Principles of Argument Structure: A Merge-Based Approach (Linguistic Inquiry Monographs)

Collins, Chris

ISBN 10: 0262548275 / ISBN 13: 9780262548274

Published by The MIT Press, 2024

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 394712249

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Principles of Argument Structure: A Merge-Based Approach (Linguistic Inquiry Monographs)
• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262548275
• ISBN 13: 9780262548274
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

A new theory of argument structure, based on the syntactic operation Merge and presented through an in-depth analysis of properties of the English passive construction.

In Principles of Argument Structure, Chris Collins investigates principles of argument structure in minimalist syntax through an in-depth analysis of properties of the English passive construction. He formulates a new theory of argument structure based on the only structure-building operation in minimalist syntax, Merge, which puts together two syntactic objects to form a larger one. This new theory should give rise to detailed cross-linguistic work on the syntactic and semantic properties of implicit arguments.

Collins presents an update and defense of his influential 2005 theory of the passive, including a completely original theory of implicit arguments. He makes a direct empirical argument for the Theta-Criterion against various claims that it should be eliminated. He also discusses the conception of voice in syntactic theory, arguing that VoiceP does not introduce external arguments, a position otherwise widely accepted in the field. He shows how the ”smuggling” approach to the passive extends naturally to the dative alternation accounting for a number of striking c-command asymmetries. He compares syntactic and semantic approaches to argument structure, outlining conceptual problems with adopting formal semantics as the basis for a theory of argument structure.

The book will be of interest not only to syntacticians and semanticists, but also to typologists investigating the cross-linguistic properties of the passive, psycholinguists and computer scientists working on natural language understanding, and philosophers thinking about the issue of “implicit content.” It includes an appendix that provides common-sense guidelines for doing syntactic research using internet data.

About the Author

Chris Collins is Professor of Linguistics at New York University. His research focuses on syntactic theory, the syntax-semantics interface, and African languages. When not in Africa, he and his wife live in New York City.