linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, 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 List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...

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 ...

and

phonology Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...

, a ''null phoneme'' or ''zero phone'' indicates that no phone is produced where one might be expected. For example, in

syllable A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...

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, a zero morph, consisting of no phonetic form, is an allomorph of a

morpheme A morpheme is any of the smallest meaningful constituents within a linguistic expression and particularly within a word. Many words are themselves standalone morphemes, while other words contain multiple morphemes; in linguistic terminology, this ...

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, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

, a zero

pronoun In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (Interlinear gloss, glossed ) 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 part of speech, parts of speech, but so ...

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 is a research tradition in linguistics that aims to explain the cognitive basis of language by formulating and testing explicit models of humans' subconscious grammatical knowledge. Generative linguists, or generativists (), ...

, this is also referred to as PRO. In pronoun-dropping languages, including null subject languages such as most

Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

, 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''. *A zero article is an unrealized indefinite or

definite article In grammar, 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" ...

in some languages, such as the plural indefinite article in English. *A

zero copula Zero copula, also known as null copula, is a linguistic phenomenon whereby the subject is joined to the predicate without overt marking of this relationship (like the copula (linguistics), copula ''to be'' in English). One can distinguish languag ...

, in which a copula such as the verb ''to be'' is implied but absent. For example, in Russian the copula is usually omitted in the present tense, as in (literally: 'She beautiful'). In English the copula is sometimes omitted in some nonstandard dialects.

References

External links

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

See also

References

External links