Syntax and Variation

Syntax and Variation PDF

Author: Leonie Elise Alexandra Cornips

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9789027247797

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As such, it offers novel approaches to three key areas of current linguistic debate, viz. (1) Methodological practices, (2) Theoretical applications and (3) Modularity."--BOOK JACKET.

Syntax and Variation

Syntax and Variation PDF

Author: Leonie M.E.A. Cornips

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2005-06-22

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9027294380

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The papers in this collection share a common interest in the empirical, theoretical and meta-theoretical aspects of the ‘internal-external’ (‘formal-functional’) debate in linguistic theory. The primary aim of this volume is to initiate cooperation between internationally renowned generative and variationist linguists with a view to developing an innovative and more cohesive approach to syntactic variation. The present volume contains treatments incorporating the analysis of external factors into accounts focusing on the internal linguistic conditioning of syntactic variation and change cross-linguistically. As such, it offers novel approaches to three key areas of current linguistic debate, viz. (1) Methodological practices, (2) Theoretical applications and (3) Modularity. The volume is, therefore, an important achievement for the progress of linguistic theory more generally and it is an even more crucial milestone in the coming-of-age of ‘Socio-Syntax’ as a discipline in its own right.

Syntactic Variation and Genre

Syntactic Variation and Genre PDF

Author: Heidrun Dorgeloh

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 373

ISBN-13: 3110226472

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Review text: "Without a doubt, the volume in its entirety is inspiring. ... The articles are all written in an accessible style, so that the publication is suitable not only for experts, but also for students of linguistics. It is recommendable to all who want to broaden their horizons and embark on linguistic studies at the borders of traditional sub-disciplines."Sixta Quassdorf in: Linguist List 22.3028.

Microparametric Syntax and Dialect Variation

Microparametric Syntax and Dialect Variation PDF

Author: James R. Black

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 1996-11-07

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 9027276226

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Richard Kayne’s introduction to this volume stresses that comparative work on the syntax of very closely related languages and dialects is a research tool promising to provide both a broad understanding of parameters at their finest-grained and an approach to the question of the minimal units of syntactic variation. The 11 articles in this collection demonstrate the use of this tool in analyzing microparametric variation, principally with reference to Chomsky’s Minimalist program, in a variety of languages. Topics include se/si constructions, hypothetical infinitives and adverbial quantifiers in French and other Romance languages; that-trace variation, Scandinavian possessive constructions, reflexives and subject-verb agreement in Icelandic & Faroese, and verb clusters in continental West Germanic dialects; anaphoric agreement in Labrador Inuttut; negative particle questions in Chinese; imperative inversion in Belfast English; and the second person singular interrogative in the traditional vernacular of Bolton.

The Limits of Syntactic Variation

The Limits of Syntactic Variation PDF

Author: Theresa Biberauer

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 536

ISBN-13: 9027255156

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Against the background of the past half century s typological and generative work on comparative syntax, this volume brings together 16 papers considering what we have learned and may still be able to learn about the nature and extent of syntactic variation. More specifically, it offers a multi-perspective critique of the Principles and Parameters approach to syntactic variation, evaluating the merits and shortcomings of the pre-Minimalist phase of this enterprise and considering and illustrating the possibilities opened up by recent empirical and theoretical advances. Contributions focus on four central topics: firstly, the question of the locus of variation, whether the attested variation may plausibly be understood in parametric terms and, if so, what form such parameters might take; secondly, the fate of one of the most prominent early parameters, the Null Subject Parameter; thirdly, the matter of parametric clusters more generally; and finally, acquisition issues.

Features, Categories and the Syntax of A-Positions

Features, Categories and the Syntax of A-Positions PDF

Author: E. Haeberli

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 539

ISBN-13: 9401006040

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This book investigates various aspects of the distribution of nominal arguments, and in particular the cross-linguistic variation that can be found among the Germanic languages in this domain of the syntax. The empirical topics discussed include variable vs. fixed argument order, the distribution of subjects with respect to adjuncts, expletive constructions, and oblique subjecthood. These are analyzed within a theoretical framework which is based on the Minimalist Program.

Language Structure, Variation and Change

Language Structure, Variation and Change PDF

Author: Ian E. Mackenzie

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-03-09

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 3030105679

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This book offers an original account of the dynamics of syntactic change and the evolving structure of Old Spanish that combines rigorous manuscript-based investigation, quantitative analysis and a syntactic approach grounded in Minimalist thinking. Its analysis of both successful and failed changes demonstrates the degree of unpredictability caused by the interaction of competing factors and will shed fresh light on the assumed unidirectionality of linguistic change. Importantly, it reveals that Old Spanish and modern Spanish are more similar to one another than is usually supposed and demonstrates that many of the differences between the two varieties are quantitative rather than qualitative. This theoretically sophisticated examination of historical corpora will provide an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Old and modern Spanish, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and syntax.

Third Factors in Language Variation and Change

Third Factors in Language Variation and Change PDF

Author: Elly Van Gelderen

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-12-16

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 1108831168

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Provides a unique angle, by linking insights from theoretical advances in generative syntax to phenomena from language variation and change.

Explanations in Sociosyntactic Variation

Explanations in Sociosyntactic Variation PDF

Author: Tanya Karoli Christensen

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-01-20

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1108492843

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New perspectives on how and why syntax varies between and within speakers, focusing on explaining theoretical backgrounds and methods.