O parâmetro do sujeito nulo em Língua Brasileira de Sinais

Abstract

Natural languages are constituted by principles, common and universal elements, and parameters, variable elements, among which one of the most common is the Null Subject Parameter (NSP). Languages that mark this parameter as positive allow for the phonetic omission of the subject in sentences. European Portuguese, Italian, American Sign Language (ASL), and Spanish are examples where phonetic deletion of the subject occurs. This study aims to investigate, through acquisition data and speech from adult individuals, how the null subject manifests in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), in order to classify it in terms of its relation to the NSP. The data analyzed in this study come from spontaneous speech of four deaf individuals, from two projects developed by the Federal University of Santa Catarina - UFSC: three from the Corpus of Libras Project and one from the Project on Acquisition of syntax by Brazilian deaf children: repercussions of different forms of access to sign language. All produced sentences were selected and classified based on: subject deletion or insertion; type of verb used; type of pronominal person; and manner of subject position filling. Regarding acquisition data, it was observed that NSP in Libras behaves similarly to Brazilian Portuguese, a language with partial null subjects. Initially, productive phonetic deletion of the subject was observed during acquisition, which later coexists with filling by pronouns and nominal phrases, with a preference for pronouns, unlike what occurs in European Portuguese, a null subject language. Adult data showed production of null generic pronouns, indicative that Libras shares characteristics similar to those expressed by languages with partial null subjects.