A typological comparison of NP vs DP languages

DP Languages

Languages that have a Determiner (D) head projecting over a noun, usually indicated by the presence of articles. Examples: English, Swedish, Bulgarian, Romanian.

NP Languages

Languages where nouns appear “bare” without overt articles, and where there may not be a DP layer. Examples: Japanese, Korean, Slavic languages like Serbo-Croatian.

Article as D Head

In DP languages, the definite or indefinite article functions as the head of the DP, taking an NP complement.

• English: The dog → the = D, dog = NP

Head Movement in DP Languages

Some languages, like Scandinavian and Romanian, attach the definite article as a suffix to the noun through head movement, forming a complex N+D head.

Examples:

• Swedish: Mann-en (“man-the”)

• Romanian: băiat-ul (“boy-the”)

• Bulgarian: kola-ta (“car-the”)

Left-Branch Extraction (LBE)

A property of some NP languages where adjectives or modifiers can move out of the NP. DP languages block LBE.

Examples:

• Serbo-Croatian (NP): Skupa je vidio [ti kola]. (“Expensive saw car”)

• English (DP, ungrammatical): The/a expensive she sees car. ❌

Adjunct Extraction (AE)

Extraction of adjuncts (like PPs) from within NP. Allowed in NP languages, blocked in DP languages.
Examples:

• Serbo-Croatian (NP): Iz kojeg gradai je Ivan sreo [djevojke ti]? (“From which city did Ivan see girls?”)

• English (DP, ungrammatical): From which city did Ivan see [girls ti]? ❌

Negative Raising

Movement of negation from an embedded clause to the matrix clause; seen in DP languages, absent in NP languages.
Examples:

• English (DP): John didn’t believe [that Mary would leave]

• Serbo-Croatian (NP): Ivan ne vjeruje da bog postoji. (“Ivan doesn’t believe that God exists”) – negation does not move

Multiple Wh-Fronting

In NP languages, all interrogative words can be fronted to the clause-initial position, often in flexible order.
Examples:

• Serbo-Croatian (NP): Ko koga vidi?/ Koga ko vidi? (“Who sees whom?”)

• Bulgarian (DP): Koj kogo vižda? / ungrammatical Kogo koj vižda?

Bare Nouns in DP Languages

DP languages sometimes allow “bare” nouns in generic/mass contexts; the D may be silent.
Examples:

• English: Lions roam the Serengeti

• English: He loves to drink coffee

Languages with Mixed Properties

Some languages exhibit both NP and DP properties, e.g., optional bare nouns or articles.
Examples:

• Hungarian bare NP: János könyvet olvas. (“John is reading a book/some books”)

• Hungarian DP: Mari meghívta a barátokat a bulira. (“Mari invited her (the) friends to the party”)

• Finnish bare NP: Kauniita minä katsoin lintuja. (“I was watching the beautiful birds”)

Demonstratives vs. Articles

Demonstratives can evolve into definite articles during grammaticalization.
Example:

• Finnish: sen (demonstrative “that”) → eventual definite article in grammaticalization

Head + Modifier Agreement Blocking in DP Languages

Adjectives and modifiers cannot be extracted from DP due to the presence of D.
Example:

• English: The red car → Red she sees car ❌

• Swedish: Röda jag har sett den bilen ❌

NP Language Flexibility in Word Order

NP languages with rich case morphology often allow more flexible word order of nominal constituents.
Example:

• Serbo-Croatian: Skupa je vidio kola (“Expensive saw car”) – adjective can move outside NP

Finnish Mixed Behavior

Finnish lacks articles (NP) but shows DP-like behavior in negative raising; allows adjunct extraction but not LBE.
Examples:

• Negative raising: Pekka ei uskonut että Sanni lähtee vasta huomenna. (“Pekka didn’t believe that Sanni would leave until tomorrow”) ✅

• LBE ungrammatical: Kauniita minä katsoin lintuja ❌

Conclusions

• Clear-cut classification of languages as NP or DP is not always possible.

• Some languages conform neatly to DP or NP categories; others, like Hungarian and Finnish, exhibit mixed properties.

• Implication for theory: Syntacticians must consider cross-linguistic variation and the possibility of languages that do not fit neatly into binary typologies.

• The debate remains active and open, with continued relevance for Universal Grammar and nominal structure theory.

Key Takeaways

Feature/Test	DP Languages	NP Languages	Notes
Articles	Present (overt D)	Absent	Some NP languages have silent D?
Left-Branch Extraction	Blocked	Allowed	NP modifiers can move out of NP
Adjunct Extraction	Blocked	Allowed	PP or adjuncts can leave NP
Negative Raising	Allowed	Blocked	Negation may raise in matrix clause
Multiple Wh-Fronting	Restricted	Allowed	Order flexibility varies