The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Syntax

Comparison across formal languages is an essential part of formal linguistics. The study of closely-related varieties has proven extremely useful in illuminating relations between cross-linguistic syntactic differences that might otherwise appear unrelated, and has helped to identify the core principles of Universal Grammar. Comparative studies have grown to the point where a reference work is needed to comprehensively explain the state of the field and makes its results more widely known, and this handbook fulfills that need. Its twenty-one commissioned chapters serve two functions: they provide a general and theoretical introduction to comparative syntax, its methodology, and its relation to other domains on linguistic inquiry; and they also provide a systematic selection of the best comparative work being done today on those language groups and families where substantial progress has been achieved.

With top-notch editors and contributors from around the world, this volume will be an essential resource for scholars and students in formal linguistics.

Guglielmo Cinque is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Venice. Richard S. Kayne is Professor of Linguistics at New York University and editor of the Oxford Studies in Comparative Syntax series.