Null subjects in Middle English

This article investigates the occurrence and distribution of referential null subjects in Middle English. Whereas Modern English is the textbook example of a non-null-subject language, the case has recently been made that Old English permits null subjects to a limited extent, which raises the question of what happens in the middle period. In this article we investigate Middle English using data drawn from the Penn–Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Middle English Prose and the new Parsed Corpus of Middle English Poetry, aiming to shed light on the linguistic and extralinguistic factors conditioning the alternation between null and overt subjects. Generalized mixed-effects logistic regression and random forests are used to assess the importance of the variables included.We show that the set of factors at play is similar to that found for Old English, and we document a near-complete disappearance of the null subject option by the end of the Middle English period.publishe

Empty referential subjects in Old English prose: A quantitative analysis

As Present-Day English with but a few exceptions requires fully overt referential subject pronouns in finite clause structures, the occurrence of empty referential pronominal subjects at the Old English stage of the language is notable and intriguing. While many have commented on the presence of such empty subjects in Old English, there exists very little systematic empirical research in this area of historical English syntax. The present article makes a contribution to this area by presenting an empirical survey of the occurrence of empty referential subjects in eleven Old English prose texts, along with a quantitative analysis of a number of structural variables deemed relevant for the permissibility of the phenomenon. It is shown here that empty subjects occur much less frequently than suggested by previous research. I therefore argue that previous accounts have overestimated the “idiomaticity” of this phenomenon in Old English. I also reject the hypothesis that subject pronouns can be realised as empty only in cases where the referent of the omitted pronoun is easily recoverable, whether through verbal inflections or discourse prominence

A study of empty referential pronominal subjects in old english

This master thesis is concerned with empty referential pronominal subjects in Old English prose. The study has investigated 450 occurrences of subjectless" sentences taken from a corpus consisting of eleven Old English prose texts. The aim of the investigation has been to describe the non-expression of referential subject pronouns, and attempt to determine whether any systematicity can be seen with regards to its syntactic properties. Certain pragmatic factors have also been considered. The study has been explorative in focus. Given that previous studies to a great extent have been based on very restricted data, it has been attempted to quantify the phenomenon to as high a degree as possible. The quantitative analysis is based on various structural variables proposed by previous scholarship. In so doing, several claims regarding the extent of this phenomenon in Old English have been tested, and it has also been investigated whether the syntactic environments in which the empty pronouns occur influence the permissibility of the phenomenon. The study is structured in the following manner: chapter 1 presents the background for the project, in addition to the research questions forming the basis for the study. Chapter 2 presents previous studies in the area. This includes a presentation of relevant generative research into the so-called pro-drop parameter, in addition to research on empty pronouns in Old English specifically, and also in other early Germanic languages. Chapter 3 details the method employed in connection with data collection and analysis. Certain problems of analysis are discussed here, as well. Chapter 4 comprises the main part of the study, where the data material is presented and discussed. Chapter 5 summarises the preceding chapters and offers a conclusion based on the research questions posed in Chapter 1. The study concludes that empty subjects in Old English represent a much more limited phenomenon than suggested in previous research. Indeed, the occurrences are few enough that the phenomenon must be said to be more or less dead" in Old English. It is seen, however, that empty subjects are significantly more frequent in the early Old English period compared to the late Old English period. In terms of syntactic environment, it is seen that empty subjects primarily occur in second conjunct clauses. It is also seen that the majority of the instances of empty subjects are co-referent with a subject occurring in the preceding context. It is also concluded that it is difficult to detect much systematicity in terms of what permitted" or governed" these empty subjects. Still, it is assumed that the occurrences discussed in this work can be explained by a combination of several factors, where pragmatics no doubt plays a part. It was also suggested that some of the occurrences could represent remnants of an antiquated Germanic grammatical system. Finally, it cannot be excluded that at least some of the instances are the result of grammatical error on part of the author or scribe

Null Subjects in Early Icelandic

This paper investigates the possibility of subject omission in the history of Icelandic, including the syntactic and pragmatic conditions under which it could arise. Based on regression analysis of substantial data drawn from the IcePaHC corpus, we provide robust quantitative support for Hjartardóttir's (1987) claim that null subjects persist until a very late stage in Icelandic. We also argue, contra Sigurðsson (1993), that only one licensing mechanism is needed for null subjects in early Icelandic. Moreover, on the basis of the position of the null subjects and their person features, we argue that the modern stage, where (predominantly 3rd person) pro-drop yields to a system permitting topic drop of all persons, arises in Icelandic in the early twentieth century.publishe