Instructor | Mark Gawron |
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Goals |
This seminar will take as a starting point the theory developed in Syntactic Theory: A Formal Introduction, by Emily Bender, Ivan Sag, and Thomas Wasow. This is an introduction to a version of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), but together with our reading list, it will set the stage for a discussion of lexicalist, constraint-based, and unification-based theories of syntax. One feature that unifies all these approaches is that the lexicon assumes a central role. With that move, there is a corresponding de-emphasis of, or elimination of, syntactic derivation, that is any operations involving tree to treee mappings such as movement or deletion. Many of the same generalizations are captured, but there is also a shift in what constitutes an explanation and what constitutes a satisfactory linguistic explanation. Basic topics to be covered: Unification, subsumption, agreement, concord, binding, syntactic features, passive, complements, adjuncts, specifiers,infinitivals, dummy elements, auxiliaries, long-distance dependencies. More advanced phenomena: Control, case-marking, causatives, head-movement. |
Practice |
The course will meet twice a week and a student will lead discussion of either a chapter from the text or a paper from the reading packet. I will lead discussion the first few sessions to help get things started. Midway through the semester 5-page proposals for a paper topic will be due. These should involve some out-of-the-course-reader reading on some topic in syntax, and some discussion and analysis of data, possibly in a language other English. Comparison of some area of English syntax with some language you have studied is one possibility. |
Grading | Grading will be based on homework, presentations and the final paper. |
Web-site: http://bulba.sdsu.edu/formal_syn
Time & Place: TuTh 1400-1515 Room: 412 BAM
Telephone: 619-594-0252
Email: gawron@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: Tu Th 1300-1400
Department: Linguistics and Oriental Languages
Office: BA 321