brazilian Portuguese.[1] We are very grateful to our Capeverdean consultants from Santiago Island, especially Ana Josefa Cardoso and José Antó nio Brito. We also want to thank three anonymous Journal of Linguistics referees and the editor, for their enriching comments and suggestions; to Nina Hyams, for her careful English editing and perceptive questions, and to our colleagues Alexandra Fiéis, Inês Duarte, Charlotte Galves and Maria Lobo, for relevant insights.Research for this paper was partly funded by FCT, through the project Events and Subevents in Capeverdean (PTDC/CLE-LIN/103334/2008).

Elements of denial in Capeverdean

“…This way, it is predicted that it can occur in islands, a prediction that is borne out in Capeverdean, as shown in (28), in which the null subject is inside a relative clause. Thus, Costa & Pratas (2012) argue that pro is in fact available in Capeverdean, but is restricted to contexts in which it establishes a relation with a c-commanding operator.…”

“…Regarding the questions in (9), I will argue that the n-words ningen 'no.one' and nada 'nothing' are universal quantifiers with no inherent negative meaning, just as Giannakidou (2002) has proposed for Greek and Romanian, also strict NC languages. Their semantic properties as quantifiers, namely their inherent operator status, are important to account for the fact that they are able to bind a specific kind of variable (Costa & Pratas 2012).…”

“…An independent motivation for the idea that the Capeverdean n-word ningen 'no.one' is a quantifier is that it reveals an inherent operator status regarding the possibility of licensing a null embedded subject as a bound variable, in very specific contexts. The argumentation goes as follows: the language has null expletive subjects of the type illustrated in (26), but prohibits null referential subjects in root clauses, here illustrated in 27 Note that the embedded null subject is co-indexed with the n-word ningen 'no.one' or with tudu algen 'everybody', and in Costa & Pratas (2012) it has been argued that it is licensed as a bound variable, such as was proposed in Modesto (2000) for Brazilian Portuguese. This way, it is predicted that it can occur in islands, a prediction that is borne out in Capeverdean, as shown in (28), in which the null subject is inside a relative clause.…”

“…This is a topic position in the left periphery of the clause, which attracts DPs, in particular the subject DP. Thus, Costa & Pratas (2012) defend that the crucial difference between the two languages lies in the nature of the null subject antecedents. In Capeverdean, in contrast to Brazilian Portuguese, we have seen that only wh-antecedents (which occupy an A-bar position) or expressions like ningen 'no.one' or tudu algen 'everyone' can serve as binders for the null element in the embedded subject position.…”

Sujetos nulos: tipología lingüística, adquisición y contacto de lenguas

“…En esta lengua, los únicos verbos que permiten inversión (un rasgo asociado con las lenguas de sujetos nulos) son los inacusativos. Algunas razones para incluir el criollo de Cabo Verde en la lista de las lenguas de sujeto nulo inconsistentes son las siguientes: esta lengua no permite sujetos nulos referenciales de raíz; hay sujetos nulos expletivos de raíz asociados con el ambiente y el clima, y esta lengua también posee sujetos nulos indefinidos contextuales de raíz (Costa & Pratas, 2013). El ejemplo 4 ilustra el uso de sujetos nulos en contextos relacionados con el clima en el criollo de Cabo Verde.4…”