Null objects in universal grammar

Abstract

Langs such as Quechua allow free deletion of the Os of transitive Vs (eg, Juzi O rikurka "Jose saw" meaning 'Jose saw him/her/it'). A variable analysis has been proposed which argues that the empty category in O position is a variable & that null pronominals cannot occur in O position in any lang. This claim is argued to be invalid for numerous langs including Quechua, Korean, & Thai. It is shown that three groups of langs exist in which null Os are possible: those allowing null pronominal Os, those allowing null variable Os, & those allowing both types. In langs such as Eng, none of these types can occur. It is shown that the analysis proposed by C.-T. J. Huang (eg, "Pro Drop in Chinese: A Generalized Control Approach," manuscript, Ithaca, NY: Cornell U, 1985) can be extended to account for these facts. It is shown that two parameters interact to determine the possibility of null Os: one determines whether these Os are possible & the other determines whether null variable Os can occur. 21 References. B. Annesser Murray