On Subject Pronouns in Finnish-Italian Bilinguals: Effects of Cross-linguistic Influence on Discourse-pragmatics Competence

Abstract

The distribution of overt pronouns has been the focus of much interest in the last decades as it is considered a typical phenomenon of the syntax-discourse/pragmatics interface, a locus of variability in different kinds of language acquisition (bilingual, L2 advanced learners, SLI) and it has been investigated in null and non-null subject language. In the present paper we discuss the distribution of null and overt pronouns in bilingual language acquisition in Finnish (a partial null subject language) and Italian (a null subject language). Data has been collected through a storytelling task in Finnish and Italian. Results show some optionality in the use of pronominal forms but unexpectedly little overuse of overt pronouns is attested in the null subject language.