
Syntax
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Now in its fourth edition, Andrew Carnie's Syntax: A Generative Introduction remains the leading introduction to the rules, principles, and processes that determine the structure of sentences in language. Comprehensive yet accessible, the text provides a well-balanced, student-friendly introduction to syntactic theory. Topics include phrase structure, the lexicon, binding theory, case theory, movement, covert movement, locality conditions, ditransitives, verbal inflection and auxiliaries, ellipsis, control theory, non-configurational languages, and more. Students are provided with numerous exercises and pedagogical features designed to strengthen comprehension, review learning objectives, test knowledge, and highlight major issues in the field.
The fourth edition features revised material throughout, including a new section on Chomsky's Merge and additional problem sets in every chapter, while new examples throughout the text broaden the appeal and relatability of the text to a more diverse set of students. The optional The Syntax Workbook: A Companion to Carnie's Syntax has also been thoroughly revised and expanded to offer students the opportunity to practice the skills and concepts introduced in the primary text. This classic textbook:
* Presents authoritative and comprehensive coverage of basic, intermediate, and advanced topics
* Includes ample exercises and clear explanations using straightforward language
* Offers extensive online student and instructor resources, including problem sets, PowerPoint slides, an updated instructor's manual, author-created videos, online-only chapters, and other supplementary material
* Features a wealth of learning tools, including learning objectives, discussion questions, and problems of varying levels of difficulty
In the new fourth edition, Syntax: A Generative Introduction remains an essential textbook for beginning syntacticians, perfect for undergraduate and graduate course in linguistics, grammar, language, and second language teaching.
Available as a set with The Syntax Workbook: A Companion to Carnie's Syntax, 2nd Edition
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Person
Andrew Carnie is Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Dean of the Graduate College, and Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona, USA. He specializes in generative syntactic theory with an emphasis on constituency, VSO languages, copular constructions, and the Celtic Languages. He is the author of numerous publications, including Constituent Structure, Modern Syntax, and The Syntax Workbook: A Companion to Carnie's Syntax, and is the co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Syntax.
Content
Preface and Acknowledgments xiii
Part 1 Preliminaries 1
1 Generative Grammar 3
0. Preliminaries 3
1. Syntax as Science - the Scientific Method 4
2. Syntax as a Cognitive Science 12
3. Models of Syntax 13
4. Competence vs. Performance 13
5. A Clarification on the Word "Language" 15
6. Where Do the Rules Come From? 16
7. Choosing among Theories about Syntax 25
8. The Scientific Method and the Structure of this Textbook 25
9. Conclusion 26
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 27
General Problem Sets 29
Challenge Problem Sets 35
2 Parts of Speech 43
0. Words and Why They Matter to Syntax 43
1. Determining Part of Speech 44
2. The Major Parts of Speech: N, V, Adj, and Adv 47
3. Open vs. Closed; Lexical vs. Functional 50
4. Subcategories and Features 52
5. Conclusion 58
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 58
General Problem Sets 59
Challenge Problem Sets 63
3 Constituency, Trees, and Rules 67
0. Introduction 67
1. Rules and Trees 70
2. How to Draw a Tree 84
3. Modification and Ambiguity 90
4. Constituency Tests 91
5. Constituency in Other Languages 93
6. Conclusion 98
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 98
General Problem Sets 99
Challenge Problem Sets 107
4 Structural Relations 113
0. Introduction 113
1. The Parts of a Tree 114
2. Dominance 116
3. Precedence 119
4. C-command 122
5. Grammatical Relations 126
6. Conclusions 129
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 129
General Problem Sets 131
Challenge Problem Sets 138
5 Binding Theory 141
0. Introduction 141
1. The Notions Coindex and Antecedent 143
2. Binding 144
3. Locality Conditions on the Binding of Anaphors 146
4. The Distribution of Pronouns 148
5. The Distribution of R-expressions 148
6. Why Does Binding Theory Matter to Syntacticians 149
6. Conclusion 151
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 151
General Problem Sets 152
Challenge Problem Sets 154
Part 2 The Base 159
6 X-bar Theory 161
0. Introduction 161
1. Bar-level Projections 163
2. Generalizing the Rules: The X-bar Schema 168
3. Complements, Adjuncts, and Specifiers 170
4. Some Definitional Housekeeping 179
5. Parameters of Word Order 180
6. Drawing Trees in X-bar Notation 182
7. Conclusion 199
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 200
General Problem Sets 201
Challenge Problem Sets 209
7 Extending X-bar Theory to Functional Categories 213
0. Introduction 213
1. Determiner Phrases (DPs) 214
2. A Descriptive Tangent into Clause Types 217
3. Complementizer Phrases (CPs) 221
4. Tense, Perfect, Progressive and Voice Phrases 223
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 234
General Problem Sets 236
Challenge Problem Sets 238
8 Constraining X-bar: Theta Theory 243
0. Introduction 243
1. Some Basic Terminology 244
2. Thematic Relations and Theta Roles 245
3. The Lexicon 250
4. Expletives and the Extended Projection Principle 252
5. Conclusion 253
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 254
General Problem Sets 255
Challenge Problem Sets 259
9 Theta Grids and Functional Categories 265
0. Introduction 265
1. Complementizers 266
2. Determiners 269
3. Using Theta Grids for English Auxiliaries 273
4. Main verbs vs. Auxiliaries 284
5. Conclusion 287
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 287
General Problem Sets 288
Challenge Problem Sets 292
Part 3 Movement 295
10 Head-to-Head Movement 297
0. Introduction 297
1. Verb Movement (V ¿ T) 300
2. T Movement (T ¿ C) 314
3. Do-support 317
Appendix: Determining if a Language has V ¿ T Movement 318
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 318
General Problem Sets 319
Challenge Problem Sets 324
11 DP Movement 331
0. Introduction 331
1. A Puzzle for the Theory of Theta Roles 332
2. Passives 337
3. Case 341
4. Raising: Reprise 345
5. Passives: Reprise 347
6. Inherently Passive Verbs: Unaccusatives 348
7. DP Movement in SVO vs. VSO Languages 351
8. Conclusion 353
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 353
General Problem Sets 354
Challenge Problem Sets 360
12 Wh-movement and Locality Constraints 365
0. Introduction 365
1. Movement in Wh-questions 366
2. Relative Clauses 375
3. Islands 379
4. The Minimal Link Condition 382
5. Echo Questions (Wh-in-situ) in English 386
6. Conclusion 387
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 388
General Problem Sets 389
Challenge Problem Sets 392
13 A Unified Theory of Movement 395
0. Introduction 395
1. Move 397
2. Explaining Cross-linguistic Differences 400
3. Scope, Covert Movement, and the MLC 404
4. Conclusion 406
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 407
General Problem Sets 407
Challenge Problem Sets 408
Part 4 Advanced Topics 411
14 Ditransitives 413
0. Introduction 413
1. The Problem of Ditransitive Verbs 414
2. The Active Voice Head 415
3. Object Shift 417
4. Ditransitives: Reprise 422
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 426
General Problem Sets 426
Challenge Problem Sets 428
15 Raising, Control, and Empty Categories 429
0. Introduction 429
1. Raising vs. Control 430
2. Two Kinds of Raising, Two Kinds of Control 438
3. Control Theory 443
4. Another Kind of Null Subject: "Little" pro 446
5. Conclusion 447
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 447
General Problem Sets 448
Challenge Problem Sets 450
16 Ellipsis 453
0. Ellipsis 453
1. LF-copying or PF-deletion 455
2. Antecedent-Contained Deletion and Pseudogapping 461
3. Conclusion 464
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 464
General Problem Sets 466
Challenge Problem Sets 468
17 Advanced Topics in Binding Theory 471
0. Introduction 471
1. Levels of Representation 472
2. The Definition of Binding Domain 473
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 479
General Problem Sets 479
Challenge Problem Sets 481
18 Polysynthesis, Incorporation, and Non-configurationality 483
0. Introduction 483
1. Polysynthesis 484
2. Incorporation 486
3. Scrambling and Non-configurationality 487
4. Conclusion 495
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 495
General Problem Sets 496
Challenge Problem Sets 497
19 Merge 499
0. Introduction 499
1. External Merge 500
2. Internal Merge 505
3. Conclusion 506
Ideas, Rules, and Constraints Introduced in this Chapter 507
General Problem Sets 507
Challenge Problem Sets 508
Conclusions and Directions for Further Study 509
References 511
Index 521
Preface and Acknowledgments
