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Regional variation in the syntactic distribution of null finite complementizer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2007

Kate Kearns
Kate Kearns
Affiliation:
University of Canterbury
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Abstract

This article explores syntactic and regional variation in the choice between declarative (nonrelativizer) that and zero complementizer. Using a corpus of contemporary prose from New Zealand, Australian, American, and British newspapers, the study examines complementizer choice in complements to verbs and adjectives, extraposed complements to verbs, it-subject constructions (It is obvious (that)), and copula constructions (The trouble is (that), It could be (that), What matters is (that), It was only later (that)). The form of the embedded subject (pronoun, short NP (noun phrase), long NP) is also taken into account. It is shown that significant regional differences in zero rates are to some extent syntactic. The New Zealand and Australian data show less inhibition of zero in clauses that are not adjacent to the clause-selecting lexical head than the American and British data.

Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , October 2007 , pp. 295 - 336
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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