Development of null-subject sentences in Bangla speaking children

Abstract

This study aims to explore the null subject acquisition process of Bangla speaking children. It also attempts to find out the developmental pattern of the acquisition of null subject in Bangla. In order to conduct the research, the researcher focuses on the language samples of 15 Bangla speaking children aged 2 to 4 years old. The data was analyzed for subject type (null subject, lexical subject, pronoun) and error. The results of the study indicate that the use of null subject is not consistent with the age of the children. The Bangla speaking children consider null subject as a part of their grammar. Nonetheless, the findings of the study offer guidance to the future studies on the acquisition literature in Bangla. Throughout the study, the researcher attempted to figure out the answers of these following questions: 1. What are the stages of null subject acquisition for Bangla speaking children aged 2 to 4 years? To illustrate, what is the developmental trend in the acquisition of null subject in Bangla? 2. Whether the null subject phenomenon in Bangla supports the grammar-based hypothesis or performance-based hypothesis?