Almost every preface to every syntax textbook out there starts out by telling the reader how different this book is from every other syntax textbook. On one hand, this is often the truth: each author shows their own particular spin or emphasis. This is certainly true of this textbook. For example, you'll be hard-pressed to find another textbook on Principles and Parameters syntax that uses as many Irish examples as this one does.. On the other hand, let's face facts. The basic material to be covered in an introductory textbook doesn't really vary much. One linguist may prefer a little more on binding theory, and a little less on control, etc. In this text, I've attempted to provide a relatively balanced presentation of most of the major issues and I've tried to do this in a student-friendly way. I've occasionally abstracted away from some of the thornier controversies, when I felt they weren't crucial to a student understanding the basics. This may make the professional syntactician feel that I've cut corners or laid out too rosy a picture. I did this on purpose, however, to give students a chance to absorb the fundamentals before challenging the issues. This was a deliberate pedagogical choice. I'm well aware that sometimes I've glossed over controversies, but I think a student has to learn the basics of how the system works before they can seriously critique and evaluate the model. This is a textbook, not a scholarly tome, so its aim is to reach as many students as possible. The style is deliberately low-key and friendly. This doesn't mean I don't want the students to challenge the material I've presented here. Throughout the book, you'll find grey "textboxes" that contain issues for further discussion or interesting tidbits. Many of the problem sets also invite the student to challenge the black and white presentation I've given in the text. I encourage instructors to assign these, and students to do them, as they form an important part of the textbook. Instructors may note that if a favorite topic is not dealt with in the body of the text, a problem set may very well treat the question.
A quick word on the level of this textbook: This book is intended as an introduction to syntactic theory. It takes the student through most of the major issues in Principles and Parameters, from tree drawing to constraints on movement. While this book is written as an introduction, some students have reported it to be challenging. I use this text in my upper-division undergraduate introduction to syntax course with success, but I can certainly see it being used in more advanced classes. I hope instructors will flesh out the book, and walk their students through some of the thornier issues.
This textbook has grown out of my lecture notes for my own classes. Needless to say, the form and shape of these notes have been influenced in terms of choice of material and presentation by the textbooks my own students have used. While the book you are reading is entirely my fault, it does owe a particular intellectual debt to the following three textbooks, which I have used in teaching at various times:
- Cowper, Elizabeth (1992) A Concise Introduction to Syntactic Theory: The Government and Binding Approach. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
- Haegeman, Liliane (1994) Introduction to Government and Binding Theory (2nd edition). Oxford: Blackwell.
- Radford, Andrew (1988) Transformational Grammar: A First Course. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
I'd like to thank the authors of these books for breaking ground in presenting a complicated and integrated theory to the beginner. Writing this book has given me new appreciation for the difficulty of this task and their presentation of the material has undoubtedly influenced mine.
Sadly, during the final stages of putting the first edition of this text together, my dissertation director, teacher, mentor, and academic hero, Ken Hale, passed away after a long illness. Ken always pushed the idea that theoretical syntax is best informed by cross- linguistic research, while at the same time the accurate documentation of languages requires a sophisticated understanding of grammatical theory. These were important lessons that I learned from Ken and I hope students will glean the significance of both by reading this text. While I was writing this book (and much other work) Ken gave me many comments and his unfettered support. He was a great man and I will miss him terribly.
It's hard to believe that I began writing the first drafts of this book twenty two years ago, and now we're going into the 4th edition. A whole generation of syntacticians began their careers with this book and I'm utterly humbled that it has been so useful to people. I hope this new edition, and the 2nd edition of the accompanying workbook will continue to guide people into the world of syntax. The 4th edition has some important changes from the 3rd. I brought back affix lowering for those who loved it. That's now at the end of chapter 7. But I've also kept the selection-based analysis of English Auxiliaries in chapter 9. Instructors can safely do one, the other, or both. I've changed the names of some of the functional categories to reflect current practice. There's a new, albeit cursory, chapter on Merge at the end. There's new exercises and problem sets in every chapter both in the main book and in the workbook.
