Syntax

A Generative Introduction

Andrew Carnie

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781119569312
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Langues et linguistique
• Subtopic: Syntaxe en linguistique

The extensively updated fourth edition of the leading introductory textbook on theoretical syntax, including an all-new chapter and additional problem sets

Now in its fourth edition, Andrew Carnie's Syntax: A Generative Introduction remains the leading introduction to the rules, principles, and processes that determine the structure of sentences in language. Comprehensive yet accessible, the text provides a well-balanced, student-friendly introduction to syntactic theory. Topics include phrase structure, the lexicon, binding theory, case theory, movement, covert movement, locality conditions, ditransitives, verbal inflection and auxiliaries, ellipsis, control theory, non-configurational languages, and more. Students are provided with numerous exercises and pedagogical features designed to strengthen comprehension, review learning objectives, test knowledge, and highlight major issues in the field.

The fourth edition features revised material throughout, including a new section on Chomsky's Merge and additional problem sets in every chapter, while new examples throughout the text broaden the appeal and relatability of the text to a more diverse set of students. The optional The Syntax Workbook: A Companion to Carnie's Syntax has also been thoroughly revised and expanded to offer students the opportunity to practice the skills and concepts introduced in the primary text. This classic textbook:

• Presents authoritative and comprehensive coverage of basic, intermediate, and advanced topics
• Includes ample exercises and clear explanations using straightforward language
• Offers extensive online student and instructor resources, including problem sets, PowerPoint slides, an updated instructor's manual, author-created videos, online-only chapters, and other supplementary material
• Features a wealth of learning tools, including learning objectives, discussion questions, and problems of varying levels of difficulty

In the new fourth edition, Syntax: A Generative Introduction remains an essential textbook for beginning syntacticians, perfect for undergraduate and graduate course in linguistics, grammar, language, and second language teaching.

Available as a set with The Syntax Workbook: A Companion to Carnie's Syntax, 2nd Edition

Part 1
Preliminaries

Chapter 1
Generative Grammar

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Learning Objectives

After reading chapter 1, you should walk away having mastered the following ideas and skills:

1. Explain why language is a psychological property of humans.
2. Distinguish between prescriptive and descriptive rules.
3. Explain the scientific method as it applies to syntax.
4. Explain the differences between the kinds of data gathering, including corpora and linguistic judgments.
5. Explain the difference between competence and performance.
6. Explain the difference between i-language and e-language
7. Provide at least three arguments for Universal Grammar.
8. Explain the logical problem of language acquisition.
9. Distinguish between learning and acquisition.
10. Distinguish among observational, descriptive, and explanatory adequacy.

0. PRELIMINARIES

Although we use it every day, and although we all have strong opinions about its proper form and appropriate use, we rarely stop to think about the wonder of language. So- called language “experts” tell us about the misuse of hopefully or lecture us about the origins of the word boondoggle, but surprisingly, they never get at the true wonder of language: how it actually works as a complex machine. Think about it for a minute. You are reading this and understanding it, but you have no conscious knowledge of how you are doing it. The study of this mystery is the science of linguistics. This book is about one aspect of how language works: how sentences are structured, or the study of syntax and the people who study syntax are called syntacticians.

There are many perspectives on studying linguistics. One could study language looking at languages across time, or one could study how language is used as a social too. But syntacticians typically take a different view. They look at language as a psychological or cognitive property of humans. That is, my mind contains certain principles that allow me to sit here and produce this set of letters, words and sentences, and you use similar principles that allow you to translate these squiggles back into coherent ideas and thoughts. At least I hope you can translate them back into coherent ideas!

There are several subsystems at work in when we use language. If you were listening to me speak, I would be producing sound waves with my vocal cords and articulating particular speech sounds with my tongue, lips, and vocal cords. On the other end of things, you’d be hearing those sound waves and translating them into speech sounds using your auditory apparatus. The study of the acoustics and articulation of speech is called phonetics. Once you’ve translated the waves of sound into mental representations of speech sounds, you analyze them into syllables and pattern them appropriately. For example, speakers of English know that the made-up word bluve is a possible word of English, but the word bnuck is not. This is part of the science called phonology. Then you take these groups of sounds and organize them into meaningful units (called morphemes) and words. For example, the word dancer is made up of two meaningful bits: dance and the suffix -er. The study of this level of language is called morphology. Next you organize the words into phrases and sentences. One usage of the term syntax is the cover term for studies at this level of language. Finally, you take the sentences and phrases you hear and translate them into thoughts and ideas. This last step is what we refer to as the semantic level of language.

Syntax as a discipline studies the part of language knowledge that lies between words and the meaning of utterances: sentences. It is the level that mediates between sounds that someone produces (organized into words) and what they intend to say.

Perhaps one of the truly amazing aspects of the study of language is not the origin...