INDICE: Acknowledgments. Abbreviations. Introductory Notes and References. 1 Doing Science with Language: Introductory Concepts. This chapter introduces hypothesis formation and testing in the realm of human language and discusses the paradox of language acquisition. It offers an initial sketch of the Principles meaning of particular affixes leads to the conclusion that affixes do nothave simple meanings, but instead partic- ipate with a constellation of otherfactors to determine meaning, something referred to as compositional semantics. 3 Determining the Structure of Sentences. Tests of phrasehood are introduced, indicating the presence of hierarchic structure within sentences. Also presented is some of the core terminology of syntactic relations among phrases. 4 Rules of Sentence Structure: A First Approximation. Phrase structure rules areintroduced as a means of explaining the presence of hierarchic structure within sentences. Beyond basic phrasal structure, key concepts such as structural ambiguity and recursion are presented as further evidence of the efficacy of the phrase structure approach to the analysis of sentences. Recursion is noted as the key to explaining linguistic creativity. 5 Assigning Meaning in Sentences. Presented here is the system of determining grammatical function (subject,object, or adjunct) based on structural position. Building on this, theta roles and argument structure are introduced, offering an explanation both of how arguments (subjects, objects, etc.) get their explicit meanings, and how verbschoose the correct complementation pattern. 6 Some Category-Neutral Processes. Here, the notion of category-neutral processes is first introduced, paving the way for the generally category-neutral system of X-bar syntax presented later. The processes discussed here are coordination and proform insertion. 7 HowStructure Affects Pronoun Reference. This chapter introduces c-command and some of the phenomena that c- command has been crucial for explaining, includingthe distribution of negative polarity items, and the Binding Principles, the distribution and semantics of anaphors and pronominals, and referring expressions. The presence of such mechanisms as the Binding Principles in the theory of syntax points offers further support for the innateness hypothesis. 8 Complex Verb Forms. The case is made here that auxiliary verbs each head a VP, so that sentences with multiple verbs involve a recursive VP architecture. Also, the first transformation, Affix Hopping, is introduced, opening the discussion of transformational grammar, and the levels deep structure and surface structure. 9 Real vs. Apparent Sentence Structure. Tense affixes are argued here to originate in the same position as modal verbs do, leading to the claim that deepstructure is abstract, that is, consistently different in its alignment of elements from that seen in surface forms. Also discussed is the position of negation and the head movement
- ISBN: 978-1-4443-3895-9
- Editorial: Wiley-Blackwell
- Encuadernacion: Cartoné
- Páginas: 192
- Fecha Publicación: 07/01/2011
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés