From: Kimmo Huovila (kimmo@kaamas.kielikone.fi)
Date: Tue Feb 06 2001 - 08:19:06 EST
Iver Larsen wrote:
> My assumption from general linguistics is that when a language, like Greek,
> incorporates the pronominal reference in its verbs, the independent use of a
> pronoun is not needed for the purpose of referring to the subject, since that
> reference is contained in the verb itself. When the independent pronoun is used
> in addition to a verb that includes the pronominal reference, I expect it to be
> used for emphasis, usually contrast.
This assumption does not work in Finnish, where the ending codes the
person, but in the 3rd person the subject is obligatorily expressed. In
more colloquial registers the practice is to include even 1st and 2nd
person pronouns, but it is not obligatory. Yes, you might detect slight
emphasis when they are present, or rather 'de-emphasis' (eg. emphasis on
polarity) when they are omitted, since they are unmarkedly present in
these more colloquial registers. So, the assumption is definitely not
universal.
Kimmo Huovila
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