Emergência na ordem [XP V (DP)] no PB contemporâneo e o parâmetro do sujeito nulo: uma abordagem minimalista

Abstract

This dissertation aims at the analyzing the emergency of the [XP V (DP)] order, in conjunction with the phenomenon of the null subject in the contemporary BP. Another objective is to investigate how the EPP is valued. The analysis demonstrates that the XPs, occupying the subject position, are of a diverse semantic nature, particularly in those predicates headed by unaccusative, impersonal and transitive verbs. Based on these facts, we conclude that, in contemporary BP, the subject position must be obligatory occupied in certain contexts. To explain this, we decompose the EPP in two other features: the [uP] and [uD] features. Our proposal is that, as the result of the weakness of the agreement paradigm, the [uD] feature is weakened, while the [uP] feature becomes strong in contemporary BP. As a side effect of this parametric change,BP can be considered as a partial null subject language, allowing both null subjects and obligatory subjects. We also postulate that the decomposition of the EPP in two features enables us to explain not only the empirical data of BP but also the data of other partial null subject languages.