Null arbitrary and generic subjects in Telugu

Research Article

Abstract

The null subject parameter has always been a focal point in the linguistic theory because it is not straightforward in several languages. Telugu is one such language and there is hardly any work done on this topic specifically on this language. Telugu is a major Dravidian language of the southern part of India which is widely spoken in the states of Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. Though Telugu is morphologically rich language in comparison with other Dravidian languages, it lacks some properties in some root and embedded constructions. In some constructions, tense and agreement, both are not present overtly. Still, Telugu licenses different null subjects such as referential, expletive, and arbitrary in root and embedded contexts. In this paper, I explore some crucial factors in relation to the syntactic and semantic properties of Telugu arbitrary null subjects in the light of recent proposals. Apart from this, I provide an analysis of licensing such constructions in terms of general licensing conditions of week elements and indefiniteness.