Syntax: Basic Concepts and Applications

301 Pages·2012·1.813 MB·English

by  Robert Freidin

Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-84427-7 — Syntax
Robert Freidin
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Syntax
Syntax: Basic Concepts and Applications provides a systematic intro-
duction 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 ana-
lysis from a minimalist perspective. Step by step it explains the fundamen-
tals 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 .
Robert Freidin is Professor of Linguistics in the Council of the
Humanities at Princeton University.
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Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-84427-7 — Syntax
Robert Freidin
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Syntax

Basic Concepts and Applications
ROBERT FREIDIN
Princeton University

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-84427-7 — Syntax
Robert Freidin
Frontmatter
More Information
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© Robert A. Freidin 2012
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
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no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2012
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data
Freidin, Robert.
Syntax : basic concepts and applications / Robert Freidin.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-521-84427-7 (hardback) – ISBN 978-0-521-60578-6 (pbk.)
1. Grammar, Comparative and general–Syntax. 2. Generative grammar. I. Title.
P291.F746 2012
415–dc23
2011052725
ISBN 978-0-521-84427-7 Hardback
ISBN 978-0-521-60578-6 Paperback
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© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-84427-7 — Syntax
Robert Freidin
Frontmatter
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“T here is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact .”
Sherlock Holmes in “The Boscombe Valley Mystery”

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-84427-7 — Syntax
Robert Freidin
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements x v
1 The computational nature of human language 1
2 Knowledge of language as an object of inquiry 1 6
2.1 The system of knowledge 22
2.2 Language acquisition 29
2.3 Language use 33
2.4 The physical basis for language 34
3 Categories and constituents 3 7
3.1 Syntactic knowledge 37
3.2 Constituents and displacement 43
3.3 Constituents and coordination 48
4 Phrase structure theory 5 8
4.1 The fundamentals 58
4.2 Syntactic evidence for binary Merge in NPs 63
4.3 A coda on coordinate constructions 74
5 The structure of clauses 8 0
5.1 The phrase structure of VP 80
5.2 The phrase structure of clauses beyond VP 92
6 The syntax of Spec-TP 1 06
6.1 Displacement and the computational system 106
6.2 Displacement and interpretation 1 12
6.3 Displacement and Case 1 28
6.4 Locality 138
7 Head movement and the structure of root clauses 1 48
7.1 The analysis of yes/no questions 149
7.2 The auxiliary do 157
7.3 VSO languages 166
8 Wh-movement 1 71
8.1 The displacement of wh-phrases 1 71
8.2 Syntactic islands and the Subjacency Condition 186
8.3 Beyond the Subjacency Condition 201
vii
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Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-84427-7 — Syntax
Robert Freidin
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viii contents
9 Ellipsis: unpronounced syntax 2 11
9.1 VP ellipsis 212
9.2 Gapping and pseudogapping 237
9.3 Sluicing 241
Notes 254
Glossary 2 65
References 2 75
Index 2 80

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