The Effect of Semantic and Discourse Features on the Use of Null and Overt Subjects - A Quantitative Study of Third Person Subjects in Brazilian Portuguese
ABSTRACT In a corpus study and two acceptability experiments, we investigate whether semantic and discourse features of the antecedents affect the use of null and overt subjects in Brazilian Portuguese. Previous literature has proposed two hypotheses: the Hierarchy of Referentiality Hypothesis (Cyri...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo
2020-07-01
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| Series: | DELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/pdf/delta/v36n1/1678-460X-delta-36-01-2020360107.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818743725349666816 |
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| author | Eduardo Correa Soares Philip Miller Barbara Hemforth |
| author_facet | Eduardo Correa Soares Philip Miller Barbara Hemforth |
| author_sort | Eduardo Correa Soares |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT In a corpus study and two acceptability experiments, we investigate whether semantic and discourse features of the antecedents affect the use of null and overt subjects in Brazilian Portuguese. Previous literature has proposed two hypotheses: the Hierarchy of Referentiality Hypothesis (Cyrino et al. 2000, inter alia) and the Semantic Gender Hypothesis (Creus & Menuzzi 2004, among others). We show that animacy and specificity affect the relative frequency of null and overt subjects and their acceptability in sentences. We propose an approach that accounts for previously published results as well as our new data in the light of a theory of anaphora resolution (Ariel 1990, etc). |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T02:32:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-83cb1b7cbb1b4f16b679b624516d71c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1678-460X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T02:32:58Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | DELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada |
| spelling | doaj.art-83cb1b7cbb1b4f16b679b624516d71c12022-12-21T21:23:50ZengPontifícia Universidade Católica de São PauloDELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada1678-460X2020-07-0136110.1590/1678-460x2020360107The Effect of Semantic and Discourse Features on the Use of Null and Overt Subjects - A Quantitative Study of Third Person Subjects in Brazilian PortugueseEduardo Correa Soareshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4526-3299Philip Millerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1436-9533Barbara Hemforthhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8371-1323ABSTRACT In a corpus study and two acceptability experiments, we investigate whether semantic and discourse features of the antecedents affect the use of null and overt subjects in Brazilian Portuguese. Previous literature has proposed two hypotheses: the Hierarchy of Referentiality Hypothesis (Cyrino et al. 2000, inter alia) and the Semantic Gender Hypothesis (Creus & Menuzzi 2004, among others). We show that animacy and specificity affect the relative frequency of null and overt subjects and their acceptability in sentences. We propose an approach that accounts for previously published results as well as our new data in the light of a theory of anaphora resolution (Ariel 1990, etc).http://www.scielo.br/pdf/delta/v36n1/1678-460X-delta-36-01-2020360107.pdfNull SubjectsAnimacySpecificityAnaphora Resolution |
| spellingShingle | Eduardo Correa Soares Philip Miller Barbara Hemforth The Effect of Semantic and Discourse Features on the Use of Null and Overt Subjects - A Quantitative Study of Third Person Subjects in Brazilian Portuguese DELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada Null Subjects Animacy Specificity Anaphora Resolution |
| title | The Effect of Semantic and Discourse Features on the Use of Null and Overt Subjects - A Quantitative Study of Third Person Subjects in Brazilian Portuguese |
| title_full | The Effect of Semantic and Discourse Features on the Use of Null and Overt Subjects - A Quantitative Study of Third Person Subjects in Brazilian Portuguese |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of Semantic and Discourse Features on the Use of Null and Overt Subjects - A Quantitative Study of Third Person Subjects in Brazilian Portuguese |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of Semantic and Discourse Features on the Use of Null and Overt Subjects - A Quantitative Study of Third Person Subjects in Brazilian Portuguese |
| title_short | The Effect of Semantic and Discourse Features on the Use of Null and Overt Subjects - A Quantitative Study of Third Person Subjects in Brazilian Portuguese |
| title_sort | effect of semantic and discourse features on the use of null and overt subjects a quantitative study of third person subjects in brazilian portuguese |
| topic | Null Subjects Animacy Specificity Anaphora Resolution |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/pdf/delta/v36n1/1678-460X-delta-36-01-2020360107.pdf |
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