
Diachronic Syntax
Ian Roberts(Author)
Oxford University Press
2nd Edition
Published on 18. November 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
752 pages
978-0-19-886146-1 (ISBN)
Description
This second edition of Ian Roberts's highly successful textbook on diachronic syntax has been fully revised and updated throughout to take account of the multiple developments in the field in the last decade. The book provides a detailed account of how standard questions in historical linguistics - including word order change, grammaticalization, and reanalysis - can be explored in terms of current minimalist theory and Universal Grammar. This new edition offers expanded coverage of a range of topics, including null subjects, the Final-over-Final Condition, the diachrony of wh-movement, the Tolerance Principle, and creoles and creolization, and explores further advances in the theory of parametric variation. Each chapter includes suggestions for further reading, and the book concludes with a comprehensive glossary of key terms. Written by one of the leading scholars in the field, the volume will remain an ideal textbook for students of historical linguistics and a valuable reference for researchers and students in related areas such as syntax, comparative linguistics, language contact, and language acquisition.
Reviews / Votes
Review from previous edition 'This work gathers together a wealth of research linking language change to a number of other linguistic areas, and as such is ambitious in its scope. It is a welcome addition to the body of literature on language change.' * Johanna L. Wood, Folia Linguistica * 'Diachronic syntax will serve as an incentive and inspiration for generative researchers of historical linguistics.' * Marion Elenbass, Journal of Linguistics *More details
Series
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 248 mm
Width: 170 mm
Thickness: 47 mm
Weight
1295 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-886146-1 (9780198861461)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Person
Ian Roberts is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cambridge, having previously held positions in Geneva, Bangor, and Stuttgart. He has worked extensively on comparative and historical syntax within the framework of Universal Grammar, with a particular focus on the Germanic, Romance, and Celtic languages. His many books include Agreement and Head Movement (MIT Press 2010), The Wonders of Language, or How to Make Noises and Influence People (CUP 2017), and Parameter Hierarchies and Universal Grammar (OUP 2019; paperback 2021). He is the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Universal Grammar (OUP 2016; paperback 2018).
Content
Introduction
1: Formal comparative and historical syntax
2: Types of syntactic change?
3: Acquisition, learnability, and syntactic change
4: The dynamics of syntactic change
5: Contact, creoles, and change
Epilogue
Glossary
References
Index
1: Formal comparative and historical syntax
2: Types of syntactic change?
3: Acquisition, learnability, and syntactic change
4: The dynamics of syntactic change
5: Contact, creoles, and change
Epilogue
Glossary
References
Index