The Null Subject Parameter in Modern Arabic Dialects

Abstract

One of the major goals in the Government and Binding approach to the study of syntax has been to establish the ways in which languages can (and cannot) differ with respect to core grammar. The study of dialects or closely related languages fits naturally into this line of inquiry under the reasonable assumption that dialect differences will reflect a relatively small number of parameter changes in the core system. Stated somewhat differently, the study of dialect differences can reveal changes in core grammar in action, so to speak. Of course, the actual nature of the grammatical difference may be quite abstract, manifesting itself in a number of more superficial differences that seem unrelated or even contradictory from a pretheoretical point of view. As an analogy, think of how a decrease in the pitch of the voice, an increase in facial hair, and a loss of hair on the head tend to be associated and are explicable in terms of a specific chemical change in the endocrine system.