Syntactic Models
Comparison of different proposed architectures for the syntax module of grammar. Subject traces several themes across a wide variety of approaches, with emphasis on testable differences among models. Models discussed include ancient and medieval proposals, structuralism, early generative grammar, generative semantics, government-binding theory/minimalism, LFG, HPSG, TAG, functionalist perspectives and others.
Spring 2006
This course presents a comparison of different proposed architectures for the syntax module of grammar. The subject traces several themes across a wide variety of approaches, with emphasis on testable differences among models. Models discussed include ancient and medieval proposals, structuralism, early generative grammar, generative semantics, government-binding theory/minimalism, LFG, HPSG, TAG, functionalist perspectives and others.
Readings
- Sag, Ivan, Thomas Wasow, and Emily Bender. Syntactic Theory: A Formal Introduction . 2nd ed. Stanford, CA: Center for the Study of Language and Information, 2003. ISBN: 9781575864006.
- Chomsky, Noam. Syntactic Structures . 2nd ed. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 2002. ISBN: 9783110172799.
- Bresnan, Joan. Lexical-Functional Syntax . Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2000. ISBN: 9780631209744.
- Culicover, Peter W., and Ray Jackendoff. Simpler Syntax . New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780199271092.
- LEC #: 1 · TOPICS: HPSG 1: How it works · READINGS: Sag, Wasow, and Bender. pp. 1-202.
- Wechsler, Stephen. “HPSG, GB, and the Balinese Bind.” In Lexical And Constructional Aspects of Linguistic Explanation . Edited by A. Kathol, J.-P. Koenig, and G. Webelhuth. Stanford, CA: Center for the Study of Language and Information, 1999, pp. 179-195. ISBN: 9781575861524.
- Bresnan, Joan. Lexical-Functional Syntax . Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2000. ISBN: 9780631209744. (Read all chapters except last half of chapter 4, skim chapter 5, skip second chapter on “Binding Theory.”)
- Carnie, Andrew. “Flat Structure, Phrasal Variability and Non-Verbal Predication in Irish.” Journal of Celtic Linguistics 10. (Forthcoming).
- DeKuthy, Kordula, and Walt Detmar Meurers. “On Partial Constituent Fronting in German.” Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics 3 (2001): 143-205.
- Müller, Gereon. Incomplete Category Fronting . Dordrecht, NL: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998, chapter 1. ISBN: 9780792348375.
- Chomsky, Noam. Syntactic Structures . 2nd ed. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, 2002. ISBN: 9783110172799.
- Lakoff, George. “On Generative Semantics.” In Semantics: An Interdisciplinary Reader in Philosophy, Linguistics, and Psychology . Edited by D. D. Steinberg and L. A. Jakobovits. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1974. ISBN: 9780521204996.
- ———. “Global Rules.” Language 46 (1970): 627-639.
- Baker, C. L., and Michael Brame. “‘Global Rules’: A Rejoinder.” Language 48 (1972): 51-75.
- Lakoff, George. “The Arbitrary Basis of Transformational Grammar.” Language 48 (1972): 76-87.
- Andrews, Avery D. “Case Agreement of Predicate Modifiers in Ancient Greek.” Linguistic Inquiry 2 (1971): 127-152.
- Postal, Paul. “A Global Constraint on Pronominalization.” Linguistic Inquiry 3 (1972): 35-59.
- Chomsky, Noam. “Conditions on Transformations.” In A Festschrift for Morris Halle . Edited by Stephen Anderson and Paul Kiparsky. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973, pp. 232-286. ISBN: 9780030865954.
- ———. “Conditions on Rules of Grammar.” Linguistic Analysis 2 (1976): 303-351.
- Chomsky, Noam. Lectures on Government and Binding . Dordrecht, Holland: Foris Publications, 1981, chapters 1-2, pp. 1-135. ISBN: 9789070176280.
- Gazdar, G. “Unbounded Dependencies and Coordinate Structure.” Linguistic Inquiry 12 (1981): 155-184.
- Culicover, Peter W., and Ray Jackendoff. Simpler Syntax . New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780199271092.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: 24.951 and 24.952 G (Spring) 3-0-9 units
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2006
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.