Perhaps the most important change to the book is more subtle and may not be initially apparent. While example sentences are just examples and aren't meant to make profound statement with their content, I've learned through the years that they can impact people nonetheless by perpetuating cultural bias. The subconscious messages example sentences can send cannot help but impact readers. Macaulay and Brice (1997) and Pabst et al (2018) have shown that syntax textbooks and journals often have example sentences that show bias towards male actors and female patients. In reviewing the example sentences in the third edition, I discovered that not only was there a gender bias in the examples, but there was an unconscious bias towards white anglophone names and a failure to represent ethnic, racial, sexuality, and gender diversity. So I made a conscious effort to address those biases. Honestly, I probably haven't entirely succeeded but I hope the book is now a little more welcoming and will encourage more women, more gender-diverse people, more people of color, more indigenous people and generally broader range of students to seriously consider syntactic theory as their life's work.
I hope that instructors and students will find these revisions helpful. I have attempted where possible to take into account all the many comments and suggestions I received from people using the previous editions, although of course, in order to maintain consistency, I was unable to implement them all.
Acknowledgments
I'd like to thank the many people who taught me syntax through the years: Barb Brunson, Noam Chomsky, Elizabeth Cowper, Ken Hale, Alec Marantz, Diane Massam, Jim McCloskey, Shigeru Miyagawa, and David Pesetsky. A number of people have read through this book or the previous editions and have given me helpful comments; others have helped on smaller issues but have had no less of an impact on the work and still others have contributed problem sets or editorial advice. This long list includes: Dong- Hwan An, David Adger, William Alexander, Dean Allemang, Gabriel Amores, Diana Archangeli, Ash Asudeh, Dali Balti, Brett Baker, Uldis Balodis, Mark Baltin, Luis Barragan, Andy Barss, Michael Bauer, Dane Bell, Emily Bender, Abbas Benmamoun, Jeff Berry, Tom Bever, Bronwyn Bjorkman, Laura Blumenthal, Claire Bowern, Joan Bresnan, Aaron Broadwell, Dirk Bury, Ivano Caponigo, Roy Chan, Ronald Charles, Danny Chen, Deborah Chen-Pichler, Jaehoon Choi, Barbara Citko, Ian Clayton, Peter Cole, Chris Collins, Jennifer Columbus, Richard Compton, Andrew Comrie, Robert Coren, Dick Demers, Lorenzo Demery, Sheila Dooley, Rebecca Drinkall, Joe Dupris, Yehuda Falk, Muriel Fisher, Megan Figueroa, Sandiway Fong, Leslie Ford, Amy Fountain, Stefan Frisch, Alexandra Galani, Andrew Garrett, Jila Ghomeshi, David Gil, Carrie Gillion, Erin Good-Ament, Anthony Green, Andrea Haber, Paul Hagstrom, Ken Hale, John Halle, Mike Hammond, Daniel Harbour, Jack Hardy, Heidi Harley, Josh Harrison, Rachel Hayes-Harb, David Heap, Bernhard Heigl, One-Soon Her, Caroline Heycock, Nicky Hoover, Stephan Hurtubise, John Ivens, Eloise Jelinek, Ling Jiang, Alana Johns, Mark Johnson, Hyun Kyoung Jung, Arsalan Kahnemuyipour, Dalina Kallulli, Simin Karimi, Dan Karvonen, Andreas Kathol, Chris Kennedy, Greg Key, Amy LaCross, Erwin Lares, Richard Larson, Péter Lazar, Carlos Gelormini Lezama, Jeff Lidz, Anne Lobeck, Leila Lomashivili, Pen Long, Sarah Longstaff, Alicia Lopez, Ahmad Reza Lotfi, Ricardo Mairal, Joan Maling, Jack Martin, Diane Massam, Jeffrey Maxwell, Martha McGinnis-Archibald, Nathan McWhorter, Dave Medeiros, Jason Merchant, Mirjana Miskovic-Lukovic, Tel Monks, Kumiko Murasugi, Alan Munn, MaryLou Myers, Jian Gang Ngui, Chris Nicholas, Janet Nicol, Jon Nissenbaum, Peter Norquest, Diane Ohala, Kazutoshi Ohno, Heidi Orcutt-Gachiri, Hiroyuki Oshita, Panayiotis Pappas, Jaime Parchment, Hyeson Park, Barbara Partee, Matt Pearson, David Pesetsky, Colin Phillips, Massimo Piatelli- Palmarini, Carl Pollard, Bill Poser, Kristen Pruett, Jeff Punske, Mike Putnam, Sevren Quijada, Eric Randall, Janet Randall, Marlita Reddy-Hjelmfelt, Jodi Reich, Norvin...
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