The null pro subject in Najdi Arabic
Abstract
This study aims to examine the null pro subject in Najdi Arabic and directly answer the following questions within Holmberg’s (2008) theory of null subjects: (i) Is Najdi Arabic a pro-drop and hence a consistent null subject language (NSL)? and (ii) How is the null pro subject derived and interpreted in the syntax? We argue that Najdi Arabic is pro-drop and hence a consistent NSL and that full agreement are associated with null subject pronouns. Furthermore, we reveal that the null subject in Najdi Arabic is derived by incorporating a subject pronoun in the head T position as a consequence of Agree. The interaction between Holmberg’s analysis and Najdi Arabic data reveals that the subject pronoun in Spec-vP configuration is not pronounced in Najdi Arabic because it is not the highest chain copy; what has to be articulated of the subject chain is a verbal affix on the verb as a reflection of the deleted subject of the structure. The interpretation of the null pro subject in Najdi Arabic depends on the antecedent of the null pronominal that values T’s D-feature. When the A-topic values the D-feature, then a definite third person null subject structure results in the derived structure.
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