Information management in intransitive subjects: Some implications for the Preferred Argument Structure theory

Despite the recent development of the Preferred Argument Structure theory, there still remain important questions regarding the specific manner of information management in the S position. This study provides substantial answers to such problems, based on a comprehensive discourse analysis of the English Pear Film narratives. Specifically, it is argued that (i) even in the English discourse material, under high information pressure, the manner of referent distribution in both the clause-core and non-clause-core argument positions is consistent with the accusative case marking; (ii) intransitive subject positions do accommodate new information, but the distribution of new referents within S is similar to that within A; and (iii) in fact the similarity between the S and A categories is statistically significant.