HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In
linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
, a zero or null is a segment which is not pronounced or written. It is a useful concept in analysis, indicating lack of an element where one might be expected. It is usually written with the symbol "∅", in Unicode . A common
ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.) C ...
solution is to use the Scandinavian capital letter Ø instead. There are several kinds of zero: *In
phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
, a ''null phoneme'' or ''zero phone'' indicates that no phone is produced where one might be expected. For example, in syllable structure analysis, null onset indicates that a syllable lacks an initial consonant (''onset'') that is normally required by
phonotactics Phonotactics (from Ancient Greek "voice, sound" and "having to do with arranging") is a branch of phonology that deals with restrictions in a language on the permissible combinations of phonemes. Phonotactics defines permissible syllable struc ...
of the considered language. For an example, see Standard Chinese phonology#Zero onset. *In
morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
, a zero morph, consisting of no phonetic form, is an
allomorph In linguistics, an allomorph is a variant phonetic form of a morpheme, or, a unit of meaning that varies in sound and spelling without changing the meaning. The term ''allomorph'' describes the realization of phonological variations for a specif ...
of a
morpheme A morpheme is the smallest meaningful constituent of a linguistic expression. The field of linguistic study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology. In English, morphemes are often but not necessarily words. Morphemes that stand alone are ...
that is otherwise realized in speech. In the phrase ''two sheep-∅'', the plural marker is a zero morph (see nouns with identical singular and plural forms), which is an allomorph of ''-s'' as in ''two cows''. In the phrase ''I like-∅ it'', the verb conjugation has a zero affix, as opposed to the third-person singular present ''-s'' in ''he likes it''. *In
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...
, a zero
pronoun In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (abbreviated ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not c ...
occurs in some languages. In the English sentence ''nobody knows ∅'' the zero pronoun plays the role of the object of the verb, and in ''∅ makes no difference'' it plays the role of the subject. Likewise, the zero pronoun in ''the book ∅ I am reading'' plays the role of the relative pronoun ''that'' in ''the book that I am reading''. In
generative grammar Generative grammar, or generativism , is a linguistic theory that regards linguistics as the study of a hypothesised innate grammatical structure. It is a biological or biologistic modification of earlier structuralist theories of linguisti ...
, this is also referred to as PRO. In pronoun-dropping languages, including null subject languages such as most
Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...
, the zero pronoun is a prominent feature. *A zero subordinate conjunction occurs in English in sentences like ''I know ∅ he likes me'', in which the zero conjunction plays the role of the subordinate conjunction ''that'' in ''I know that he likes me''. This comes naturally to native speakers of English, but non-native learners have to consciously adjust to it, as it rarely occurs in other languages. *A zero article is an unrealized indefinite or
definite article An article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" and "a(n)" a ...
in some languages, such as the plural indefinite article in English. *A zero copula,''A phonologically null copula functioning as a light verb in Japanese'' by Yutaka Sato, p. 2
/ref> in which a copula such as the verb ''to be'' is implied but absent. For example, in
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
the copula is usually omitted in the present tense, as in (literally: 'She beautiful'), the same happening with colloquial
Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (' ), also Portuguese of Brazil (', ) or South American Portuguese (') is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide. It is spoken by almost all of ...
, as in (literally: 'ironic, those uys), though never with the adjective coming after the subject as usual in Romance languages. In English the copula is sometimes omitted in some nonstandard dialects.


See also

* Empty string * Zero consonant *
Silent letter In an alphabetic writing system, a silent letter is a letter that, in a particular word, does not correspond to any sound in the word's pronunciation. In linguistics, a silent letter is often symbolised with a null sign . Null is an unprono ...
*
Zero-marking in English Zero-marking in English is the indication of a particular grammatical function by the absence of any morpheme (word, prefix, or suffix). The most common types of zero-marking in English involve English articles#General usage, zero articles, English ...
*
Zero-marking language A zero-marking language is one with no grammatical marks on the dependents or the modifiers or the heads or nuclei that show the relationship between different constituents of a phrase. Pervasive zero marking is very rare, but instances of z ...


References


External links


What is a zero?
''SIL Glossary of linguistic terms'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Zero (Linguistics) Linguistic morphology Syntax