A Modular account of null objects in French

Abstract

Abstract. The interaction among pragmatics, semantics, and grammar and their shared responsibility for interpretation are essential factors in linguistic analysis. This paper explores the interpretation of null objects (NOs) in French from this perspective. Previous accounts have determined two major classes based on the referentiality of the NO; however, these analyses end up, paradoxically, with a semantically vague description of the difference, resorting to undefined notions of identifiability, topic/focus, or probable reference. Starting from the assumption that all NOs are syntactically represented, we tease apart the contributions of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, which turn out to be simple and straightforward. We propose a typology comprising two syntactic types of NO; further nuances are a function of the varying contributions of verbal semantics and pragmatics.

A cross-linguistic study of the acquisition of clitic and pronoun production

“…Tuller (2000) and Cummins & Roberge (2005) show that French has null complements. Null objects in French, however, appear to be different from those available in Portuguese.…”

Inalienable possession constructions in French

“…Now, how is pro allowed here and why is definite reading impossible? Generic reading in IPoss constructions is reminiscent of a specific type of null object in French, Italian, and other languages, which has been extensively studied (Rizzi, 1986;Authier, 1989Authier, , 1992Cummins and Roberge, 2005;Aoun and Li, 2008, to name but a few). The null objects below are assumed to be pro and interpreted as generic.…”

“…It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss thoroughly the uses of null objects, and I will adopt Cummins and Roberge's (2005) assumption without argument. The characteristics of this type of pro (lack of referentiality and its inability to be an antecedent) led them to conclude that the null object in the absolute use is a null cognate object-a null bare noun whose semantics are derived from the semantics of the verb.…”

Review of The Morphosyntax of Portuguese and Spanish in Latin America, by Mary A. Kato and Francisco Ordóñez (Eds.). New York: Oxford University Press

“…Accordingly, the verb moves to a lower position, from where it can license ellipsis. In South American Spanish varieties, either null objects are the result of VP ellipsis affecting [+animate] referents -a phenomenon also available in BP -or they are subsumed under the more general cases of null objects observed in Cummins & Roberge (2005) for French.…”