Grammatical theory : From transformational grammar to constraint-based approaches

Müller, Stefan

ISBN 10: 3985540608 / ISBN 13: 9783985540600

Published by Language Science Press, 2023

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Grammatical theory : From transformational grammar to constraint-based approaches
• Publisher: Language Science Press
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3985540608
• ISBN 13: 9783985540600
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: As New

About this title

Synopsis

This book introduces formal grammar theories that play a role in current linguistic theorizing (Phrase Structure Grammar, Transformational Grammar/Government & Binding, Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar, Lexical Functional Grammar, Categorial Grammar, Head-​Driven Phrase Structure Grammar, ConstructionGrammar, Tree Adjoining Grammar). The key assumptions are explained and it is shown how the respective theory treats arguments and adjuncts, the active/passive alternation, local reorderings, verb placement, and fronting of constituents over long distances. The analyses are explained with German as the object language. The second part of the book compares these approaches with respect to their predictions regarding language acquisition and psycholinguistic plausibility. The nativism hypothesis, which assumes that humans posses genetically determined innate language-specific knowledge, is critically examined and alternative models of language acquisition are discussed. The second part then addresses controversial issues of current theory building such as the question of flat or binary branching structures being more appropriate, the question whether constructions should be treated on the phrasal or the lexical level, and the question whether abstract, non-visible entities should play a role in syntactic analyses. It is shown that the analyses suggested in the respective frameworks are often translatable into each other. The book closes with a chapter showing how properties common to all languages or to certain classes of languages can be captured.