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| Author(s): |
Maria Carolina de Oliveira Almeida Petersen
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) |
| Defense date: | 2011-06-20 |
| Examining board members: |
Jairo Morais Nunes;
Marcelo Barra Ferreira;
Mary Aizawa Kato
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| Advisor: | Jairo Morais Nunes |
| Abstract | |
Within the Generative framework, it is a consensus that Brazilian Portuguese (BP) does not conform to the description of typical pro-drop languages (Figueiredo Silva 1996, Kato 1999, Kato and Negrão 2000, among others). Based on Hornsteins (2001) Movement Theory of Control, referential null subjects in BP have been analyzed as traces (deleted copies) of A-movement (Ferreira 2000, 2009, Rodrigues 2004) and therefore they show all the diagnoses of obligatory control (OC). This thesis aims to investigate the restrictions on the licensing and interpretation of null subjects in subjunctive clauses in BP. By examining the contrast on the licensing of null subjects in subjunctive complements of PB, we also dealt with pronominal obviation effects, typical from subjunctive complements of volitional predicates in BP (and many other Romance and Slavic languages). In this thesis, we will propose that Tense defectiveness is responsible to both obviation and lack of OC in certain Subjunctive clauses. This thesis discusses three distinct types of subjunctive complements, which are grouped as follows: the Free-Subjunctives and Adverb-Subjunctives, which allow OC null subjects, but do not impose obviation to an overt pronoun. They show syntactic independence with respect to the main clause and behave as indicatives in all relevant aspects. In contrast, the Restricted-Subjunctives show exactly the opposite pattern: this context is exclusively in not licensing OC in BP and triggers obviation effect. Additionally, Restricted-Subjunctives are dependent on the main clause and behave as infinitives in all the aspects tested here. Here I follow Hornsteins (2007, 2010) approach to Principle A and B. In his terms, pronouns and reflexives are by-products of grammatical operations and are semantically inert. Movement is more economical than pronominalization and so trumps the application of the latter where Move suffices for convergence. More generally, just as Merge is cheaper than Move, so Move (and Reflexivization, in the guise of Move) is cheaper than Construe (in the guise of Pronominalziation). In this perspective, obviation is a consequence of economy of derivations. We argue that BP facts provide empirical evidence that obviative subjunctives are underlying infinitives for they derivationally compete. In the Minimalist Program framework (Chomsky 1995, 2001, 2008), we propose that such complements do not have syntactic Tense feature and must agree with the matrix clause, which explains their temporal defectiveness, and their weak Phase behavior (Chomsky 2001, 2008). The unvalued embedded C-T in the relevant step of the derivation is not allowed to Case mark its subject, being a defective probe (Chomsky 2001), which allows the DP to move to the matrix clause for Case requirements. Thus, the movement alternative is the only convergent result starting from a numeration with a single DP for a subject and it surfaces as an infinitive. The same considerations hold for a derivation with two distinct DPs for subject positions, the only difference being that after getting valued by the matrix clause in the syntax component, the embedded C-T can value the Case of its subject, which leads to a nominative embedded subject and subjunctive morphology on the verb. The thesis discusses some advantages on adopting this analysis to obviation effects in Romance. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 09/03158-9 - The licensing of null subjects in Brazilian Portuguese subjunctive clauses: contributions to the movement theory of control |
| Grantee: | Maria Carolina de Oliveira Almeida Petersen |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |