Indefinite readings of referential null subjects and null objects in Spanish
It has been claimed in the literature that referential null subjects receive definite readings in consistent null-subject languages, like Spanish. That is why they are said to display the typical behavior of definite pronouns (pro). However, referential null subjects can receive indefinite readings...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Septentrio Academic Publishing
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Borealis: An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/borealis/article/view/7259 |
| _version_ | 1797462498739224576 |
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| author | Carlos Martínez García |
| author_facet | Carlos Martínez García |
| author_sort | Carlos Martínez García |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
It has been claimed in the literature that referential null subjects receive definite readings in consistent null-subject languages, like Spanish. That is why they are said to display the typical behavior of definite pronouns (pro). However, referential null subjects can receive indefinite readings under the following conditions: i) the antecedent must be a bare plural, ii) the indefinite null argument is interpreted as a bare noun, typically as an internal argument, and iii) identity of sense anaphora is involved. Crucially, referential null objects appear under the same conditions, and receive indefinite readings in Peninsular Spanish. This suggests that the gap could be analyzed in the same way. In this paper, I argue that both null arguments should not be analyzed as empty pronominals (pro), given the syntactic behavior that they show. By contrast, I will argue that an argument ellipsis analysis should be assumed, given that the internal argument position is occupied by an indefinite, non-specific bare noun, the null gap can receive sloppy readings, and the omission is not as ‘big’ as the one at verb-stranding VP-ellipsis, nor as ‘small’ as the one at nominal ellipsis.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:37:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1a48e820397042f3bdf83d6ebf7ba9be |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1893-3211 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:37:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Septentrio Academic Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Borealis: An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics |
| spelling | doaj.art-1a48e820397042f3bdf83d6ebf7ba9be2023-11-24T11:51:20ZengSeptentrio Academic PublishingBorealis: An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics1893-32112023-11-0112210.7557/1.12.2.7259Indefinite readings of referential null subjects and null objects in SpanishCarlos Martínez García0Universidad Complutense de Madrid It has been claimed in the literature that referential null subjects receive definite readings in consistent null-subject languages, like Spanish. That is why they are said to display the typical behavior of definite pronouns (pro). However, referential null subjects can receive indefinite readings under the following conditions: i) the antecedent must be a bare plural, ii) the indefinite null argument is interpreted as a bare noun, typically as an internal argument, and iii) identity of sense anaphora is involved. Crucially, referential null objects appear under the same conditions, and receive indefinite readings in Peninsular Spanish. This suggests that the gap could be analyzed in the same way. In this paper, I argue that both null arguments should not be analyzed as empty pronominals (pro), given the syntactic behavior that they show. By contrast, I will argue that an argument ellipsis analysis should be assumed, given that the internal argument position is occupied by an indefinite, non-specific bare noun, the null gap can receive sloppy readings, and the omission is not as ‘big’ as the one at verb-stranding VP-ellipsis, nor as ‘small’ as the one at nominal ellipsis. https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/borealis/article/view/7259anaphoraargument ellipsisbare pluralsempty categoriesindefinite null objectsindefinite null subjects |
| spellingShingle | Carlos Martínez García Indefinite readings of referential null subjects and null objects in Spanish Borealis: An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics anaphora argument ellipsis bare plurals empty categories indefinite null objects indefinite null subjects |
| title | Indefinite readings of referential null subjects and null objects in Spanish |
| title_full | Indefinite readings of referential null subjects and null objects in Spanish |
| title_fullStr | Indefinite readings of referential null subjects and null objects in Spanish |
| title_full_unstemmed | Indefinite readings of referential null subjects and null objects in Spanish |
| title_short | Indefinite readings of referential null subjects and null objects in Spanish |
| title_sort | indefinite readings of referential null subjects and null objects in spanish |
| topic | anaphora argument ellipsis bare plurals empty categories indefinite null objects indefinite null subjects |
| url | https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/borealis/article/view/7259 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT carlosmartinezgarcia indefinitereadingsofreferentialnullsubjectsandnullobjectsinspanish |