Syntax
Basic Concepts and Applications
1st Edition
Published on 15. August 2012
298 pages
978-1-139-51209-1 (ISBN)
Description
Syntax: Basic Concepts and Applications provides a systematic introduction to core topics in syntax, focusing on how the basic concepts apply in the analysis of sentences. Assuming no background in linguistic analysis, the book gives students a working knowledge of syntactic analysis from a minimalist perspective. Step by step it explains the fundamentals of phrase structure, movement and deletion. Well-placed exercises throughout reinforce and extend the concepts and analyses presented in the text, allowing readers to gain understanding of progressively complex issues at a comfortable pace. Much of the data comes from English, but crucial examples are also drawn from a range of other languages, including Russian, Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Irish, Welsh and Greek.
Reviews / Votes
'This is the book I would recommend to anyone who wants to be gently led to know what the new view of human language is all about - and how much one can get out of a tiny English word.' Carlos P. Otero, University of California 'An inspired approach by a leading syntactician to the presentation of fundamental syntactic concepts, focusing on fascinating facts (including the ambiguous sentence (!) 'Fish fish fish fish') and how to analyze them.' Howard Lasnik, University of MarylandMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 2 Tables, black and white; 2 Line drawings, unspecified
File size
5388,37 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-139-51209-1 (9781139512091)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Robert A. Freidin is Professor, Program in Linguistics/Council of the Humanities at Princeton University.
Content
1. The computational nature of human language; 2. Knowledge of language as an object of inquiry; 3. Categories and constituents; 4. Phrase structure theory; 5. The structure of clauses; 6. The syntax of Spec-TP; 7. Head movement and the structure of root clauses; 8. Wh-movement; 9. Ellipsis: unpronounced syntax.
