This book is an introduction to syntactic theory and analysis which can be used for both introductory and advanced courses in theoretical syntax. Offering an alternative to the standard generative view of the subject, it deals with the major issues in syntax with which all theories are concerned. It presents syntactic phenomena from a wide range of languages and introduces students to the major typological issues that syntactic theories must address. A generous number of exercises is included, which provide practice with the concepts introduced in the text and in addition expose the student to in-depth analysis of data from many languages. Each chapter contains suggestions for further reading which encompass work from many theoretical perspectives. A separate teaching guide is available.
Author(s): Robert D. van Valin Jr; Randy J. LaPolla
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 1997
Language: English
Pages: 741
Cover......Page 0
Half-title
......Page 1
Series-title
......Page 3
Title
......Page 5
Copyright
......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
List of figures......Page 10
List of tables......Page 16
Acknowledgments......Page 19
Notes for instructors......Page 21
List of abbreviations......Page 23
1.0 Introduction......Page 29
1.1 Goals of linguistic theory......Page 30
1.2 Explanation in linguistics......Page 32
1.3 Contrasting perspectives on the goals of linguistic theory......Page 36
1.4 Concluding remarks......Page 43
Further reading......Page 44
2.1 General theoretical issues......Page 45
2.2 The layered structure of the clause in simple sentences......Page 53
2.3 The layered structure of adpositional and noun phrases......Page 80
2.4 Heads and headedness......Page 95
2.5 Conclusion: the nature of morphosyntactic structure......Page 97
Further reading......Page 103
Exercises......Page 104
3.1 A typology of states of affairs and their participants......Page 110
3.2 The lexical representation of verbs and their arguments......Page 118
3.3 Summary......Page 156
Further reading......Page 157
Exercises......Page 158
4.1 Semantic macroroles......Page 167
4.2 Valence, transitivity and macrorole assignment......Page 175
4.3 Lexical entries for verbs......Page 182
4.4 The representation of adjuncts and operators......Page 187
4.5 Linking syntactic and semantic representations (a brief introduction)......Page 200
4.6 Lexical rules......Page 206
4.7 The semantic representation of nouns and noun phrases......Page 212
Further reading......Page 223
Exercises......Page 224
5.0 Introduction......Page 227
5.1 Focus structure......Page 229
5.2 Focus types......Page 234
5.3 The morphosyntactic coding of focus structure......Page 238
5.4 The formal representation of focus structure......Page 242
5.5 Focus structure and the scope of negation and quantification......Page 247
5.6 Intrasentential pronominalization......Page 251
5.7 Intersentential pronominalization......Page 259
Further reading......Page 263
Exercises......Page 264
6.1 Conceptions of grammatical relations......Page 270
6.2 The cross-linguistic diversity of grammatical relations......Page 278
6.3 A theory of grammatical relations......Page 302
6.4 Discourse reference-tracking mechanisms and voice......Page 313
6.5 Some typological issues......Page 331
Exercises......Page 337
7.0 Introduction......Page 345
7.1 Semantic and syntactic representations: a brief review......Page 348
7.2 The linking algorithms......Page 352
7.3 Case marking, agreement and adposition assignment......Page 380
7.4 The two phases of linking......Page 412
7.5 Reflexivization......Page 420
7.6 Focus structure, linearization and linking......Page 445
7.7 Templates, constructions and linking......Page 458
Further reading......Page 464
Exercises......Page 465
8.1 Theoretical issues......Page 469
8.2 Levels of juncture......Page 470
8.3 Nexus relations......Page 476
8.4 The interaction of nexus and juncture......Page 482
8.5 Focus structure in complex sentences......Page 512
8.6 The structure of complex noun phrases......Page 520
8.7 Syntactic templates for complex sentences......Page 533
Further reading......Page 535
Exercises......Page 536
9.1 Linking in clausal, core and nuclear junctures......Page 545
9.2 Case marking in complex sentences......Page 603
9.3 Linking in complex noun phrases......Page 618
9.4 Reflexivization in complex sentences......Page 632
9.5 Constraints on linking in WH-questions and related constructions......Page 643
Exercises......Page 662
Epilog: the goals of linguistic theory revisited......Page 668
Notes......Page 678
References......Page 704
Index of languages......Page 731
Subject index......Page 734
