Null arguments in old Norwegian

Abstract

In this paper I propose a new analysis of null arguments in Old Norwegian. I argue that the option of null realization in Old Norwegian correlates with a distinction between φP and DP pronouns in the sense of Déchaine & Wiltschko (2002), and that this distribution can be captured by a version of pronoun deletion (Roberts 2010b). On a more general, theoretical level, I argue that both the structure of pronouns and that of the functional domains C, T and v influence the null argument properties of a language. Thus, null arguments, but also blocking of null arguments in non-null-argument languages like Modern Norwegian and English, may be derived in different ways.

Referential vs. non-referential null subjects in Middle Norwegian

“…With a few exceptions, I have only considered variation between overt and null subjects within individual charters. This leaves us with a rather limited set of relevant data, as the documents must exhibit a very specific combination of properties to qualify as evidence: not only must they contain a null RefS, which is a rather low-frequency phenomenon in Middle Norwegian (see Mørck 1990 and Kinn 2016a, 2016b); they must also exhibit a syntactic environment in which an overt NonRefS can potentially occur. However, although demanding much of the data, the method has an important advantage: it minimises the risk of attributing the properties of different varieties/idiolects to a single I-language.…”

“…In most varieties of Norwegian, overt NonRefSs have the form det ‘it’. Null subjects in the history of Scandinavian have received an increased level of attention in recent years; see Sigurðsson (1993), Falk (1992, 1993a, 1993b), Håkansson (2008, 2013), Kinn (2010, 2011, 2014, 2016a, 2016b), Rosenkvist (2009), Faarlund (1990, 2012, 2013), Heltoft (2012), Walkden (2014), Lander & Haegeman (2014) and Kinn et al (2016). 2 However, the previous studies mostly focus on either RefSs or NonRefSs; they do not consider the relationship between the two subject types.…”