Generic and existential null subjects: assessing child and adult grammar

• Grant number: 20/12650-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: June 01, 2021
• End date: May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Psycholinguistics
• Principal Investigator: Elaine Bicudo Grolla
• Grantee: Karina Gomes Bertolino
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to investigate null impersonal structures with generic and existential reading in Brazilian Portuguese (BP), taking into account the child's and the adult grammar. We adopt a parametric perspective, according to which the distribution of null subjects is explained by the interaction of three parameters: D in T, P in T and phi-dependent EPP (Holmberg 2010a). The literature on BP has not reached a consensus on the reading of null impersonal constructions without explicit markers of genericity (expressions such as "normally", "generally" and necessity deontic modals). For example, although Rodrigues (2004) claims that these sentences have a generic reading, Carvalho (2019) argues that they have an existential reading instead. In this project, we propose an experimental study which aims for an objective assessment of judgements on null impersonal constructions. We also propose a comparative study between different null subject languages in order to build a typology of existential null subjects. This research will support or raise problems for the hypothesis of a parametric distribution of null subjects. This project also aims to study the acquisition of existential and generic null subjects in the spontaneous speech of children acquiring BP in order to reach explanatory adequacy in the theory of null impersonal constructions. (AU)