ABSTRACT
This chapter presents background information regarding the identification of entities in a discourse. It investigates vocatives and considers the reasonable hypothesis that imperative noun phrases are vocatives. The chapter highlights the actual subject status of the NPs under investigation. It deals with a discussion regarding the notion of ‘subject’ within the espoused theory of syntax. The chapter shows that the expected syntactic behavior, traditionally taken for granted, does obtain. It considers formal restrictions that have been claimed to hold of the imperative noun phrase. The chapter also considers the representation and interpretation of the null subject, arguing that it is a null pronominal, as found in numerous so-called pro-drop languages. The identity between the vocative’s referent and the addressee is further supported by languages that have grammaticized the relationship to some degree. Pro must be a universally available option in language acquisition.
