This course complements PLIN0003. It introduces students to several properties of &quot;mental grammar&quot; (the system of rules that determines a...

Introduction To Generative Grammar B (PLIN0064)

This course complements PLIN0003. It introduces students to several properties of "mental grammar" (the system of rules that determines a speaker/hearer's language).

We ask what sort of knowledge must be attributed to someone who "knows a language" and begin to answer that question by developing some of the essential building blocks of natural language grammars. The aims of the course are: to introduce students to the scientific study of the structure of sentences; to analyse data sets and formulate appropriate generalisations that characterise them; to discover how such generalisations can be captured by abstract linguistic principles. The course builds on PLIN0003 to provide students with an overview of the current research programme in generative syntax.

The main module objectives are:

To consolidate students' knowledge of the basic architecture of mental grammar; to introduce students to binding theory, hidden movement and quantifier scope; to take note of locality effects in the various modules of grammar introduced so far; to sharpen students' analytical skills through problem discovery and problem-solving exercises. At the end of the course, students will have a basic understanding of the grammatical mechanisms involved in simple declarative sentences and in questions. This should enable them to tackle intermediate work in syntax.

This module is an introduction to the formal study of the syntax of natural language. It introduces students to some of the basic descriptive problems and...

Introduction To Generative Grammar A (PLIN0003)

This module is an introduction to the formal study of the syntax of natural language. It introduces students to some of the basic descriptive problems and theoretical tools of modern syntactic theory. It introduces students to the broad questions driving research in generative syntax. It familiarizes students with the scientific process. Teaching is delivered as a mix of lectures (30 hours) and tutorials (15 hours) and student learning rests on problem sets solved in groups (two per week).

The module aims to convey a basic understanding of core descriptive tools and theoretical insights of formal syntactic theory through a process of problem solving. It aims to develop the reasoning skills necessary to apply these tools and insights correctly to novel sentence types. It aims to foster an attitude of critical curiosity needed to appreciate, critique, defend, and develop proposals of an abstract, theoretical nature.

By the end of the module students will have solved problem sets concerning the structure of simple and complex clauses, noun phrases, the auxiliary system, subject-auxiliary inversion, and wh-movement in English. They will be familiar with the following descriptive terminology and analytic tools of syntactic theory: word classes and grammatical categories, subcategorization, constituent structure, tree diagrams, structural ambiguity, thematic roles, grammatical function, movement, syntactic rule, rule interaction. Students will be able to analyze simple sentences from English and other languages correctly bringing to bear the tools and theories mentioned above.

Students will be able to defend their analyses by bringing diagnostic tools to bear directly and indirectly on the analysis. Students will have gained an understanding of the process of developing and defending abstract syntactic theories and will have begun developing a curious and critical stance towards novel data and theoretical claims.