21.455, Qs: Pro-Drop Languages: pro vs. PRO

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LINGUIST List: Vol-21-455. Thu Jan 28 2010. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 21.455, Qs: Pro-Drop Languages: pro vs. PRO

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1)
Date: 23-Jan-2010
From: Akbar Sohrabie < akbar_sohrabie at yahoo.com >
Subject: Pro-Drop Languages: pro vs. PRO
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:02:33
From: Akbar Sohrabie [akbar_sohrabie at yahoo.com]
Subject: Pro-Drop Languages: pro vs. PRO

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Dear linguists,

In a non-pro-drop language like English, PRO happens to occupy the 
argument position as the subject of a control construction like 'I want to 
go.' Thus, PRO is the subject of the nonfinite clause and we have 'I 
want PRO to go' for the sake of the Extended Projection Principle. And 
in a pro-drop language like Persian, due to its rich morphology, pro 
happens to occupy the argument position as the subject in a construct 
like:

mæn mirævæm
   I 	 go. 1st person simple present

in which 'mæn' can be omitted to have:

mirævæm
 pro   go. 1st person simple present

According to Ahmad R. Lotfi (personal communication) it is impossible 
to have both pro and PRO in language. My question is whether it is 
possible to have both PRO and pro in a language like Spanish or any 
other pro-drop language. 

I do appreciate it if you provide answers or resources with tangible 
examples.

With best regards,
Akbar Sohrabie
Graduate student of linguistics
Azad University at Khorasgan, Isfahan, Iran 

Linguistic Field(s): Syntax




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