Null-subject language
In linguistic typology, a null-subject language is a language whose grammar permits an independent clause to lack an explicit subject; such a clause is then said to have a null subject.
In the principles and parameters framework, the null subject is controlled by the pro-drop parameter, which is either on or off for a particular language.
Typically, null-subject languages express person, number, and/or gender agreement with the referent on the verb, rendering a subject noun phrase redundant.
For example, in Italian the subject "she" can be either explicit or implicit:
The subject "he" of the second sentence is only implied in Italian. English and French, on the other hand, require an explicit subject in this sentence.
Null-subject languages include Arabic, most Romance languages, Chinese, Vietnamese, Greek, Hebrew, the Indo-Aryan languages, Japanese, Korean, Persian, the Slavic languages, Tamil, and the Turkic languages.
Characterization
Languages which are not null-subject languages usually require an explicit subject. English and French make an exception for the imperative mood, or where a subject is mentioned in the same sentence, one immediately preceding it, or where the subject is implied. These languages can sometimes drop pronouns in limited contexts: e.g, German for "please", Bitte, literally means " beg", and in English "Not happy!" would be clearly understood as the first person singular "I am not happy". Similarly, in some cases the additional inclusion of pronouns in English has equivalent force to their optional inclusion in Spanish or Italian: e.g, "I cook, I wash up and I do the shopping" is more emphatic than simply "I cook, wash up and do the shopping".Subjects may sometimes be dropped in colloquial speech where the subject is implied.
In the framework of government and binding theory of syntax, the term null subject refers to an empty category. The empty category in question is thought to behave like an ordinary pronoun with respect to anaphoric reference and other grammatical behavior. Hence it is most commonly referred to as "pro".
This phenomenon is similar, but not identical, to that of pro-drop languages, which may omit pronouns, including subject pronouns, but also object pronouns. While all pro-drop languages are null-subject languages, not all null-subject languages are pro-drop.
In null-subject languages that have verb inflection in which the verb inflects for person, the grammatical person of the subject is reflected by the inflection of the verb and likewise for number and gender.
Examples
The following examples come from Portuguese:- "I'm going home" can be translated either as "vou para casa" or as "eu vou para casa", where "eu" means "I".
- "It's raining" can be translated as está chovendo or está a chover. In Portuguese, as in most other Romance languages, there is no exact equivalent for the pronoun it. However, some older persons say Ele está a chover which directly translates to "He is raining".
- "I'm going home. I'm going to watch TV" would not, except in exceptional circumstances, be translated as Eu vou para casa. Eu vou ver televisão. At least the subject of the second sentence should be omitted in Portuguese unless one wishes to express emphasis, as to emphasize the I.
Most Bantu languages are null-subject. For example, in Ganda, 'I'm going home' could be translated as or as, where means 'I'.
Albanian
Arabic
is considered a null-subject language, as demonstrated by the following example:Subject information for 'they' is encoded in the conjugation of the verb يساعد.
Azerbaijani
Bulgarian
Catalan/Valencian
In Catalan/Valencian, as in Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, etc., the subject is also encoded in the verb conjugation. Pronoun use is not obligatory.- Anem a la platja: We go to the beach.
- Ets la meva amiga: You are my friend.
- No són/sou benvinguts aquí: You are not welcome here.
- Estan dormint: They are asleep.
- Necessito ajuda: I need help.
- És a la seva habitació: He is in his bedroom.
- Està cansada: She is tired.
Chinese
Most varieties of Chinese tend to be non-null-subject. Verbs in Chinese languages are not conjugated, so it is not possible to determine the subject based on the verb alone. However, in certain circumstances, most Chinese varieties allow dropping of the subject, thus forming null-subject sentences. One of the instances where the subject would be removed is when the subject is known. Below is an example in Mandarin:The above example clearly shows that a speaker could omit the subject if the doer of the verb is known. In a Chinese imperative sentence, like the first text, the subject is also left out.
Galician
In Galician, as in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, etc., the subject is also encoded in the verb conjugation. Pronoun use is not obligatory.- Imos á praia: We go to the beach.
- E-la miña amiga: You are my friend.
- Non sodes benvidos aquí: You are not welcome here.
- Están durmindo: They are sleeping.
- Necesito axuda: I need help.
- Está no seu cuarto: He is in his bedroom.
- Está cansada: She is tired.
Modern Greek
"Εγώ", which means "I", has been omitted. The conjugation has encoded them.Hebrew
is considered a partially null-subject language, as demonstrated by the following example:Subjects can usually be omitted only when the verb is conjugated for grammatical person, as in the third-person plural in the example above.
In Hebrew one can also construct null-subject sentences as in the Latin and Turkish language examples: "We/you/they are going to the beach" can be expressed as "holkhim la-yam", lit. "Are going to the beach." This is truly a null-subject construction.
As in Spanish and Turkish, though, Hebrew conjugates verbs in accordance with specific pronouns, so "we went to the beach" is technically just as much a null-subject construction as in the other languages, but in fact the conjugation does indicate the subject pronoun: "Halakhnu la-yam", lit. "Went to the beach." The word "halakhnu" means "we went", just as the Spanish and Turkish examples indicate the relevant pronoun as the subject in their conjugation. So these should perhaps not be considered to be true null-subject phrases. Potentially confusing the issue further is the fact that Hebrew word order can also make some sentences appear to be null-subject, when the subject is in fact given after the verb. For instance, "it's raining" is expressed "yored geshem", which means "descends rain"; "rain" is the subject. The phrases meaning "It's snowing" and "It's hailing" are formed in the same way.
Hindustani
The Hindustani language shows radical pro-drop. This type of pro-drop differs from pro-drop in languages like Spanish where pro-drop is licensed by rich verbal morphology. South Asian languages such as Hindustani, in general, have the ability to pro-drop any and all arguments. Here, the case is expressed in a morpheme that is independent from the stem, making the pro-drop possible.Italian
The conjugations of the root verbs already imply the subject of the sentences.Japanese
and several other null-subject languages are topic-prominent languages; some of these languages require an expressed topic in order for sentences to make sense. In Japanese, for example, it is possible to start a sentence with a topic marked by the particle は and in subsequent sentences leave the topic unstated, as it is understood to remain the same, until another one is either explicitly or implicitly introduced. For example, in the second sentence below, the subject is not expressed again but left implicit:In other cases, the topic can be changed without being explicitly stated, as in the following example, where the topic changes implicitly from "today" to "I".
It is also common for Japanese to omit things which are obvious in context. If the above line were part of a conversation about considering purchasing the game, it could be further shortened to: