Download or read book Narrow Syntax and Phonological Form written by Gema Chocano and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2007 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Scrambling', the kind of word order variation found in West Germanic languages, has been commonly treated as a phenomenon completely unrelated to North Germanic 'Object Shift'. This book questions this view and defends a unified analysis on the basis of strictly syntactic and phonological evidence. Given that its main conclusions are drawn from German data, it also sheds light on several problematic aspects of the grammar of this language, which have traditionally resisted a principled account. Prominent among these are: the inconsistent behaviour of German coherent infinitives with respect to extraction of their internal arguments; the existence of a less 'liberal' type of 'Scrambling' within topicalised VPs; the link between reordering possibilities and headfinalness; the asymmetry exhibited by monotransitive and ditransitive structures with respect to the interaction between 'Scrambling' and the unmarked word order, and, finally, certain anomalies in the reordering of the lower arguments of ditransitive predicates that assign inherent case.

Download or read book Syntactic Structures written by Noam Chomsky and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2020-05-18 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No detailed description available for "Syntactic Structures".

Download or read book Beginning Syntax written by Ian Roberts and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-04-20 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A coherent introduction to generative syntax by a leader in the field, this textbook leads students through the theory from the very beginning, assuming no prior knowledge. Introducing the central concepts in a systematic and engaging way, it covers the goals of generative grammar, tacit native-speaker knowledge, categories and constituents, phrase structure, movement, binding, syntax beyond English, and the architecture of grammar. The theory is built slowly, showing in a step-by-step fashion how different versions of generative theory relate to one-another. Examples are carefully chosen to be easily understood, and a comprehensive glossary provides clear definitions of all the key terms introduced. With end of chapter exercises, broader discussion questions, and annotated further reading lists, 'Beginning Syntax' is the ideal resource for instructors and beginning undergraduate students of syntax alike. Two further textbooks by Ian Roberts, 'Continuing Syntax' and 'Comparing Syntax', will take students to intermediate and advanced level.

Download or read book Sentential Form and Prosodic Structure of Catalan written by Ingo Feldhausen and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph presents an experimental and theoretical inquiry into the role of sentential form and variation in the prosodic structure of Catalan. The empirical section examines intonational phrasing across sentence forms, including SVO structures with either nominal or sentential objects and structures involving clitic left- and right-dislocations. The results show variation in phrasing that depends on syntactic factors and non-syntactic factors such as topic-hood and prosodic binarity. The theoretical section uses Stochastic Optimality Theory to model the variation and frequency distributions associated with the observed prosodic patterns. Various syntactic and non-syntactic factors are represented by alignment constraints, which play a major role in Catalan, and by constraints that limit size and those that limit the overall amount of prosodic structure. This study represents a combined approach to prosody and syntax and is of particular relevance for theoretical and empirical linguists interested in the relationship between these domains both in Catalan and other languages.

Download or read book The Evolution of the Slavic Dual written by Tatyana G. Slobodchikoff and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-10-04 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dual number in Slavic has always puzzled linguists. While some Slavic languages, such as Slovenian, have three distinct categories of number--singular (1), dual (2), and plural (3 or more) –other Slavic languages, such as Russian, have no dual number. Considering that all Slavic languages have evolved from a common Proto Slavic language, it is puzzling that there is such a difference in the category of number. In The Evolution of the Slavic Dual: A Biolinguistic Perspective, with the aid of tools from biolinguistics, Tatyana G. Slobodchikoff develops a new theory of Morphosyntactic Feature Economy within the distributed morphology framework. Using newly digitized corpora of Old East Slavic, Old Slovenian, and Old Sorbian manuscripts spanning from the eleventh century through the present time, this book presents a thorough analysis of the evolution of dual number in Slavic languages.

Download or read book Advances in Comparative Germanic Syntax written by Artemis Alexiadou and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present volume contains a selection of papers presented at the 21st and 22nd Comparative Germanic Syntax Workshop held at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of Stuttgart. The contributions provide insightful discussions of several topics of current interest for syntactic theory on the basis of comparative data from a wide range of contemporary and historical Germanic languages. The theoretical issues explored include: the left periphery, with a number of contributions touching on the pros and contras of cartographic accounts; different aspects of word order and how it arises from movement and clause structure; the interplay of thematic relations and case theory with the realization of DPs; and the treatment of finiteness and modal structures. This book is of interest to syntacticians working in a comparative perspective and to advanced undergraduates.

Download or read book Minimalist Essays on Brazilian Portuguese Syntax written by Jairo Nunes and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2009-04-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of papers discusses some of the major syntactic properties of Brazilian Portuguese from a minimalist perspective. The volume focuses on movement and empty category issues and brings new empirical material on a variety of topics (null subjects and finite control, possessive and existential constructions, factive constructions, relative clauses, null objects and stress shift, preposition duplication, VP topicalization, and ellipsis). The book is of interest to a wide spectrum of linguists working on theoretical and comparative syntax.

Download or read book The Syntactic Nature of Inner Aspect written by Jonathan E. MacDonald and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the syntactic nature of inner aspect from a minimalist perspective. It begins with the new observation that there are two independent properties at play in English inner aspect: the object-to-event mapping and event structure. From a discussion of English statives and Russian, it is concluded that the former property is variant and the latter universal; a minimalist conception of language variation arises naturally in this context. Additionally, an exploration of a lexical derivational approach to achievements leads to the expectation that there are no accomplishments in the lexicon. A detailed look at idioms suggests that this expectation is met. These results support the division of labor between an operative lexicon and narrow syntax in aspectual composition; this naturally poses a problem for (neo-)constructional approaches to inner aspect. Finally, one conclusion reached about the syntactic nature of inner aspect regards the object-to-event mapping: it is a purely syntactic phenomenon.

Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Generative Syntax written by Marcel den Dikken and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-25 with total page 1412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Syntax – the study of sentence structure – has been at the centre of generative linguistics from its inception and has developed rapidly and in various directions. The Cambridge Handbook of Generative Syntax provides a historical context for what is happening in the field of generative syntax today, a survey of the various generative approaches to syntactic structure available in the literature and an overview of the state of the art in the principal modules of the theory and the interfaces with semantics, phonology, information structure and sentence processing, as well as linguistic variation and language acquisition. This indispensable resource for advanced students, professional linguists (generative and non-generative alike) and scholars in related fields of inquiry presents a comprehensive survey of the field of generative syntactic research in all its variety, written by leading experts and providing a proper sense of the range of syntactic theories calling themselves generative.

Download or read book The Grammar of Repetition written by Jason Kandybowicz and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Displacement is a fundamental property of grammar. Typically, when an occurrence moves it is pronounced in only one environment. This was previously viewed as a primitive/irreducible property of grammar. Recent work, however, suggests that it follows from principled interactions between the syntactic and phonological components of grammar. As such, the phonetic character of movement chains can be seen as both a reflection of and probe into the syntax-phonology interface. This volume deals with repetition, an atypical outcome of movement operations in which displaced elements are pronounced multiple times. Although cross-linguistically rare, the phenomenon obtains robustly in Nupe, a Benue-Congo language of Nigeria. Repetition raises a tension of the descriptive-explanatory variety. In order to achieve both measures of adequacy, movement theory must be supplemented with an account of the conditions that drive and constrain multiple pronunciation. This book catalogs these conditions, bringing to light a number of undocumented aspects of Nupe grammar.

Download or read book Putting Adpositions in Place written by Kaori Takamine and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2017-06-15 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph explores the grammar of modifier PPs in Japanese, concentrating on their word order. The study argues that (i) modifier PPs are hierarchically arranged and (ii) there is an interesting fine-grained correlation between different PP types and Modal/Aspect functors which indicates that Temporal and Locative appear relatively freely with respect to a certain range of the Modal/Aspect functors in the middle field, whereas the rest of the PP types are more constrained in this respect. Unlike cartographic approaches to PPs (Schweikert 2005, Cinque 2006), the book adopts the working hypothesis that the fine-grained hierarchies can be derived in a constrained manner along the lines of Svenonius and Ramchand (2014) and proposes that the properties of the PPs characterized by (i) and (ii) can be captured in a sortal domain analysis. The book appeals to a linguistic audience interested in modifier syntax as well as in Japanese.

Download or read book An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis and Theory written by Dominique Sportiche and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-09-30 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis and Theory offersbeginning students a comprehensive overview of and introduction toour current understanding of the rules and principles that governthe syntax of natural languages. Includes numerous pedagogical features such as‘practice’ boxes and sidebars, designed to facilitateunderstanding of both the ‘hows’ and the‘whys’ of sentence structure Guides readers through syntactic and morphological structuresin a progressive manner Takes the mystery out of one of the most crucial aspects of theworkings of language – the principles and processes behindthe structure of sentences Ideal for students with minimal knowledge of current syntacticresearch, it progresses in theoretical difficulty from basic ideasand theories to more complex and advanced, up to date concepts insyntactic theory

Download or read book Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2017 written by Alexandru Nicolae and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2021-12-15 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume contains a selection of 18 peer-reviewed papers presented at the 31st edition of Going Romance. Phenomena found in Romance languages (European Portuguese, French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian), in Romance dialects (Cosentino, Salentino, southern Calabrese, Neapolitan, and Trevigiano), and even in creoles with a Romance lexifier (Makista and Kristang) either benefit from in-depth analyses confined to one single variety, or are subjected to comparative analysis (dialect vs standard language, dialect vs different major language(s), cross-dialectal comparison, cross-Romance comparison, and even comparison of language families). Theoretical and experimental approaches complement one another, as do diachrony and synchrony. Individually and as a whole, these contributions show how the Romance languages contribute to a better understanding of issues which are relevant in the current linguistic landscape: acquisition, n-words, ellipsis phenomena, focus and polarity, ditransitive constructions, grammaticalization theory, differential object marking, language ecology, event structure, cyclicity, passives and many more.

Download or read book Word order Change as a Source of Grammaticalisation written by Susann Fischer and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: followed by the loss of morphology. --Book Jacket.

Download or read book Phase Theory written by Ángel J. Gallego and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a detailed and up to date review of the framework of phases (Chomsky 2000 and subsequent work). It explores the interaction between the narrow syntactic computation and the external systems from a minimalist perspective. As has sometimes been noted, "Phase Theory" is the current way to study the cyclic nature of the system, and 'phases' are therefore the natural locality hallmark, being directly relevant for phenomena such as binding, agreement, movement, islands, reconstruction, or stress assignment. This work discusses the different approaches to phases that have been proposed in the recent literature, arguing in favor of the thesis that the points of cyclic transfer are to be related to uninterpretable morphology (the ?-features on the heads C and v*). This take on phases is adopted in order to investigate raising structures, binding, subjunctive dependents, and object shift (word order) in Romance languages, as well as the nature of islands.

Download or read book Movement Theory of Control written by Norbert Hornstein and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Natural languages offer many examples of displacement, i.e. constructions in which a non-local expression is critical for some grammatical end. Two central examples include phenomena such as raising and passive on the one hand, and control on the other. Though each phenomenon is an example of displacement, they have been theoretically distinguished. Movement rules have generated the former and formally very different construal rules, the latter. The "Movement Theory of Control" challenges this differentiation and argues that the operations that generate the two constructions are the same, the differences arising from the positions through which the displaced elements are moved. In the context of the Minimalist Program, reducing the class of basic operations is methodologically prized. This volume is a collection of original papers that argue for this approach to control on theoretical and empirical grounds as well. The papers also develop and constrain the movement theory to account for novel phenomena from a variety of languages."

Download or read book Argument Structure and Syntactic Relations written by Maia Duguine and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The topic of this collection is argument structure. The fourteen chapters in this book are divided into four parts: Semantic and Syntactic Properties of Event Structure; A Cartographic View on Argument Structure; Syntactic Heads Involved in Argument Structure; and Argument Structure in Language Acquisition. Rigorous theoretical analyses are combined with empirical work on specific aspects of argument structure. The book brings together authors working in different linguistic fields (semantics, syntax, and language acquisition), who explore new findings as well as more established data, but then from new theoretical perspectives. The contributions propose cartographic views of argument structure, as opposed to minimalistic proposals of a binary template model for argument structure, in order to optimally account for various syntactic and semantic facts, as well as data derived from wider cross-linguistic perspectives. "Argument structure plays a central role in the articulation of syntax. Yet whether this contribution is primordial or derivative, derivational or representational, minimalist or cartographic, is entirely up for grabs. This is what makes a book like the present one equivalent to a murder thriller: one cannot finish one chapter without wanting to read the next. While the solution to the underlying mystery remains as open as it ever was, the clues offered here seem just impossible to ignore."