Null Subjects In Early Child Speech

This paper attempts to explain the observed patterns of childhood development of null subject usage in a model that adheres to the precepts of the Minimalist Program (MP). To explain the development of null subjects one not only has to explain the differences in their usage between a child learning a null subject versus non-null subject language but also to explain the patterns of their usage. Especially one needs to explain why the child learning a non-null subject language initially adopts a behaviour inconsistent with the adult use of the language and the gradual transition away from this inappropriate usage to the adult grammar. To propose an explanation fully conforming to the precepts of the MP, where all syntactic variations are assumed as being in the lexicon, I adopt a Strong Continuity Hypothesis model in which the child's syntactic component equals that of the adult. All variations between the adult and child use of null subjects are postulated to be the result of configuration of, and knowledge stored within, the lexicon, while the syntactic component of the grammar is held constant. In the last part of the paper I especially focus on the discussion of early null subject use in Chinese, a more controversial field that has received less discussion.